Few entries in the city carry this much architecture. Fluted pilasters with carved Ionic capitals frame the opening, and above them sits a fanlight with a shell-carved keystone. The six-panel door at the center had exactly the right design for that setting, but the wood had lost its fight with the weather. The finish had worn away to dry, faded wood, the panels had grayed and checked, and the sill beneath had corroded to green. A polished brass knocker and a worn brass handleset sat on a door that no longer matched the grandeur of its frame.
Project Story
The thinking behind the work
The Starting Point
The Thinking
When the original design is right, the job is to build it again, better. The six-panel layout, with two tall panels over two short, over two tall, is the classic Georgian door, and it belongs with those pilasters and that fanlight. So the new door keeps the original panel arrangement and its proportions, with one refinement: a slightly taller bottom rail that gives the door a more grounded base and adds strength where weather and wear hit hardest.
The Execution
The door is solid mahogany, 1¾" thick, with mortise-and-tenon joinery. The six raised panels are laid out to match the original, with deep, crisp profiles that throw shadow in low light. It's stained a rich reddish-brown and sealed with a multi-coat exterior clear finish. An oil-rubbed bronze handleset and matching deadbolt replace the worn brass, and the knocker was retired. A new dark bronze threshold replaces the corroded sill, sealing the base of the opening. The pilasters, capitals, fanlight, and casing were all kept, with the new door fitted precisely within them.
The Result
The entry looks the way it must have looked the day it was built. The new door has the same Georgian panel rhythm as the original, now in fresh, figured mahogany that glows against the white surround and red brick. The dark bronze hardware sits quietly on the wood, letting the panels and the carved frame do the talking. Nothing about the design announces a change. The house simply has its front door back, built to last for decades more.
Specification
Unit Size
3'-2" × 7'-1"
Panel Thickness
1¾"
Joinery
Mortise-and-tenon, no mechanical fasteners.
Glass
None in door; existing fanlight retained
Finish System
Multi-coat stain with exterior clear topcoat
Hardware
Oil-rubbed bronze handleset with matching keyed deadbolt
Installed By
Scobis
Common Questions
Why build a new door in the same design instead of changing the style?
The six-panel layout is the classic Georgian door, and it's what the pilasters and fanlight were built to frame. Changing the design would have fought the architecture. Replicating it in new mahogany kept the entry historically correct while giving it a door built to last.
Why replace the original door instead of refinishing it?
The old door had weathered past the point where refinishing makes sense. The finish had worn to bare wood, the panels had checked, and the sill beneath had failed. A new door restores the full design with sound wood, a fresh finish system, and a properly sealed threshold.
Why oil-rubbed bronze instead of brass?
Polished brass reads bright and busy against dark-stained mahogany. Oil-rubbed bronze sits quietly on the wood, so the panels and the carved surround stay the focus of the entry.
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