Building an Entry Door, Part 3 of 3

See how I started building this door
See how I frosted plexiglass and added trim

It is partly because I built it with my hands that I love our entry door.  Having day dreamed of the design sketched on paper and now seeing it every day is surreal.  We do so appreciate it.  The best part is, it was not difficult to do.  You can build your own front entry door too!

After filling the holes, sanding, glazing and caulking the plexiglass in place, we painted our door deep purple with the gallon of leftover paint we used to paint our small end tables, our painted canvas floorcloth, and rear media console. 

Before the door could be complete, I glazed the plexiglass to the timbron I used as stops, added glazier points and more trim to keep the glass in place and waited 3 days, per the instructions on the glazing compound, before it was time to caulk and paint.

Materials (from building, frosting, glazing, trimming, to finishing)

• 2x6 - 20 ft. ($0, family garage)
• Ryobi Wood Door Lock Installation Kit ($13, Home Depot)
• Everbuilt hinges ($6, Home Depot, purchased last year)
• Schlage door knobs ($30, Home Depot, purchased last year)
• Door stop ($2, Home Depot)

$51 for hardware and the door installation kit

• Timbron quarter round ($0, scrap shoe moulding)
• 2x2 @ 2 ft long ($0.25, shorty from Re-Use Hawai'i)
• 1/2" A and B finished Maple/Birch plywood ($0, leftover from kitchen cabinets and media console)
• Quarter round, 3/4" wide @ 16 feet ($10, City Mill)
• Half round, 1/2" wide @ 8 feet ($4, City Mill)
• DAP Glazing compound ($4, Amazon.com)
• OOK Glazier Points ($3, Home Depot)
• Rustoleum Frosted Glass Spray Paint ($5, Home Depot)
• 24" x 48" x .25" Plexiglass ($70, City Mill)

$97 (rounded up) for plexiglass, glazing supplies, and trim.

Hitachi cordless drill, Ryobi miter saw, Skil circular saw, Kreg Jig Jr., 2 1/2" pocket hole screws, putty knife, red sharpie, latex caulking, Royal Purple semi-gloss, Olympic paint (tools and supplies already owned).

$148 (rounded up) to build our entry way door.

By reusing wood and trim as available, the bulk of the cost came from the Plexiglass ($70) and the door hardware ($51).

Process

Glazing plexiglass atop timbron stops

Adding trim and waiting 3 days to paint

I had 3 days to look at our door with the mixed natural woods showing, and while I liked the look, the bottom panel bothered me.  After talking with several people about my options, it became clear that it might be safest to caulk and paint slightly onto the plexiglass, per glazing directions, but I did get to enjoy the way the natural wood coordinated with the woods in our kitchen.

We painted our door purple, though.  And we love it just as well.  :)

Last step, take a few minutes to install hardware after caulking and paint are truly cured.

I have 5 days of summer vacation left, and I'll be spending this time updating our kitchen so it will be functional.  I'll have cabinet drawers and doors to show by Saturday, if all goes well! =D

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