A Modest Bungalow in North East Portland.

Time for a Craftsman Update.

Ill-fitting & poorly weatherstripped. The client agreed that the entire jamb assembly needed replacement as well.

Now that’s a fancy threshold.
Please note the slate-tile overlapping the wood sill. Removing the original wood sill without damaging the tile proved challenging.

Note how clean & attractive an Oak Threshold can be. If there’s good protection from wind-driven moisture, this is a nice option.

One of my favorite door-bottom weatherstrips is this pile (brush) product that we frequently route into the bottom of the door.

To help deal with issues related to the tile flooring, our door-mechanic Tony ran the ears of the Oak Threshold all the way under the interior trim.

The Dentil Shelves with the large teeth have been enjoying a pretty long run of renewed popularity over the past decade or so.

The Simpson Craftsman Model 6863 is a handsome door.

For more handsome Simpson door models, go to www.simpsondoor.com

One of the many handsome neighborhoods in Tualatin.

A well protected front entryway. This wood door has stood the test of time in large part due to its protection from the elements.

But the 15 panel door model has grown a bit dated in the eyes of some folks. It is time for a facelift.

The tall 147A Pemko interlocking aluminum threshold would suggest that someone once had carpet on the interior side of this door.

Antique Brass is so nineteen eighties and nineties.

Once again we are given opportunity to demonstrate our expertise in hanging a new door into an original jamb assembly.

This was a job we did for John May of Creekstone Designs, who provided the door. See; creekstonedesigns.com

John also provided the new INOX lock set which we installed. See; www.unisonhardware.com

As you can see, we replaced the old interlocking threshold with a considerably lower profile anodized bronze aluminum threshold, as well as some matching sill-cover material that extends over the sidelight sill as well. We routed-in some pile compression weatherstripping into the bottom of the door that seats up against the top of the threshold when the door is in the closed position.

One might understandably wonder why not go back to the mill or clear aluminum threshold finish to match the brushed chrome handle-set. In this case, we probably recommended the bronze finish for two reasons. It wears extremely well, and it goes well with the wood-tones in both the door & the interior flooring. It makes for a great accent color and really hides all the wear and tear.

Exterior before shot.

We hung the door into the original jamb, with the one exception being that we replaced the strike-jamb because it and the corresponding interior trim piece were damaged.

Interior After Shot.

Interior After Shot

If you live long enough, it’s somewhat interesting to watch various fads come and go and then come back again. In the 70’s, the naturally finished cedar slates were all the rage and glass block had become rather dated in many folks eyes.

In the 90’s, when we did this job, the cedar slates were dated and glass block had made a comeback. Almost 2 decades later, the brass-camed art-glass is not so much in demand anymore, and narrow-reed obscure glass has made a comeback.

It’s difficult to discern from this photo, but this is an oversized door. 42″ X 96″ or perhaps it was 42″ X 84″…it was one of those. And for whatever reasons, Simpson & Buffelen did not make this otherwise very common 2020 wagon-wheel door in those dimensions back in those days. So when the client showed us the door model she wanted; we simply contacted a local sash shop to fabricate the door.

When the client saw this door installed, she loathed it. Yes, that’s what we’re telling you. Gordon remembers she actually spanked herself on the back of one of her hands with her other hand and said “bad girl,” “bad girl!” Why would we want to relate a story like this? Uh…because it really happened? And because we hope that it serves as a cautionary tale in some fashion regarding perhaps giving careful thought or seeking counsel, input and/or advice regarding ordering custom doors? To this particular client’s credit, she never for an instant attempted to blame us or anyone else for whatever the source of her displeasure was. But we suspect it had to do with what the dimensions did proportionately to this otherwise standard door model. But it was never really explained fully. And we were reluctant to dwell on whatever it was for what we presume are obvious reasons.

