Future house projects: front door and kitchen floor

[sonia]

My front door originally had a large glass panel, which someone boarded over on both sides and painted. Over the last couple of years the door has started sticking in the frame in hot weather, and there was a crack developing where the added board was attached to the door. I had someone sand down the door and patch the crack, but they advised me the door is nearing the end of its life.

I researched front doors, and I'd love to have one that looks like this Heritage door. Craftsman style with a small window and a dentil shelf underneath, stained wood rather than painted.

It seems like fiberglass is better for me than wood because it insulates better and requires less ongoing re-staining. Wood stain gives me headaches and brain fog. Unfortunately, I also found out that having a window negates a lot of the insulation advantage, and that fiberglass doors can't be shaved down to accommodate shifting and warping in an old house. That seems like a bad bet since I'm already having a problem with the current door.

I made a field trip out to Truax Doors and talked to a nice salesperson there, who also recommended Thermatru doors. I don't like the aesthetics as much, and there are a lot of people complaining about them in online forums.

At this point I don't know whether to get a boring plain door, paint it, and call it good, or get a Craftsman wood door and deal with the periodic re-staining, or go ahead with a fiberglass door. Fortunately the old door is still functional enough for now.

Have you replaced a front door? Happy to hear opinions about this!

The other project I've been contemplating since I first moved in is a bamboo kitchen floor. I haven't done much research yet, and I'm concerned about off-gassing. The current floor is black linoleum (well, vinyl) with white swirls in it. It continues down the first half of the steps to the basement, where the sun shines through the back door, and it's cracked there. That's also my client entrance, so it would be nice for that to look better.

Anyone have thoughts or experiences about bamboo floors, and other flooring options?

Comments

[jesse_the_k]

We replaced our front door, which had the classic wooden three staggered fixed-light* openings common to a house built in 1950, with a totally plain fiberglass door. The insulation difference is stunning (but you're not dealing with -20°F weather anytime soon). MyGuy hung it himself; our house has settled enough to have cracked plaster walls, but he didn't encounter particular difficulty fitting it in place.

We solved the exterior detailing question by painting the outside the same rose accent color as the window and soffit trim. The inside is "oak," and it's not beautiful but it doesn't snag my eye every time I see it.

When we were reflooring we wanted something that would stand up to me rolling around in an office chair and my powerchair. Bamboo is not that! We went with commercial grade Armstrong composite-vinyl tiles (not self stick!)

* I had to stop revising that sentence but the adjective order just seems wrong.

[sonia]

Thanks for a peek at your old door! (I see what you mean about the adjectives. It's just a hard to describe item!)

Glad to hear the new one insulates much better. I have cracked plaster walls too, so it's good to hear that didn't affect the door for you-all. The person who measured for my interior storm windows a few years ago said the windows were still square, which was encouraging.

My front door faces east, and our coldest weather comes with east winds. Occasional +25F is plenty cold enough to get my attention, especially in a 90+ year old house. I don't think the walls are insulated. My first winter it got that cold, I was out there hammering weather stripping onto the door frame. My neighbors looked at me funny.

Yeah, I do wonder if bamboo is a tough enough material for a kitchen floor. One of these days I will start talking to installers and see what they think.