The Front Door

The front door was very weathered and had finish peeling off all over it.  We definitely either needed a new one or do something about this one.  We opted for the most economical route of course - sanding, staining, and finishing.  Luckily, the part of the door that faces the inside was still in decent shape so we only needed to work on one side.  And D had most of the tools we needed for sanding already.  After spending a much needed 2 hour tour at Home Depot getting supplies and browsing paints, bathroom sinks, tile, windows, sliders, door knobs, and your mom, we took on the front door.

Sand, sand, sand... all day long.  Sand, sand, sand... while i sing this song.

4 hours of sanding using 120 grit sand paper, a sanding belt tool, and a detail sander.  We generated a boat load of dust that day.

When the sanding was all done, we applied the stain which was a stain, finish, sealer all in one.  The stain we chose was called Dark Walnut which actually turned out a bit darker than expected, but in the end aesthetically was a bonus.  That took a couple hours to dry and it gave me a chance to install the door knobs for the other doors leading outside in addition to scream and run from a couple spiders that tried to attack me.  Yes, they attacked me and I'm pretty sure they wanted to seize me and bring me back to their web fortress for dinner.  But unfortunately for them, they were unable to catch me with my ninja-like reflexes and fast-twitch muscles that allow me to run like the wind.

6 hours later of hard work and live DMB playing in the background, we were able to put up the door.  We'll have to go back and add the polyurethane weather sealant though which could potentially take a good chunk of the day to apply a couple coats and dry.

We decided on the darker brass door knobs.