# Oak front door ...



## gidon (28 Mar 2006)

Well it only took a year (well a baby did get in the way to be fair to me!) but here's my Oak front door with a few coats of Danish oil:









Full progress shots here:
http://www.tregarras.com/photos/v/woodw ... front_door

I enjoyed making it but don't think I'd ever do it again - unless I had a workshop at least twice the size! Total costs with glass and hardware under £150 - considering I got quoted over £200 just to hang the door I don't think that's too bad!

What I found most tricky was doing everything on a larger scale - my usual methods for cutting tenons for instance were a little stretched! Not to mention dimensioning 6' length of 2" thick Oak! And as I think Aragorn warned me about over a year ago - it's not easy keeping those stiles true over that length with a 1m long planer / thicknesser.

All comments welcome.

Cheers

Gidon


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## LyNx (28 Mar 2006)

Top marks =D> 

Andy


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## Newbie_Neil (28 Mar 2006)

Well done Gidon, an excellent job.

Cheers
Neil


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## Alf (28 Mar 2006)

Proper job, Gidon. =D> And in the words of John Mills in Ice Cold in Alex, "worth waiting for".  

Cheers, Alf


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## Chris Knight (28 Mar 2006)

Gidon,
Well done, that is a fine looking door.


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## Paul Chapman (28 Mar 2006)

A nice job, Gidon =D> 

Paul


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## judder (28 Mar 2006)

Well done - that looks great !


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## Scott (28 Mar 2006)

Very nice door Gidon!

What glue did you use?

Cheers


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## gidon (28 Mar 2006)

Thanks for the comments folks - very kind. 
Scott - I used Titebond III. Doesn't really need to be waterproof since it is in a small open porch but still ...
Cheers
Gidon


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## Waka (28 Mar 2006)

Gidon

Supurb looking door, you must be proud of it.


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## gwaithcoed (28 Mar 2006)

Excellent looking door Gidon, you must be very proud of it.   

Alan.


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## Matt1245 (28 Mar 2006)

That looks great Gidon, fantastic work.

Matt.


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## simuk (29 Mar 2006)

Gidon ,
thats a fine looking door. I have just started an internal door & i no exactly what you are talking about when it comes to keeping the stiles true. For your bottom rail what formula did you use to get the tenon & haunch sizes. You have no weatherboard on door, is that because you have a stormproof threshold? What glass did you use? 

Simon


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## Philly (29 Mar 2006)

Gidon
Very nice, the Missus must be happy! =D> 
What next, a solid oak conservatory? :wink: 
Keep up the good work,
Philly


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## dedee (29 Mar 2006)

Gidon,
very nice. A whole year in the making. A bet there was a sense of relief as well as satisfaction not it is finished.

Andy


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## Mcluma (29 Mar 2006)

Gidon,

Nice Job,

And a top savings too.

McLuma


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## gidon (29 Mar 2006)

Thanks very much all.
Andy yes relief definately - it really hung over me for some reason especially the hanging of the door - which actually wasn't too bad after all!
Philly - missus was very happy - I missed the Christmas deadline but still . Next - looong overdue coffee table - in the design stage .
Simon - no formula I don't think - hard to remember now. I think I looked at other doors - it seems fairly standard. No weather board - although it's not fitted yet (I need to redo the sill), I'll fit some of the weatherseal to the bottom raised lip too. The weather seal stuffI used is superb - makes the door very water and air tight. And gives it a nice soft close too. I did plan to do all the internal doors too - but no chance of that now! Good luck with yours - would be interested to see how you get on.
Cheers
Gidon


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## LyNx (29 Mar 2006)

Nice idea with the glass. I'm looking at this at the moment. What size glazed units did you opt for?

Andy


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## ProShop (29 Mar 2006)

Nice looking door & nice touch with the glass Gidon.  

Just out of curiosity I did notice there was no haunches on the tennons though?? and no wedges ??.


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## gidon (29 Mar 2006)

Andy - the glass units were custom made and around 1.3m x 0.3m each. I had a lot of difficulty indentifying the glass we were after. We knew we wanted it frosty looking - but didn't want obscure glass - we wanted it smooth. There were a few options in the end - and we went for sandblasted (one sheet sandblasted on the inside). Cost twice as much I think but still not too bad - £50 for the two panels. 
Simon - just noticed I missed the question on the glass - so as above double glazed and toughend units.
Thanks FD - I wondered if someone would pick up the lack of wedges . I did intend to - but decided against it at the last minute - it's not directly in contact with the elements and I trust the glue ! With regard to the haunches - read in Joyce's book that nowadays people tend to leave them off so did! 
Cheers
Gidon


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## martyn2 (29 Mar 2006)

well done you should be justifbly prould of the door =D> =D> 

Martyn


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## JFC (29 Mar 2006)

Looks good ! Well done , want a job ?
I noticed no wedges also but the way glue has come on today i wonder if they are really needed but thats another subject . If you decide you want to put the wedges in you could still cut them out and do it while the door is hung . I quite often wedge a door after glue up if its been an buttocks to get square and true .


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## gidon (30 Mar 2006)

Thanks Martyn, JFC - a job hey? Would that mean I'd have to make more of them - thanks but no chance ! Yep as I said I have confidence in the glue .
Cheers
Gidon


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## syntec4 (30 Mar 2006)

Very Nice,
Well done.
Lee.


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## OPJ (30 Mar 2006)

That looks superb, well worth the wait indeed!  

I'd love tackle something very similar, replacing our own bowed front door with something of my own. How did you find the glazing part? I'm fine with the joinery, but wouldn't be confident tackling that first time?

It's unlikely to happen for me soon though - mother prefers the draught-proof uPVC option, as a bundle with our forthcoming conservatory.
I can't stand the sight of the stuff personally :? , but I see some sense when she says it has appeal when it comes to selling the property, I suppose.


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## gidon (31 Mar 2006)

Thanks chaps.
Oswaldo - the glazing is fairly easy to be honest. The slightly tricky bit was making the quarter round moulding - but you may be able to source that. You then cut a rebate for the glass, put some glazing putty (not sure proper name but comes on a reel and is very easy to apply) in the rebate, add the glass, seal the void with some low modulus sealant, mitre the beading and nail it in place. Not sure a uPVC door is more draft proof to be honest.
Cheers
Gidon


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## OPJ (9 Apr 2006)

You make it sound so easy gidon!  

Thanks. I guess I'll just have to be careful not to hit any speed bumps to fast on the way home from picking up the glass eh! :wink:


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## gidon (10 Apr 2006)

Don't know about that Olly! I think it was just easier than I thought it'd be. 
Cheers
Gidon


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