You only get one chance to make a first impression! It’s true in all aspects of life including your front door. Unfortunately when it came to our house, the front entryway was looking pretty drab and gross. Not to worry, I tackled a full DIY Entryway Overhaul complete with front Door Restoration and new hardware with the help from my friends from Minwax and Schlage! If you’re interested in watching the whole entry transformation, check out the full video here.

This project contains paid product integrations from Minwax and Schlage Locks. All opinions herein are my own. This post also contains affiliate links for your convenience. Visit my disclosure page for more information on affiliate and compensation this site accepts. 

The Issue:

The various shades of brown paint on the doors and surrounding area really don’t stand out against the beige brick that features on the majority of the house. Also, the solid wood doors have been painted over umpteen times and have lost their character.

The Goal:

The goal of the project is to bring some visual interest to the front entryway with sharp contrast against the beige brick, and a combination of tones and textures.

Step 1: Paint (the Walls)

I think when it comes to painting, there’s not much to say. Pretty self explanatory, right? Well there are a few helpful tips that I can share about painting to make your life easier.

1. 1.  Make sure you choose the right nap for your roller! Nap refers to the length of the fibers on the roller. A higher Nap means longer fibers so it is better suited to get into the nooks and crannies of a rougher surface. A lower nap number means it’s better suited for a smoother surface. For this project I’m using a 3/4″ nap for the rough walls and a 1/4″ nap for the smooth trim pieces.
   2. Taping – I’m not a huge fan of using a lot of tape for a couple reasons. #1 is that it creates a lot of waste to deal with, and #2 is it tends to give people a false sense of security and lets you be sloppy. However, a lot of tapes bleed under the edge and you end up having to fix it later anyway, adding a lot of time to the project. I use Frog Tape mostly and make sure to wet the edge of the tape when I put it up which activates their edge lock adhesive and gives much cleaner tape lines.

Step 2: Strip Paint On the Doors

There’s no secret in saying that restoring old doors is a lot of work and not the most fun one can have on a weekend! However, replacing wooden doors can also be extremely expensive so if you can spare the time and don’t mind a little hard work, you can get beautiful results. The first step is to use paint stripper. Add a generous coat(s) and let it sit for about 15 minutes and then come back through with a good, solid metal scraper and take your time peeling the layers off. You may have to do it several times depending on the amount of paint on the doors. Wear your gloves, eye protection, and a good respirator because this stuff can be noxious!

Step 3: Sand the Doors

After stripping, it’s not uncommon to feel like you’ve really made a mistake. It will likely look horrible! But don’t worry, get out a sander with some 80 grit paper and get to work. You’ll quickly start to see the raw wood and start to feel better about your decision. Work your way up through the grits until at least 220 grit. (I usually go 80 grit, 120 grit, and 220 grit)

Pay close attention to the details. The more detail your door has, the harder it’s going to be. It can be pretty tricky to get into those spaces but I recommend getting a small wire brush, sanding sponges, and utilizing paint stripper as much as possible to make your life easier. It takes time, there’s no way around that!

Step 4: (Pre) Stain the Doors

Choosing the right stain products for your doors is important. I like to use Oil-Based products on any outdoor project because it provides a more durable, harder finish over the longterm than its water-based counterpart. DON’T MIX AND MATCH oil and water-based. I also always like to use a quality Minwax Oil-based pre-stain conditioner. The pre-stain conditioner evens out the wood to create a more uniform stain look and remove any unsightly blotching that can sometimes occur. It’s especially important on old doors that have previously had other finishes previously applied. I applied it with a cheap chip brush and let it set up for about 30 minutes before staining.

For this project I chose the Minwax Oil-based Early American stain for the doors. I thought it gave a nice, warm contrast to the green and tan trim we chose for our color scheme. For staining, I also used a chip brush and followed it up with a rag to wipe off any excess after it sat on the wood for a few minutes. For more staining tips, check out this previous project article.

Step 5: Seal the Doors

A quality top coat can be a make or break step for restoring doors. In professional setups, they have a dedicated spray booth to get the best quality application possible. But you’re not a pro so just do your best. You can still get a great finish. I chose to use the Minwax Oil-based Helmsman Spar Urethane on these doors. It’s a great, durable finish that will provide years of UV and weather protection. I applied it with a brand new, high quality bristle brush in the direction of the wood grain and allowed it to set up according to the dry time on the can. Then I sanded the doors lightly with 400 grit paper and applied another coat. Then I repeated that process again for a solid 3 coat application.

