Custom Building A Sceen Door

We hung the screen door Bill built with all solid brass hardware, mostly from the "House of Antique Hardware". Below is an old screen door spring the local hardware store gave us, which is mounted with an inch of tension: "thwap!"

Building the Screen Door...

Alex suggested a screen door for the front of Old Farm, and we all immediately liked the idea since it would allow more light and air into the front of the house. Bill got to order a new tenon joiner machine (open box price from Amazon), copper screening, and solid brass hardware, while I got to design it like a few favorites I had seen in Nantucket.

After fitting the door on site, Bill has routed the screen area edges here where he will paint the door and screen stops before assembling it all. The screen gets stapled into place and stops (mitered trim) are nailed over the edges..

Although the craigslist biscuit joiner Bill bought to enlarge the closet door could have been used here, he was convinced that an exterior door would last much longer with tenon joints (and Titebond III glue). I decided on 4" clear pine stiles and 9" bottom board which allowed us to order a 5' stock piece of copper screen and trim the door to it's trapezoidal opening shape.

.

Installing a Screen

While the screen stops are off, the new screen (this one is 90% copper + 10% zinc to keep from turning green) is cut to size with wire cutters and laid in place. A staple gun and 3/8" staples are used to secure the screen.

The screen stops are then fit into place and 5/8" brads are used to nail them in place.

We made protective screen bars to mount on the front and back of the door, which are secured with solid brass screws.

The screen door below appears to have nice new copper screening which looks wonderful with the color paint around it. This is the Tate House, built in 1775 on the coast of Maine for the Senior Mast Agent for the British Royal Navy, who oversaw the cutting and shipping of white pines to England. Note: All tree trunks 24" and wider were marked with three axe slashes and claimed for the English King to be used as ship masts, which is why we haven't any boards of this size at Old Farm, but almost.

Below is the screen door on the Union Street Inn in Nantucket, and a favorite. The bars help with high traffic, and mostly boys in the house in our case. Ours has 5; 1 1/4" bars outside, and 3 inside. The cost of the materials was about $100.

The inside of our front door is now painted a light blue/green "Glacial", by Restoration Hardware in Benjamin Moore gloss paint which we had specially mixed. It will also be used on steps across from the door inside.

This door finally got an old indoor handle we found here and a hand forged slide bolt from "Fagan's Forge" besides the latest in weather stripping of three different sizes (Bill read about from "This Old House") which makes it shut like a refrigerator.

I love green painted doors of all shades, from English black/greens to paler shades like the color of Bucklebury Manor's front door, where Kate Middleton's parents live on a Georgian Estate.

What's built behind this door is quite impressive. There are solar panels on a newer roof and I plan to put two large skylights in the front roof of Old Farm, which will be as radical an idea I hope.

Pictures from "mylusciouslife.com".

Outside of our front door are some very old original plantings, gardens refurbished, a hammock when on vacation, and stacked firewood for winter.