Shiny Happy Front Door

The Boss Lady and I have looked for a new front door since we bought our house. Until today, it had the builder's grade windowless steel door with 8 raised panels, just like every other house built in 1982.

Last week, while we were shopping for the last of the lumber for the playscape, Bob found a great deal. The exact door that we most liked was on clearance. He bought one for his house, we bought one for ours.

So this afternoon I maxed out my carpentry skills and installed the new front door. A neighbor came by to ask if I knew what I was doing. He also asked if it was smart to start on this project at 4:30 on a Sunday evening.

"Sure, I've seen it done on TV a hundred times and I looked up instructions on the net. I bet I'll be done by dinnertime." I laughed back!

Basically it was a success. It closes, it locks and I did not break the leaded glass window while installing it.

I still have to make some adjustments before replacing the trim. Actually, I have to start over. Somehow I managed to get it dead on plumb and level. But then I managed to knock it out of plumb while nailing it in. I did not discover this until I installed the knob and deadbolt. And they would not latch.

Crap on a keyring!

After another hour of messing with the door, I got it to latch and lock. Then I messed with it for another hour without making it any better. Or worse. At 10:30 I decided it was "good enough".

The worst part of all, now I have to wait until Friday to tackle it again, since The Boss Lady goes back to work in about 5 hours and 25 minutes. I am planning on using that time to get some GOOD advice (and maybe some help) for the next time I tackle the front door.

But the new front door sure is pretty and the window is really sparkly. And some day I am sure I will feel really good about saving the $250 installation fee. But not until after next Friday.