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Creating a Period Reproduction Art-and-Crafts Door A less than sublime entryway gets an elegant period treatment. From "Restoration Realities" episode DRTR-205

Steve and Suzannah Fotopulos found their Nashville bungalow by doing some web-surfing while they were living in Greece. When they actually saw the house, they fell in love with it. After purchasing their historic home, restoration work began in earnest. They started with demolition of outdated electric and plumbing systems and also replaced structural beams and some of the mechanicals inside the house.

For this Restoration Realities project, it's time to do a little cosmetic work. The entry to the house features a lightweight patio-style door with metal and plastic elements. The current door also features hardware that falls somewhere short of aesthetic splendour. The homeowners' desire is to replace the cheap and later-design door with a period-authentic one in the arts-and-crafts style.

The project house: a historic bungalow in Nashville, Tenn.

Homeowners Steve and Suzannah Fotopulos.

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The hope is that an architectural accent that is more period correct will create visual enhancement and add character to the front of the house. Preliminary costing, however, indicated that a genuine period piece would likely run in the neighborhood of $2000. Restoration Realities helps this couple create an authentic looking arts-and-crafts replica door--and one that doesn't carry such a high price tag. Also, to stay true to the period style while complementing the look of the stained wooden door, Steve and Suzannah locate a source for reproduction hardware.

The existing door is not true to the architectural style of the house. It also features hardware that's about as generic as it comes.

Reproduction hardware will offer a look much better suited to the arts-and-crafts style.

Aside from the door itself, the door trim inside will need to be replaced as well. The front-door header had evidently been replaced at some earlier time with a wide trim piece that was inconsistent with that on the other doors and windows in the house.

The front-door header trim is inconsistent with other trim work inside the house.

The appropriate and original style of door-header as seen on an interior doorway.

	The basic design is sketched out beforehand.

Following is a listing of the materials and tools used to complete this project, along with a summary of the basic steps in fashioning, staining the arts-and-crafts door, replacing the trim and installing the door.

Materials:

3' x 7'solid core oak slab (1)
tempered glass (3 pieces)
piece of 6/4 oak, 60" L (1)
pieces of 1x6 oak 96" L (2)
pieces of 1x 8 poplar interior trim 96" L (3)
lockset and deadbolt (1)
ball bearing hinges (4)
wood glue
brad nails
finish nails
white latex caulk (1 tube)
sanding sealer (1 quart)
spar lacquer finish (1 gallon)
weather strip as required
door sweep as required
rags
plastic sheeting (to cover door opening while sanding)
plywood sheet for work surface
duct tape
blue painters tape
paint brushes (sable for oil paint; polyester/nylon for latex)
two-part polyester resin

Tools:

10" contractor table saw
10 or 12" sliding compound miter saw
8" dado blade set
3/4" router with fence
7-1/4" circular saw
cordless drill and screwdriver attachments
jig saw and blades
12" thickness planer
power hand plane
orbital palm sander
belt sander
pneumatic finish nailer
pneumatic brad nailer
air compressor and hoses
mortising bit for router
1/4" dado bit for router
V-grooved bit for router
electrical cords
sawhorses
drop cloths
hole saw for lockset installation
butterfly bit for lockset installation
nail-set
finish hammer
wood chisels
wood clamps

Note: The steps are designed for a stained front door to resemble an arts and crafts period door. If the owner wants the door to be painted, then poplar can be substituted in lieu of oak for both the slab and dimensional stock.

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