Okay, I know this is a weird one, and I can't find a forum fit for this topic...so am gonna try here first.

I have a 6 panel metal exterior door that I hate...loathe actually.
What I want to do is clad it in brushed aluminum sheet metal.

Anybody have any ideas, reasons it might or might not work, bets practices?


Thanks.

 

Do you plan on cladding both planes? Will the brushed aluminum cost more than a new door, and will a new door look better? IMO the brushed aluminum would give it the look of a Starship portal rather than a welcoming entrance.

It probably can be done, but the cut will need to be exact and the edges camfered to prevent someone from cutting themselves on the edges. Seems like a lot of work that a new door could solve in less time. Look into Fiberglas doors for instance. Warm look, stainable and don't warp.

 

I agree with Larry, it sounds like a lot of work/expense for a door that doesn't sound like it would appeal to me ....... but to each his own

How were you planning on attaching the aluminum?

 

Plus having to deal with the sealing and clearance for the door stop molding.

 

Ya, I know it is problematic.
But I can't find what I want...well...not totally true.
It exists..but for a lot of money and the actual door is overkill for what I want.
neoporte.com
...excuse me while I rant for a moment...
The door manufacturers seem to have a fetish for 6 panel doors...oh maybe once in a while they are 8 panels...on occasion 4! WOW! revolutionary!
To really mix it up and make em fancy...they apparently hire my grandmother to design the door lites. First step make the trim as tedious and fruity as possible. (Think over the top crown moulding) Then cram as much leaded glass, butterflies, lilies and or roses into the glass a possible.
Every single door manufacturer makes the exact same thing.
It would be like every car manufacturer only turned out 1982 Pintos...painted different colours...but in the end the same pinto across the board.
They could stamp just about any pattern that can be dreamed up..but those little panels are about the limit of their imaginations.

Ya...this has been pissing me off for a while.

 

I doubt you could acquire, have cut and fit aluminum panels successfully to your door as well as you could just buy this, if you want plain jane. Masonite Utility Flush Primed Steel Entry Door with Brickmold-85632 at The Home Depot

 

Don't see them used much today but I've painted a thousand of those 'plain jane' exterior doors similar to what's pictured in Larry's link. Before the 6 panel doors became popular they used to dress them up with wood trim tacked onto the flat panels If your local big box doesn't stock those types of doors, I'm sure they can order one.

 

With the advent of steel and fiberglass doors comes the need for simple physics. That is that a door with dimples (panels) is exponentially stronger than a door that does not have dimples. You can see this in just about any item that is made of sheet metal as it will have some sort of stamp on it to add strength. It also helps prevent the door from getting dinged and dented when the neighbor boy cutting your lawn throws a rock out the side shoot and it hits the door.

As for the windows, they are made by glass companies and not the door companies. The door companies cut a hole in the door, and sandwich two pieces of frame with decorative glass. The idea behind stained glass is one of privacy and has nothing to do with grandma. The faceted inlays and opaque colors break up the light so that the neighbors can't see you sneaking down to get a glass of warm milk in the middle of the night in your bunny slippers. You are welcome to order a door with clear glass and then hire someone local to do a custom inlay of your making. I have had several customers take this route with great success.

So your desired door is out there (reference ThurmaTru - Smooth Star Series) and you can custom design locally to get the glass you like. You need to check Craigs List or ask a glass shops who customized and check references and ask for pictures of previous work. Unfortunately, these things do cost a lot of money, it is a supply and demand thing. Mass produced = lower price, custom, one-offs = high price. I'm sure there is a happy center ground that you can find for yourself.

 

Good point! I had forgotten that the painting instructions for metal doors changed when they started using thinner metal. The old metal doors used a thicker more stable steel. Most of the newer metal doors spec latex paint only because the thin metal can expand/contract with temp changes. Oil base paints are hard/brittle and will pop if the substrate moves, latex paints are more flexible and can handle the minor expansion/contraction. It's the same reasoning why some manufactures recommend against using dark colors on exterior doors.

 

NOPE! In my head there is a team of grannies coming up with these door lites...they are sitting around the factory knitting and working on algorithms to cram more butterfly's per square inch into the glass.... it's the only explanation I can make sense in my head....

The patterns from one company to the next are so similar that there really is no alternative. I understand the privacy factor, but there is privacy and then there is glass that would make Liberace' happy.

The strength added to the door by way of the stamped 6 panel pattern is a given.
But I am sure there are other patterns that would add strength. The idea that a steel door has to look like a poor imitation of a wooden door is odd.
THEN ADD THOSE DOOR LITES AND YOU GET ME ALL FIRED UP!

 

Ya...so cladding the door might not be the greatest solution....I can appreciate that.
Though the aluminum I can get for more or less free...but the hassle of trying to make it work might not be the best solution to my rabid desire to not have the same door as everyone else.

