New Oak Front Door

The original front door of the church was a wooden bi-parting sliding door, which was no longer in working order. There were 2" gaps around the door, allowing in wind, rain and very cold in winter. I decided to remove the door and build a new solid oak door, of my own design. I wanted a single swinging door, which would create a much better seal to the frame. The door opening was 5 feet wide and 8 feet tall with a half circle arch top. To support a single swinging solid oak door of this size and 3" thick, a steel frame had to be special made and installed into the existing stone opening. Finding oak timbers 3" think to build the door was not possible, so I had to go to a sawmill and have them custom cut

. A friend directed me to a sawmill in the area that was wonderful to work with. They cut the oak timbers from a single log already felled and dried. Dried timber was very important for this project, as the door would have warped and cracked if built with green, wet wood. The mill owner allowed me to use his large shop machinery to construct the door, at a very reasonable cost. I spent a full week constructing the door at the mill and very much enjoyed my time there. Wonderful people and now great friends. The finished door weighted approx 300 pounds, thus the need for a heavy steel frame. To hang the door required 4 ball bearing steel hinges and 4 large solid brass ornamental hinges. I sourced and purchased a brass bell, 2 large brass slide bolts and a brass rim lock. I also had to make a new large brass key, to reach thru a 3" thick door. To mount the door in place, required 4 people and was not an easy job. A magnetic weather strip was mounted in a rebated on the door edge, to seal against the steel frame. All in all the finished door has become an outstanding feature of my new home. What do you think?

Existing stone opening with new steel frame

Newly fabricated door, just stained and sealed

New door just hung

Outside of new door with brass hardware

Inside of new door with brass hardware