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As we give our mudroom a makeover, the flat, ugly steel door to the garage was turned into the frame and panel door shown in the first picture. We used 1/4 plywood to create the frame. Using thin plywood to create the frame only minimally increased the door's overall thickness so the door still looks like it fits. This door makeover began at about noon on a Saturday and was done, including final coat of paint, by 5 pm. Note that the entry door to outside still needs to be painted the same cream color as the "new" door.

The second picture shows the starting situation. The steel door is flat and brown. Not very appealing. The walls are also a medium brown. I've started to fix damage on the walls. I've also masked off the trim in the room and sealed the edges with Varathane 3X polyurethane to create a clean, crisp trim line. The view of the trim in the first picture shows how effective this is.

The third picture shows the door off its hinges and down in the shop, ready for sanding.

The fourth picture shows the plywood strips all cut to size and clamped in place on the door. The holes for the handle and lock were drilled from underneath, using the existing door holes as a guide. The area is backed up by a wood block clamped to the plywood to avoid blowout when the drill breaks through.

The fifth picture shows the strips glued and air nailed (18 gauge) to the door. The nails needed to be set with a punch. All the holes are filled and sanded.

The sixth picture shows the primer coat. Note how nice the plywood edges of the frame pieces look. I used strips of ply from leftover baltic birch. Lesser ply might need to have those edges sealed well so they look good under paint.

Gallery

Comments

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3 Posts
Clever idea
 

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585 Posts
You like it

It works

Great Idea

Great Job
 

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294 Posts
That is a really cool idea…...GREAT job!
 
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