Edwardian Front Door Restoration

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Our front door needs serious restoration work, has anyone undertaken this type of project before?

We can only open and close our front door with considerable effort - we have had carpenters in twice since moving in, but they haven't really fixed the problem and the door and the frame are now completely misaligned.

I would like to get the door completely restored as well as repairing the stained glass inserts which have lots of cracks.

My husband is unsure how successful this work will be and thinks we should replace with a composite uPVC door which is secure, insulated, etc,etc. But I on the other hand, would like to keep the original 100 year old door.

We had a new door in the same style built by a joiner, re-using the original stained glass. Cost about £1,500 including repairs to the stained glass. Might be worth considering?

Don't get a plastic door. Apart from looking vile and being less secure than a wooden door, it will cost more.

Ask around until you find a skilled and qualified joiner. He will be capable of making a new door and frame if necessary, but more likely will be able to take apart and rejoin your new door and replace damaged or rotten parts of the frame. You might want to strip off the old paint first. If the frame is very bad it may need to be replaced with a new hardwood one, these are just made of lengths of machined wood so a joiner can make them to fit any opening. Get him to fit any new door furniture and locks at the same time, and fill in with wood (not filler) any old lock holes or letterboxes. Letterboxes should be well away from locks as it is possible to reach through with a simple home made tool.

Completely agree with PigletJohn - do not get a UPVC one
They are expensive, more likely to go wrong and be unrepairable, look awful and are no more secure than a decent timber door.

You need a good joiner who should be able to repair or if needs be make a replica. We had a replica made in our old house for about £750 - ours wasn't original, so joiner took measurements from neighbours original door and made one to match. This included all the ironmongery and undercoat and then we had to paint it.
We've just had a replacement back door - new victorian style timber with clear double glazed windows fitted for £682 - it has 2 suited dead locks, a great threshold and lovely ironmongery. Its very solid and secure.

We are about to refurbish our original mid victorian door which is massive (4ft) and beautiful, but has issues like no keys for the original lock (probably because looking at the keyhole they are rather large). It wouldn't even cross my mind to replace it but I do understand that it will be a PITA to sort out and won't be cheap although not as expensive as a new one. IMO The front door is kinda the face to your house so its worth getting it right.

Thanks very much for the responses. I've just spoken to a guy who has a bespoke joinery firm, who has come recommended.

He is coming to visit tomorrow and thinks if the door is very warped we may need to make a replica (we've already tried twice to get it to fit the frame properly). He also has a contact to repair the stained glass (and can even fit it between a double glazing unit for better insulation).

If anyone lives in Surrey and has a recommendation please let me know.

if you are having a dg panel made, see if it can be done in laminated glass on the outside pane. It is very difficult to break through, so burglar resistant.

For reproduction stained glass, and reconditioned doors, look at Peco of Hampton... www.peco-of-hampton.co.uk/

For restoration of door furniture, including remaking lost keys, www.restorationblacksmith.co.uk/

I reconditioned my own door... Stripped it, planed some sticky edges, filled assorted holes left by 80 years of changing door furniture, sanded, filled, sanded, primed, sanded some more, and painted. A bit of work involved, but not hard to do, and deeply satisfying. It makes my heart sing every time I look at it! But I think if it'd been warped I would have replaced it.