In 1844 Oregon City was incorporated by the Provisional Legislature, making it the first incorporated city west of the Rocky Mountains.

The Clackamas County Courthouse was built in 1937. We have no idea whether or not these are the original doors, but it seems doubtful. The cloth awning would suggest that someone eventually came to realize how much weather this opening endures without it.

And that might suggest that the lesson was learned at the expense of at least one previous set of doors. Not to mention that they probably didn’t have panic hardware on these doors in 1937. But of course, that’s all speculative.

Someone has determined that it is time to spruce up the opening with a set of new doors. Just like people, the years have a way of showing up on these doors in one form or another, revealing the high mileage.

Replica doors are specified. Careful dimensional information is acquired by our company, documented and transmitted to a millwork in Scappoose that is unfortunately no longer in existence. The new replica 2-inch thick Oak doors were spot on.

You will note that we hung the new doors into the original jamb-assembly assembly, saving money and keeping all the original trim-components from the potential travails of removal and reinstallation.

The one departure from original replica doors was that we did upgrade the glass from single pane to insulated glass. And we are talking true-divided glass, not simulated divided glass (SDL).

Fortunately, the muntin-profiles around the glass on the original doors were larger than normal, which facilitated the upgrade without the diminishment of the dimensional and aesthetic integrity of the original doors.

You will also notice that we did away with the vertical-rod panic devices by installing a Von Duprin Removable Mull-Post.

This facilitated the provision & installation of Von Duprin non-vertical-rod panic devices, which are much less temperamental and low maintenance. Also notice the Handicap Door Operators in the previous photo.

The NAPA Auto Parts Store out on Shaw Street off of the Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy. in Aloha. I think the store owners were tired of paying for the maintenance on a pair of very old Aluminum Storefront Doors. Unfortunately we were not consulted regarding what doors might be the better choice in this particular application, for if we had been, we would have certainly suggested that the problem wasn’t the aluminum, but rather the age and the grade of the doors.

The new wood doors look pretty good in these photos, and no doubt looked even better once they were painted. Compared to aluminum doors, they do tend to be warmer, more inviting, and are less sterile. But we doubt that they lasted very long given the wear and tear this opening is no doubt subject to. Not to mention the exposure to the elements. In fact, upon just checking “Google Streetview” we confirmed that they have been changed back to aluminum doors as part of a major remodel. They opened up the entire front of the building and installed a large storefront aluminum window array that replaced a significant amount of the concrete block wall and moved the door opening over to the left side of that masonry pillar. A nice improvement.

On N.W. 29th Street in Portland. In 2006, they were calling this place Staver Station. According to their Website, it is now being called Staver Locomotive. But when we went back to acquire some after shots in 2013, they had not yet erected any signage.

We think it is a miniature train enthusiasts pet project for showcasing all things related to miniature trains of all stripe. We wish we had room here to show you some of the train track setups, because they are pretty elaborate.

Anyway, we were hired by Co-Bella Design to install a Nana folding-door assembly into the above opening back in 2006.

This interior door application called for a flush floor track application. Here we are shown laying out the placement of the track for the concrete cutting, employing the use of masking tape to mark where the mortise is to be located.

Master Journeyman door mechanic Jared Anderson goes about the task of prepping the doors and installing the hardware on-site.

Here we have a shot of the floor-track after we installed it into the masonry floor.

And the finished product shown here with the active door open for basic entry into and exiting from the room.

And for when the occasion calls for it, the doors are all opened and stacked to the side.

One might assume that this building will (in part at least) serve as a multi-function facility where guests are perhaps treated to live music while they roam about looking at all the trains and the miniature terrains upon which they run while sipping cocktails?

We really are not privy to those things, but one thing we do believe to be certain, and that is that you would be hard pressed to find a folding door installation executed with greater care and expertise.

West Hills School on Southwest Vermont.

