Nicola and Wilson’s new front door

Wilson dropped me a note a few weeks back. He and his wife Nicola recently bought a house in Marin that really needed a new front door.

We've done a few in the area, but never one that opened into the house directly — most Eichler doors open into an atrium. This presented a bit of a challenge as the door needed to not only be good looking, but also weatherproof, which required weatherstripping, a solid threshold and a better attention to fit as everything needs to seal up nicely.

A few emails later and a trip up to get the door for matching, I was back on site fitting the new door, threshold and weatherstripping. The results were quite nice.

"Hey Hunter. It’s the best door ever, no question." – Nicola

(Before and after // Thanks to Wison and Nicola for the photos)

The previous setup also had a screen door that was attached that scarred the frame. With the install, I was able to remove everything back to the frame and sand everything flush for a new, smooth finish as well as fill in as many holes and defects as possible. It's always nice to start from a clean slate.

The door features the "Redneckmodern" combo of knob, escutcheon, deadbolt, satin-nickel hinges… and in this case, aluminum door sweep and threshold. The old door has weatherstripping that was screwed to the exterior trim, but with the new install, I used "kerf-in" weatherstripping which is installed under the door stop and is more hidden from view (and ultimately a better seal).

Nicola and Wilson chose the color (Citronette) from the Behr palette. As usual we used Behr Ultra Exterior (Matte)* and the coverage was even more impressive than usual. On a light, bright color like this, I was expecting to have to do up to six coats, but I think this might be three at most… plus, the matte finish cleans up well, touches up well and has a nice, soft sheen that complements the overall verve quite well. (*Worth noting: I'm fully aware that Behr is not the choice of most pros, but through trial and error, this has proven to work well over and over — better than many "pro" paints… but do not try the semi-gloss version.)