Door to Door

So the next new big thing going on in our house has to do with our wonderful (sarcastically said) back door. This door has been a pain in our behinds since the second or third year we lived here, and unfortunately the fun didn't stop then. Something is either wrong with the door or whoever installed it did a crappy job. The jury is still up in the air about which one is the culprit but we'll find out in a month. That's when my dad will be down and each year he comes we always find him a wonderful project for him to do. He's a go, go, go man and every time he's been down here without a project he seems to find one, so I try and be proactive and give him one. One year he helped with odd end jobs, one year he power washed the house, one year he (and my father-in-law) rebuilt my front porch/stoop, another year he helped us putting up new lights on the outside of the house, and yet another year he helped us run networking cables under the house so that Matt can have the living room computer and family computer connected. So he's helped us with lots of fun household projects, and we're extremely grateful!


This year he is helping us install our new back door. Right now we have a unit that has one stationary panel and the other side works like a normal door (not sure the technical name). The problems we've had all deal with water. Somehow water is getting in and slowly rotting parts of the door. It's all part of the alluring mystery we're hoping to solve when we remove the door.


We attempted to fix it way back when and had a guy come and put a new threshold in and a new rubber sweeper on the bottom of the door. Then my dad (oh, I forgot about this project) put a sliding screen door on to help keep the rain away. I also re-caulked the door to help as well. They were all just band-aids because the rot continued. Now it has gotten to where the door is just a lost cause. So when we were planning his annual trip this year, I marked this as our project.


We went shopping to look at different door styles. I wasn't sure what type I wanted but I new that I didn't want a sliding door. That is what Matt was thinking. The problem with them is the door opening is so small and this is our primary door we use virtually every time we leave or enter the house. Sliders can be heavy and the thought of trying to slide it with my arms filled with stuff and baby just didn't work for me. He agreed once he realized that they just don't open wide enough. The reason we need the door to be "wide" is that our front door is to cramped for getting big things in and out. It's fine if that big item is going upstairs, but if you're trying to get a fridge or washing machine in this house, there is no way you'd be able to use the front door. I also wasn't sure I wanted the same style we have now- I think that's because I associate this door with all the annoying things we've put up with. So then I was up in arms as to what we should get. 


My in-laws were here not too long ago and we were talking about it with them. They are also looking to replace a patio door in there house. I think they were the first to plant the idea in my head about a door with sidelights. So when we went looking I saw the door or my dreams (lol) and it happened to be a door with sidelights, but not just any sidelights, venting sidelights. They have screens and open so I can have them open and enjoy the beautiful cross breeze on cool days. Also with this door we should be able to put a screen door on it as well. My dad thinks that will help if the problems were having now do stem from the lack of overhang from the roof. Either way, I'm hoping that this new door helps elevate some, if not all, of our back door problems.


So the door is ordered and my dad and step-mom are headed down in a month. I hope that this project goes smoothly and this door lasts longer than ten years. I'm super excited and can't wait!


"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9