Step 6: Update the Hardware

Lastly, to get a modern/rustic vibe, it’s time to update the hardware on the doors. I used the Century Matte Black Hardware and Century Touch Deadbolt from my friends at Schlage Locks.These doors required a little updating in order to install the new hardware which included installing a new patch in the old strike plate area and chiseling it out so it has a nice finished look. If you want to learn more about how to fix your old doors to install new hardware and update strike plates, make sure you check out this video where I walk you through the whole process! 

So that’s it for this project! I hope you enjoyed it and I hope it inspires you to tackle a door project you may have been too nervous to take on! 

If you’re interested in learning more about staining and/or restoring old furniture and household items, check out these other articles.

Restoring a 100 Year Old Tool Chest

How to Refinish Wood Furniture

With the rise in smarter home technology over last decade, there’ve been a wave of products flooding the market designed to simplify your day-to-day lives, and one category of those products are Keyless Entry Lock Systems. Getting locked out of your house sucks so these systems are designed to try and eliminate that from happening by eliminating the need for house keys. Today I’ll be installing the Yale Real Living Keyless Lockset system from zabitat.com. Watch the video above to follow along. This project is about as f&*%ing easy as they come because you can knock out the whole thing with just a screwdriver.

Step #1: Remove the Old Deadbolt & Door Knob

To get started, first remove the old deadbolt and doorknob from the inside of the door with the screwdriver and set them aside. 

Once you’ve removed the old lock, unbox your new lockset and organize the components. This lockset comes with a touchscreen keypad, deadbolt and mounting hardware, interior locking mechanism, batteries, and an instruction manual.  

Step #2: Determine the Backset of Your Door

When installing this system, the one thing you’ll need to know is the backset of your door. The backset is the distance from the edge of the door to the center of the deadbolt hole in the door. In the US, this is usually 2 ⅜ or 2 ¾”. This deadbolt allows for either backset size, and can be adjusted to fit by pushing the pin on the side and sliding the sleeve in or out.

Step #3: Install the New Deadbolt into the Door

With that set, now we can install the deadbolt hardware into the door. Next align the new touchscreen keypad and make sure the wiring passes under the deadbolt. Make the deadbolt is in the horizontal, unlocked position and then remove the interior mounting plate from the locking mechanism and attach it to the keypad with the long set screws making sure the wiring stays off to the side in its position. Before tightening fully, make sure the keypad on the outside of the door is plumb to the door edge.

Next remove the battery cover on the interior latch and then attach the wire harness to the back of the latch. Mount the latch to the mounting plate making sure the latch pin slides into the horizontal slit in the deadbolt. In this case there are 2 mounting screws that attach behind the batteries and one at the bottom.

Step #4: Program Your Access Code

Next install the batteries into the battery compartment and reattach the battery compartment door and follow the instructions to set the code for your lock. Depending on the lock that you choose, some can be unlocked via bluetooth on your phone and others can integrate as part of a whole smart home system so if those features are important to you, make sureyou choose one that will work for you.

Step #5: Install the New Door Knob & Strike Plates

Next reinstall the doorknob by aligning the screws on the interior side with the mounting holes on the exterior side and tightening them down. Add the collar and doorknob to finish. Lastly remove the old strike plates from the door jamb and replace them with the new matching ones that came with your lock. 

Step #6: Test the Door and Lock

Finally test the door and the lock to make sure everything is working properly.

An interesting feature of this lock is that in the event the batteries die and you get locked out you can use a 9 volt battery to bypass the power supply and unlock the door but you still need your code to do it so not just anyone can open your door with a battery. I’m not sure that this is much more convenient than just stashing a spare key somewhere around your house, but I guess you could always ask your neighbor for a 9 volt in a pinch if you had to. 

So that’s it for this project! It’s a very easy upgrade you can do in about a half hour with just a screwdriver. I hope this episode was helpful in showing you how you can add a little modern touch to your home quickly and easily.

Thanks for watching!

Adding curb appeal to your home is an easy DIY project  by adding a decorative door glass insert into your front door. This works on steel or wooden doors and you can choose from a variety of sizes and styles.

