Exterior doors

FWIW, a door that will receive extensive sun exposure will require a lot of maintenance to maintain any kind of decent appearance. Paint will hold up the best and if you are going to paint it, you might as well buy a steel door and save money and time.

Agreed. And the security against break-ins is OUTSTANDING!!!

Brings up a point. I see people with super secure front doors yet they have glass french doors in the back. What the heck is the point. If I was a robber I'd be breaking in in the back, not the front.

Sam

I have a painted steel door. After a few years, the color faded and the finish became chauky. I used a fine-grade auto rubbing compound and a random orbit auto buffer which brought back the color and luster. That was much easier than refinishing the door. Use a light color to help reflect the heat.

When I bought my house, they asked if I had deadbolts. I said no. They asked if I planned to install deadbolts. I asked why. They said if I had deadbolts, I would get a cut on my homeowner's insurance. I pointed out that I have sliding glass doors, and they said it didn't matter. So I told them I would install deadbolts, and I did.

On Thu, 4 Sep 2003 15:12:57 -0400, "Sam Hopkins" pixelated:

After seeing how the new vinyl-framed windows lock, what self-respecting criminal (Izzat an oxymoron?) would try to break in through a -door-? A putty knife or screwdriver would probably do the job without any dangerous (and loud) glass breakage.

P.S: Who would buy French doors if they knew what a bear it was to wash all those little panes each time?

------------------------------ Gator: The other white meat! ------------------------------

Just finished an 80" wide entryway that includes a 36" door + sidelights. I used Red Oak, and finished with Helmsman Spar Varnish (3 coats). The door is on the Southern face of my house, but doesn't get direct sun, thanks to a 7 foot porch roof. The book "Doormaking - A do it yourself guide" by John Birchard gives a pretty good over-view of construction and installation techniques and "gotcha's". All in all I'm happy with the outcome, and saved more than enough to justify the new Milwuakee 3 1/2 hp router in my table. The old PC 690 just wasn't up to cope and stick bits for 1 3/4" oak!.