French Screen Door, Painted to match
Living in the south, one comes to truly appreciate the functionality of a screen door. Not only does it keep the summer bugs out, but, more importantly, it lets the freshness of the outdoors in anytime of the year. Installing a screen door reflects a desire on the part of the owner to be open to the world beyond one's home, rather than closing oneself off to that world. It is an invitation to let the breezes of that world into one's home space, to connect with them and to breathe them in.
This particular project allowed me to create just such a door for a home on Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
I designed the door to fit in an existing aluminum-clad doorjamb, and be resistant to the sharp claws of beloved family members. This meant heavy-duty pet screen in the top section and ¼” tempered glass in the lower portion.
The door was constructed of African sapele, chosen for its resistance to rot and insects. It’s also very hard and accepts paint finishes quite well.
Some of the challenges I faced on this project were: taking time away from my wife and brand new baby girl to finish the project and installation. While I was excited about this project, that excitement was nothing compared to my desire to care for my wife and get to know my daughter during this time. I can see already that our growing family will necessitate some changes in how I manage work time and projects in the future. I am a woodworker, but first I am a husband and father I don't want to see these as three separate passions, but as three passions along a circular continuum. I believe that if balanced correctly, they can fuel and improve one another, and this is a challenge I look forward to exploring as part of our new family dynamics. I also faced some technical challenges, specifically, my unfamiliarity with the paint and primer; I typically fabricate and install architectural millwork projects, such as doors, unpainted. However, in this case the client wanted me to fabricate, install, and paint the door. In order to get a high gloss finish (to match surrounding exterior trim), we used Benjamin Moore Advanced, High Gloss. While this is a fantastic product, it has an extremely long dry and cure time and can be very sensitive to coat thickness. I typically use production finishes, which inherently have an expedited dry and cure time. I had not considered such extended drying times when budgeting my time for this project.
My favorite part of this project was the opportunity to refine my door building skills and work with the homeowners. I really enjoy building doors, even if they are not technically challenging. So any chance I get to refine my process for building doors is great. I especially enjoyed meeting the homeowners and their project manager. They were kind, open individuals who were wonderful to work with.
If you need a custom designed screen door or are interested in learning a bit about my process, please contact me or schedule an appointment to work alongside me in the shop. Most importantly, take some time this summer to breathe in the world beyond your door.
Jordan