What’s the first thing people notice about your house? Most often the answer is the front entry. Having an enticing and inviting entry is something every homeowner wants (especially for resale) but maybe not everyone knows how to achieve. Recently there have been many DIY trends in adding a pop of color to an otherwise boring front door as a way to attract attention. That works, but today I’m going to walk you through how to take it a step further and really add that “Wow” factor to your front door by adding a decorative glass door insert. It’s not as hard as maybe some people would think, and most people could knock it out in just a few hours. Watch the video and follow along and I’ll show you just how easy it can be!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Zabitat. All views and opinions are my own.

1. Measure your Existing Door & Choose Your Glass

Most entry doors are pretty standard sizes (Usually 36″ wide), but there are instances where your door is a different size. Measuring your door in advance is a critical component in deciding what options are available when it comes to choosing a decorative glass insert. Things to keep in mind when measuring are: Does my door have any existing panels on it? How many? Also make sure you measure the thickness of the door itself as well as the width. Most entry doors are 1 3/4″ thick but some are different. To get started with choosing your glass, decide which product is right for the look you’re going for and will work with your door. Zabitat has made it really easy to pick the perfect glass with their selection guide. Click here to get started. Zabitat has hundreds of glass options so take your time to choose the perfect glass and frame for your door insert. If you decide to purchase a glass insert, use the Promo Code MRFIXIT15 at checkout for 15% Off your order.

2. Measure Again!

Once you’ve selected your door glass and it’s arrived, I like to just double check that the glass will work with my door. Measure twice and cut once, right? Remove the inner frame from the glass and measure from the outside of the screw mounts on the sides and ends of the glass insert to verify the rough opening that will need to be cut in your door.Also make sure to read the accompanying instructions that come with your door glass insert.

3. Remove the Hardware and Door

Now that you’ve verified the measurements of your glass insert and your door and everything is good to go, it’s time to work on the existing door. Get started by removing the knob and any locksets installed in your door. Remove the hinge pins holding the door on. Carry the door outside, or to a work area where you can set the door on a set of sawhorses or flat work surface. If your door has existing glass in it, you’ll need to remove that.

4. Lay Out your Cutout Lines

Using a straightedge, a pencil, and a tape measure, lay out your cutout lines. Follow the instruction manual that comes with the door for how to lay out and cut your lines. I like to use painters tape to lay out and mark the lines. The painters tape gives a surface you can mark on and can be easily changed if you make a mistake, and it will keep the finish of the door clean when you’re cutting. Make sure to measure and lay out your cut out lines on both sides of the door.

5. Cut Out the Opening

Once you have your layout lines all marked, it’s time to cut out the door. You’ll need a jigsaw or circular saw for this depending on what type of door material you have. In this case, I installed this in a steel door so I used a jigsaw with a metal blade. I made 2 passes (one on each side of the door) to cut out the opening making sure that the blade didn’t go through the other side as I was cutting each side. That just kept the metal from bending and kept a cleaner finish.

6. Install the New Glass Insert

To install the new glass insert, lay it on your sawhorses with the outside frame facing down and then set your door over top of it with the outside of the door also facing down. You may need an extra set of hands here to make sure you can gently set the door over the glass. Make sure you have the door positioned evenly in your rough opening and remove the painters tape. Add the inner frame on top and then secure the 2 pieces of frame together using the included screws. The frames also come with decorative caps to cover the screw holes.

7. Reinstall the Door & Hardware

Lastly you just need to reinstall the door on the hinges and re-install the knob and locksets. You may need an extra set of hands to help you carry the door and re-install it on the hinges as the glass can add considerable weight. If your door is no longer closing properly, make sure the hinges are tight and the door isn’t sagging. You may also need to add some touch up paint to your door if it’s been painted.

I hope you guys enjoyed this post and it gave you some ideas on what’s possible when adding curb appeal to your home. If you have any questions or want to chat about your upcoming project(s), contact me. To check out a full list of door glass products from Zabitat, check out their website! Thanks for reading and good luck with your project! Now get to work!

In this video I show you step-by-step how I built a 36″ sliding barn door from scratch for under $200 for my master bedroom. The DIY Sliding Barn Door is made from Douglas Fir 2×6’s from Home Depot and tongue and groove pine, while the track is made from 1/8″ flat bar steel you can pick up at any hardware store. I found the wheels for $12/each at a local hardware store.