Tutorial: How to Get a Custom Front Door (And a New Window) for $100

(After)

Anyone who knows my family knows where they can find us after 6:00pm.  Right here, on our front porch.  Every night.  All year long.

One day I got to thinking... If I switched out the front door for a full glass door,  we could enjoy the porch from inside as well.  Sounds easy, right?  

Just order a new door, remove the old one and plop it in.  

 After the door guy at the "Home Improvement Store" composed himself he explained to me that I would need to hire a professional installer to remove our decorative molding and re-build the entire door jam to accommodate a new door. 

He also mentioned full glass pane doors like the one I had in mind cost $1000 and up 

(10x my budget for this project).  

Here is my $100 solution:

(Before)

(After)

Instead of replacing the door, I had a glass insert installed in the existing steel slab door.  

For $100.

(Before)

(After)

(Before)

(After)

No professional installation required. 

First, I removed the door by unscrewing the hinges.  Then I covered the opening with a tarp while I ran the door up to my local door and window supplier (where I pre-ordered the glass insert).  

I brought a can of Krylon black spray paint with me.  I asked the window company to spray paint the inside of the grid before applying it to the glass.  I knew I would be painting it black and did not want the white back side of the grid to show from the opposite side:

After I screwed the door back in place, I gave it a coat of primer.  Then, a coat of black exterior semi gloss paint.

Now, we can enjoy this:

from inside... 

Not only did we acquire a great new view but the natural light we get from the new window is fantastic. 

 

According to Murphie, this was the best home improvement project ever. 

For information on my affordable online design consultation service, please Click Here.

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