Dan had a door in much need of replacement. I call it the "conquista-door" because of the heavy-handed carvings that would be more appropriate on a spanish revival home... but it's ill-placed nonetheless.
A day later, he had something more Eichler-appropriate. Check out his blog, too, see what else is afoot.
Like the "Orange Door", I used Schlage hardware and headed to Dolan's and San Rafael Lumber for the materials.
One thing we've learned on our own door and this one is that yellow paint covers terribly and takes about 6 coats to cover completely (whereas the previous dark-orange door was perfect after 3 coats)... something to consider when picking a color and looking at a time-line.
Nonetheless, we seem to have gotten Eichler front door replacement down to a science. Drop me a line if you need a new one...
Hi,Do you know where can I buy an eichler door like the one in the photo? I live in CA (south bay area)
Posted by: Yaron | January 05, 2012 at 10:20 AM
Hi, we're in desperate need of a new front door, but ours is a bit tricky. The door isn't actually in a door frame; instead, it's mounted between two posts that make up a front fence. Also, it's exposed to the elements so it really ought to be fiberglass. The current wood door is falling apart. Sounds strange, but I have photos that would explain it better than words. We're in a custom Eichler on the Stanford campus. Any suggestions and/or help would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by: Carolyn | January 16, 2012 at 11:49 AM
Hi guys: Not sure how I missed these comments. Sorry for the slow reply.
Yaron: Check with a local door shop in San Jose/Cupertino. I hear Southern Lumber is good, but look for a place with a "door and window" shop. You're not buying an "Eichler door" per se, just a standard door that is drilled for a 5in backset. Make sure to get an exterior-grade door (uses exterior-appropriate glue). I use birch-faced exterior doors. Some of the Eichler homes I've worked on use 1-3/8in thick doors as original (like mine) which is a bit thinner/lightweight than the 1-3/4. I prefer the 1-3/8 for feel and it's plenty strong.
Carolyn: Actually, Eichler doors aren't hung in traditional jambs and the exterior doors are mounted to posts like you mentioned (like our front door). When I re-hung our bathroom door, I used a pre-hung for the appropriate weather resistance and built-in threshold, but it made the passage much thinner and the look bulkier (and I'd not do it again and in fact, for michael's bathroom door, I mounted to the post as original and added weatherstripping and a threshold later.)... For yours -- depending on the amount of exposure -- you could use a steel or fiberglass door. One thing to keep in mind is that many of these doors use MDF as a core, so it's really a wash. If you want true weather-resistence, look for a fiberglass door with a poly-wood and foam core. honestly, though, an exterior-grade birch door properly primed and painted and capped with aluminum should do fine. Painted wood is exposed all the time (siding, fascia, etc.).
Posted by: Hunter Wimmer | July 22, 2012 at 09:43 AM