I built my own house...all of it...not a single tradesman touched the place, so I am frustrated to have it all just the way I wanted...except for this stupid door that I hate.

I know I can special order a flush door and put in clear glass door lites....except the frames on the lites all have profiles that look like fancy moulding. All I want is square trim.

Don't sweat it....I will come up with a solution...
Maybe I can attach a false trim over the trim I don't like.

Thanks.

 

Pulse - Steel Smooth finish, retro look in a steel door with many options for glass that are not traditional

Therma-Tru Doors: Entry Patio & Light Commercial Doors

Smooth Star - Fiberglass - you can order a solid door without raised panels from this collection

Therma-Tru Doors: Entry Patio & Light Commercial Doors

The glass named "element" I have installed. It looks more Nautical than Granny and is really quite stunning. In fact, he hired a local glass fabricator to match the design in a window above the entry door to tie it all together.

I am sure other options are available, I only chose this company as I have installed the product and have seen it first hand. Try visiting some other types of building supply stores (84 lumber, local lumber yards) and not big box stores. Those who deal with builders are much more knowledgeable and can help you better get to your destination. The box store plugs numbers into a computer program and little knowledge of the doors are needed as all they do is answer questions the computer asks.

 

If you built the house, I'm sure you can build a door. Why not build yourself a rugged, manly, plank door?

 

Morpho, I completely understand your position. I want a new front door but I DON'T want one with all the fancy panels or glass. Seems like my options are pretty much custom made with a high price.

At my old house I had a Swedoor solid slab door installed after a burglary. This door was a massive one, 2-3/4 inch thick if I recall and was built up with a solid core and aluminum sheets on both sides and then covered with a Teak veneer. Included an ASSA mortised lockset with seven-pin tumbler lock. A local lumberyard had picked up several after the local home show for a song. I think this particular door had a retail price of over $800 (in the early 1990s) but I got it for less than $200. Everyone that saw that door commented on how good it looked. I sure wish I could another one for my current house.

 

I have thought about building the door a few times...but it really wouldn't get me what I want in the end. Not to mention I live in a cold place...as in really cold. So an insulated door is a must. Wood just wouldn't be right on my house.
(yup, I get the issue many will bring up regarding glass in an insulated door kinda defeats the point...but I wants, what I wants!)

I have seen the the therma tru doors online and they are spot on except for the frame around the lite. Not to mention they are not sold anywhere near me and I can guarantee they will be over priced considering they are simply a flush door with a plain lite. But they are a "designer" item.

Swedoor....Jeld-wen makes em....look at what they do!
Ytterdörrar
Thats what I'm talking about!

Neoporte.com are exactly what I want...but I know they are way out of my budget and I know I can recreate it with a flush door and the right lites

I have contacted all sorts of builder supply places...manufacturers etc.
They all say the same thing.... No.

The shot is of my bathroom window...see why I want something kinda industrial?

 

poking around the swedoor site filled me with envy...look what Jeld-wen offers in europe:

Makes me wonder why we are obsessed with the 6 panels here in North America.

 

I'll bet if you go to a real door shop (they are out there) you can find what you desire. You may have to drive or have it shipped...but a fabricated unit (from some local sheetmetal shop) would be problematic.

Even if a product isn't sold in your area, you can get it by calling and asking where the nearest distributor is.

There are door manufacturers that don't use the raised plastic molding...my house doesn't have it on front or back doors. Granted, the company (Peachtree) is out of business, though I think someone else has the name.

 

You are right, I'm sure a custom job can be done at a door specialist...I just can't seem to wrap my head around paying extra for something that is so simple.

Flush door with a a lite with square edges....I just can't find the lite.
Its a grandma conspiracy!

Forget it everyone....I will make it happen one way or another...maybe I just save up the cash for the CRAZY stainless steel door! Lets see what the wife thinks of that idea....


FURD....good luck with your search.

 

Oh...I didn't mean a custom thing...I just meant that a real door shop would have more knowledge and access to different brands (hopefully). They may have favorite suppliers for what most people are happy with, but they've probably had folks who wanted something out of the ordinary as well.

 

Yup...I have been to glass shops, door manufacturers, window manufacturers, etc. etc. They all have said the same thing.
They don't know anybody who makes a lite like that.

The two companies that make the doors I want have high end prices.
Crestview Doors - Doors - Products - Order
and
Neoporte Modern Door | Contemporary Door | Stainless Steel Entry Systems

Both Way, way outside my budget...I must have excellent taste!

It just seems odd that such a simple thing is either so hard to find or so bloody expensive.

Oh well...I had a sheet of plywood with a blanket stapled to it for a door on my temporary shack for one whole winter while I built this place....I will survive this 6 panel door as well.