Thursday, December 6, 2012

Dooo Dooo Dooo, Lookin' Out My Back Door

I wish I loved my back yard.

Heck, I wish I LIKED my back yard...

Alas, my back door is the way to this...


And this...


And a lot more nasties that you're better off not seeing (why can't anyone spare ME of it?!)...

But that doesn't mean that I have to neglect my back DOOR, does it?


My builder-grade slider that gets stuck if tiny gravel gets on the track.


That's usually covered with cheap IKEA curtains....

Well, I want to point something out to you guys that gets me giddy...


Look. At. Those. Doors.

Don't you just want to stroke them..?

Well, they're only $650.

Let me say that again..

They are only six hundred and fifty dollars.

Take a second.

Let that sink in.....

Doesn't it feel good? Ahhhhhhh.

There's a problem, though, but this girl that likes to tear down arches and walls isn't afraid of it. You see.... This doorway is 24" wider than my current rough opening.

Know what that means?

It means major structural work on an exterior wall that could possibly result in my roof caving in. Minor detail...

But my step-dad (mentioned here, here and here - an amazing carpenter) reassures me it could be done. So I am putting this out into the blogosphere that I WILL be getting these doors. I've been saving and have just a "little" left to go to cover the doors + taxes + delivery + supplies to widen my rough opening ($250 - not exactly a drop in the bucket, but... I'm SOOOOO close).

So I'm warning you guys that a lot of little projects are being put off so that I can get these doors. Trust me, it's going to be worth it.

Do you die over these doors too? Or am I just nuts for even entertaining the idea of major structural work? Or both...? Probably both...


5 comments:

  1. They are going to look great! Definitely will be worth all the work and money you'll put into it.

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  2. So,

    demo the old door + having it hauled away
    cutting out 2 feet of wall + hauling away the debris
    reframing the opening including a new header
    drywall and stucco/painting both

    and THEN you get some big muscled folks to lift that monster into place.

    So you'll have all that done by lunch time, knowing you.

    Just curious, is there room between the existing door and the cabinets or will you have to cut out some wall on both sides?

    I so want to do this to my house! I've been jonesing to do it for years! You are going to be my role model and motivation!

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    Replies
    1. You know the funniest part of this? I actually removed the door already on Black Friday (was planning on just getting a door the same size as my rough opening, but that fell through... long story). Had to put it back. That was actually not hard to do at all (well, it would've been without Muscles, I couldn't lift it myself!). Hauling it away? Meh, I'll throw it into my MIL's truck and donate to ReStore. Putting the new one in place? The doors/windows come off, so you set the frame (harder than it sounds, I'm sure) and then put the doors/windows in. What worries me is supporting the roof while we replace the header.

      Apparently they make jacks for that...

      There's about 30" on either of the door, so I plan to steal 12" from both sides. The only thing it'll "bother" is my recycle bin. I'll have to figure out somewhere else for it to go.

      I'm having a tough time remembering your back door. Is it next to your dining table (to the right when looking at it from the kitchen) or is it to the left of the sofa..? Are you planning on expanding your rough opening, or just replacing with a similarly sized door?

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    2. There's a dining nook to the East of the living room where the slider is. As much as I adore the side panels on your photo I think I'd stick with the same sized door.

      Setting the new frame would be the challenge. Everything square and plumb is what you have to take your time to get right.

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  3. Love the new door. I have faith in you. I was beginning to wonder what happened to you!

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