Wood doors being used on a childrens school is a prospect I probably do not even need to speak about, other than to say that it translates into job security for those who repair and replace doors.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, these decisions were not left up to us, so the old wood doors were replaced with new wood doors. You might note the crack in the door panel reflecting some of the damage.

This is a shot of the hinge edge of one door at the top, if you look closely you might make out the heads of three fasteners that someone has installed in an attempt to reattach the vertical door-stile to the top-rail.

The doors do appear to be somewhat high mileage as evidenced by the ratty looking varnish on the interior side.

The panic hardware on these doors was not the best grade product to begin with, so it has no doubt been causing the maintenance crew considerable grief for some time.

The doors are very ill fitting as evidenced by the rub-marks up at the top of strike jamb.

Not to mention the light seeping through over the top of this closed door as viewed from the interior.

And so it was that we were employed to provide, hang & weatherstrip five of the exterior doors & related hardware into the original wood jambs with LCN 4041 hydraulic door closers and Von-Duprin panic devices.

The willingness to go full-tilt on the best commercial hardware money can buy was a good call by someone in the expenditure department. The wood doors may get beat up, but the hardware should be very low maintenance & durable.

As many folks know, most exterior commercial doors need to be outswing for reasons of fire egress.
And some buildings, such as this ballroom/theater?

?building also required vertical-rod panic devices. Because these doors exited to a roof and were rarely used, we recommended Von Duprin model 22 panic devices.

Fisher Development out of Sand Francisco was engaged in a substantial remodel of a commercial property at Bridgeport Mall in Tualatin.

Our firm was employed to prep the exterior doors and jambs and to install some commercial door hardware. Specifically, new Hydraulic…

…Door Closers & Vertical-Rod & Non-Vertical-Rod Panic devices.

This is but a sampling of the work we are contracted to do for numerous contractors and remodelers, both commercial & residential.

So the question that begs to be asked here is why not have their own guys install the hardware…

And the not too obscure answer is that there is considerable value gained by employing the services of a specialty contractor who possess the degree of skill…

…that only comes by means of years and years of repeated practice and experience dealing with the unforeseen variables that arise in this specialty niche.

Northwest Portland. Not too far from Rock Creek PCC.

We filed this under Commercial Door installation because it’s basically to be used as space for the property owners business and the new doors are to have commercial hardware on them.

Even though technically, the property is no doubt zoned residential.

Our technicians Jay & Terrance go about the job of installing the vertical-rod panic devices, hydraulic door-closers and the rest of the hardware.

We also provided & installed weatherstripping products for these seemingly plain, yet adequately elegant wood flush veneer doors.

Mildly rustic yet elegant, don’t you think?

I would think it not an easy architectural marriage.

The Banquet Facility for the Rheinlander Restaurant out on Sandy Blvd.

Time for some less weathered and less dated doors.

As we describe here in our portfolio over and over again, one of our skill-sets that sets us apart from the competition is the fact that our technicians are really mechanics.

We don’t merely set pre-hung door assemblies. We have the wherewithal to bring out door-slabs and to machine them on-site to fit the existing jambs.

We size them to width, bevel them, cut them to length, mortise for the hinges, prep for and install the hardware.

Many times, this minimally invasive surgery can translate into saved monies in the form of there being less impact to adjoining trim components and the walls, both interior…

…and exterior. When we’re done, it’ll look like this fine establishment has somehow employed such fine care and maintenance, that they’ve always had these nice looking, well-kept doors.

In large part this will be because all the adjoining surfaces and products remained original. Technicians Nate & Jared are asked to pause for a photo op.

We did a number of these for a very old commercial apartment structure full of these small studio apartments. By having us provide & installing a set of double-doors…

…and stopping-in some sidelight glass on the sides, they were able to market the apartments as having two separate rooms, and thus charge more.

The historic Wax Building on the corner of N.W. 3rd & Burnside.

It’s time for the 1926 doors to be retired and to give an incoming new business a…

…little more curb appeal, while also increasing the weatherstripping seal…

…and diminishing the effort needed to operate the doors because they fit the opening correctly.