They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. I say the door of a house is a gateway to refuge and repose while it’s windows are portals that should bring light and energy but still contribute to a feeling of shelter and security. Unfortunately, while our windows were new, there were some outstanding issues that needed to be addressed and our front door was a bit of a disaster that we needed to remedy quickly.
One of the things we did immediately upon taking possession was change the locks on the front, back and garage doors. My brother JP had come to help us with the move and took care of installing the new hardware. I had chosen a Weiser Hawthorne Handleset in brushed nickel for the front door. If there’s a curse word JP didn’t use installing it, I’d be surprised. Turns out, the door and frame it sat in were a big part of the issue.
The front door wasn’t hung correctly in the door frame so the latch was not aligned properly to the strike plate. Locking and unlocking the door took special instructions. The back door was not much better. It looked like it had been kicked in at some point, and had a gap at the bottom of about a 1/4 of an inch. I was truly astonished that we didn’t have mice running in and out.
We contacted a friend at Clera Windows and Doors and got started on the process of selecting new front and rear doors.
Our rear door enters from the backyard to our stairway that connects the main floor kitchen to the basement. For the rear door I wanted to be able to let in a lot of natural light and fresh air in the summer so I inquired about putting in a screen door. Rod showed us an alternative to putting in a combination of doors that would help us achieve what we were looking for in one door, year round. The door he suggested would have a full sized screened window that would give natural light to the entryway year round. Xena absolutely loves it as she can sit and watch her squirrel friends from the safety of the house.
For the front door we chose a steel Victoria Shaker door with a stained glass Liano window in the top and a dentil shelf. I chose Sherwin Williams Rainstorm for the colour as Clera will do any colour and this one reminded me of the Mediterranean Sea-calm and relaxing, yet bold and sophisticated.
As mentioned in our previous post about closing, the windows needed to be caulked and flashed. Our friend Rod arranged for the person installing the doors to do this for us also. What a difference this small detail being finished made in the look of our home.
I want to close out by mentioning that we’re quite satisfied with the windows that were installed on the house. They’re actually pretty good quality and we’ve had no issues with how they function. Only problem was in the slapdash installation job someone did when they put them in and that the previous owner never did finish the job before we closed. As we move throughout the interior renovation you’ll see how we had to address the interior framing and trim on every window room by room. For now we’ll fermé la Porte on windows and doors.
Chateau D’Avignon 