This was an upscale split-level home of some sort in Lake Oswego. This was not your stereotypical neighborhood that one might expect to find a slew of split-level homes in, which the fact that it was in L.O. should tell you, if you know anything about this region. So…you might understand that when this client didn’t like the swing of the door as it related to the stairs just inside to the interior of the door, he didn’t merely change the swing, he changed the entire door and sidelight assembly configuration as shown in the next photo.

The same model door, just a bit more proportionately balanced to the adjoining exterior walls perhaps, although the previous configuration didn’t look bad in our opinion. It apparently solved our client’s dislike of the traffic flow problems going in and out of the house as it related to the stairwells. Remember, you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.

Time to invest in that veritable curb appeal. Having been asked by our client for ideas, we direct her to several web-sites…

…whereupon she settles upon a Jeld-Wen door model.

She selects several features from which we have Jeld-Wen’s service department draw-up a spec sheet.

The original door assembly is removed and prepared for that better place where all good doors go. The rebuilding center.

Our service crew embarks upon the task of assembling the jamb assembly for a custom onsite fit & install.

As you can see, we had the door, sidelights, jamb-assembly & all related trim materials pre-finished to our clients specifications.

The Pemko 145D Interlocking aluminum threshold. Anodized bronze.

A speakeasy.

An interior after shot.

I think our client made a classy choice and use of colors.

Before Shot.

A dated door.

A nice upgrade with a much classier screen door. A word of warning though, exterior doors finished naturally like this on the exterior don’t last long due to ultra violet rays.

The Simpson 7860 wood door with insulated glass. Go to Simpsondoor.com to see more Simpson doors.

This N.W. Portland home was built by those who understood what architectural character is. It’s a Portland classic.

And personally…I liked the original door, mostly because it was so unique. Check out those unusually shaped panels with raised-moulding. It’s not something you see every day, and it speaks a language that matches the era of the home’s overall architecture.

The client could have had the paint and/or the stain changed. We could have changed the glass to anything. We could have upgraded the glass to insulated glass. We could have fixed how well the door fit, worked & locked. And we could have really tweaked the weatherstripping system to make it a primo door opening.

But I learned long ago to keep my mouth shut when my opinion is not solicited. And sometimes when it is solicited. The new door is nice too, but I’m not certain that it fits the house. Perhaps a little too contemporary. I believe this is an 8′ tall version of Simpson’s Stratford 4670 door with narrow-reed obscure glass.

Our client liked the overall opening. They liked the sidelights, and there was nothing wrong with the jamb assembly.

They just wanted a little more light coming into the entry area. Thus, a new 8′ tall version of the…

…Simpson St. Tropez IV 4243 Fir Wood Door. Don’t forget that you can click on the illustration to enlarge it for a slightly better view.

New locks also.

A modest bungalow in N.E. Portland.

Time for an upgrade of that all-important first impression and a home’s center piece that opens to all subsequent impressions.

A classic mortise-case lock. Probably over a hundred years old…some of these are like the Clydesdales of locks.

Our client’s pick for her new front door, which we hung into her original door jamb assembly, which can greatly minimize the impact to the original trim & especially the lath & plaster walls.

And the new lock she chose.

As is often the case in the Willamette Valley, the date chosen for the door-install met us with some precipitation. Not a big problem for those of us who have learned to navigate the unpredictable predictability of working on exterior envelopes twelve months of the year.

We’ve become masters of the quick lean-to or the tarp strategically draped when a porch, carport or garage is not available or sufficient. As you can see, we also provided & installed a new wood screen door on this 42″ wide door opening.

Bruce kerf’s the original door jamb for the new silicone compression weatherstripping system on the top & sides of the opening.
On the bottom of the door, we routed in a Pemko Pile weatherstripping product number A372P. www.pemko.com.

This “pile” weatherstripping works particularly well for use with an original or a new oak threshold such as are so common on this era of home. But you do need a porch or storm door to protect the threshold area from wind-driven moisture, as this home has.

The new door represents another example of the huge resurgence in popularity of the craftsman-style doors in the northwest in the first decade of this new century. The diminished amount of glass in this door style still brought lite into the entryway while at the same time provided a a greater sense of security.