Old house woes

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OVERKILL

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As some are already aware, we live in a rather old (by Canadian standards) double-brick house that was built in 1908. I love old homes but of course they have their issues like wiring, plumbing....etc. Well my big Newfie knows he can open our front screen door. But he won't do it when you are around, he'll wait (like he does with stealing things from the counter) until he knows you are out of range and then will bolt, in this case, taking off after a squirrel.

So my wife and I went shopping for a new screen door today. That proved to be an unexpected issue.

The opening is 85" tall by 34" wide. Apparently that's very large. The standard size seems to max out at 80" tall. This means that we are looking at a custom door, and with it comes the custom price tag. Home Depot can't even get them. Home Hardware, same deal. Rona said they might be able to order it and are going to get back to me tomorrow. The wait time is a minimum of four weeks because it will have to be built..... arg
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That's what we call "a first world problem".

NO DOUBT there are sources for made-to-measure doors. Get several quotes.
Buy from the people who sound like they do this for a living and eschew those who dwell on the "custom" part.

Cheers, Kira
 
Yes, we already got a quote from my window guys a few months back, they didn't mention it was a custom size however. They do extremely good work, so if the quote from Rona is comparable, we'll likely just go with them (my window guys) instead.
 
It feels better when you are dealing with a known good person.

REMEMBER: The VERY LAST thing you EVER want is a cheap door.

Hug the hound for me. Kira
 
Quote:
OVERKILL Home Depot can't even get them. I wonder if that is just a Canadian thing. Home Depot advertises custom sized doors made by Anderson/Emco: [URL said:
http://stormdoors.com/install/[/URL] ...click on the how to measure link.

You are going to have to be extra careful on a home that age regarding the "rough in" dimensions, which might not be typical of today's building practices. Good luck. And, look on the positive side of owning a home with character.
 
house across the street had that problem.. they "roughed in"
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a 2x6 above the door to make a shorter opening... of course that was a 40000$ rental home.
 
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Everything was custom-built back in "The Day". My parents have an antique bed in their spare bedroom which is probably less than 6' long. I'm sure it was made for a short person.
 
You cant just re-screen?

We have a 36" door. Beautiful, but big. Another side utility door is 30"... Undersized I guess.

Andersen made new storm doors for about $500 each, top of the line, custom size... Maybe 5 years ago?

We can swap the storm window and screen. If something went through the screen, we could roll in a new screen.
 
Originally Posted By: Rand
house across the street had that problem.. they "roughed in"
27.gif
a 2x6 above the door to make a shorter opening... of course that was a 40000$ rental home.


I did that on my $28000 rental home in Buffalo.
 
We put stock screen doors on the front and back. They were to short for the opening. We just put wood above each door to close in the extra space. No one ever pays any attention to the space above those doors that is closed in by the wood.
 
Is the door broken or just too easy for the dog to open? Maybe the solution is a different or supplemental latch?
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
You cant just re-screen?

We have a 36" door. Beautiful, but big. Another side utility door is 30"... Undersized I guess.

Andersen made new storm doors for about $500 each, top of the line, custom size... Maybe 5 years ago?

We can swap the storm window and screen. If something went through the screen, we could roll in a new screen.


I recall that 30" is a closet door. (Also seems common in older apartments.)

I'm glad I never had to replace the front door on my old house. I do not even want to THINK about what it would cost...the door is a 7' high, ~40" wide, 3" thick slab of New England maple, and about 1000lbs.
 
Originally Posted By: javacontour
Is the door broken or just too easy for the dog to open? Maybe the solution is a different or supplemental latch?


For a Newfoundland? I suspect that might result in him going THROUGH the door!
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
You cant just re-screen?

We have a 36" door. Beautiful, but big. Another side utility door is 30"... Undersized I guess.

Andersen made new storm doors for about $500 each, top of the line, custom size... Maybe 5 years ago?

We can swap the storm window and screen. If something went through the screen, we could roll in a new screen.


The present door isn't worth fixing, that's why we want to replace it.
 
Originally Posted By: javacontour
Is the door broken or just too easy for the dog to open? Maybe the solution is a different or supplemental latch?


It is broken at this point (I have three kids and the newfie) and it isn't a "nice" door. It is functional, but we'd like to replace it with something nicer.
 
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
You cant just re-screen?

We have a 36" door. Beautiful, but big. Another side utility door is 30"... Undersized I guess.

Andersen made new storm doors for about $500 each, top of the line, custom size... Maybe 5 years ago?

We can swap the storm window and screen. If something went through the screen, we could roll in a new screen.


I recall that 30" is a closet door. (Also seems common in older apartments.)

I'm glad I never had to replace the front door on my old house. I do not even want to THINK about what it would cost...the door is a 7' high, ~40" wide, 3" thick slab of New England maple, and about 1000lbs.


My parents are in a similar situation with the addition of a brass door knob that weighs at least 5lbs and the door has a rounded top. Otherwise it matches your description in terms of weight, size and depth.
 
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: javacontour
Is the door broken or just too easy for the dog to open? Maybe the solution is a different or supplemental latch?


It is broken at this point (I have three kids and the newfie) and it isn't a "nice" door. It is functional, but we'd like to replace it with something nicer.


Then you are shopping at the wrong places. You need something military grade, from a bunker to survive that environment.
 
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