Front Door / Entry Way

So last week I posted photos on stripping the front door and limestone around the entry way.  It was a messy job.... and that "somebody" that had to do it, was me.

I didn't post photos of the front door at that time, because it still wasn't finished.

The front door has been a huge thorn in my side.  Originally when I stripped it, I let it dry out for months and then primed it and started painting it with Benjamin Moore's Heritage Red.  It was a great color, but I was a little dissapointed in the finish.  It wasn't as glossy as I wanted.  I thought I would just "deal with it"... until some strange hazy areas started showing up on our door.

I went to our Benjamin Moore store and talked to the owner about what might be going on.  He came out to the house a few days later and said everything looked fine... just use a fine steel wool, sand it lightly and re-coat it a couple of times.  Well...  FYI... that didn't work! 

When one opinion might not work... get a second.

So, I went to another Benjamin Moore store, talked to the owner and another guy there and they came up with.... HARK!!...  the door must be seeping sap.  It's an old door, it is pine, and when I stripped the paint.... it might have started releasing sap again... which I did not know... is normal they said. 

So they suggested I finely sand it down and use this...

They said to paint it on as my primer and it should lock out the sap or whatever might be trying to seep through.

At this point I wanted to go a little above and beyond to be safe, so I coated the door twice... thick.

And, since I wasn't happy with the finish my original paint gave me, they guys at Benjamin Moore mixed up a glossy latex... and they worked on the color to get it as close to the Heritage Red as possible.  It wound up being a tad bit brighter, but good since our door is recessed a little and doesn't get much sun directly on it.

Here is the finished result... as of right now.... with the limestone and front door...

As you can see, we haven't chosen new hardware for the door yet.

Here is the original hardware on the door before we re-finished it...

Hank refinished the long hinges, handle and door knocker.... but we're not totally sure what we're going to do.  We'll definitely reuse the long hinges, but might replace the door handle with something larger and nicer.  We're looking around, but things are really pricey... or maybe we just have expensive taste.  Go figure...

As you can see in the photo, the porch is a disaster, so we have to paint that too.  That will give the front a major facelift.   We also need new sconces on either side of the door.  We also need a sidewalk from the driveway to the front door.

Need.  Need.  Need.

Give it time right?  Everything takes time and money!!  But thank goodness.  We have color to our front door and things are starting to look more presentable on the front of the house!  :)