Doors and Windows

COMMENTS:  The classic fifties ranch house my client bought had several faults, one of which was a lack of easy access to the rear deck. But it did have an entire wall of distinctive owner-built windows made with two-by-twelve lumber. When she asked me to provide a new entry door in an existing wall, we designed something that would seem as if it had been built by the original owners.

The pattern of the door's glass sections matches the pattern of the original windows in the house.

The mahogany outer frame is solidly mortised together, and holds an inner frame made of beams in the same configuration as the original windows.

We cut open the original wall to add this door, and installed the door frame with casing to match the house's trim details.

"I could never in a million years have envisioned this door the way it turned out," said the customer.

"I was ready to buy a standard glass door from the lumberyard, but Samurai Woodworks' design for the door is more in keeping with the feel of the house. It's something that wouldn't have occured to me to try, but it wound up being so much more than we had expected!"

The glass frame is finished with an oil-based primer and enamel paint. The outer frame has three coats of clear satin spar varnish.

WOOD:  Genuine Mahogany frame; Poplar inner glass frame.

Doors and Windows