1930s Front Door Recommendations

[ChilliBeanSauce]

Buying a 1930’s doer-upper semi and would like to source a lovely door to replace the tatty current one - does anyone have any recommendations please ??

The London Door Company offer appropriate designs.

Is this tatty door the original? It’d probably be best to restore it.

There are lots of original doors available on ebay. You can get ones that have been beautifully restored for £700-1400. Or get one which need a bit of work for £50-250. Measure your existing door and try to get one roughly the same size. They vary in size a lot.

To get a new one made, have a look at Monkseaton Glaziers and Stained Glass. Their website isn't brilliant but reviews are good and the doors look authentic.

I would agree JoJo, if it is the original door investigate restoring it.

I replaced modern flat doors in a 1930s house with the 'one over three' panel 1930s doors and the capenter had to plug holes etc. which I initially thought made them not so attractive but he said 'no its all part of the history of the door, and they add to its character' and it does! (there are stripped rather than painted, which of course can hide a multitude of things)

Thank You for your responses. I looked at London Door Company, but, they dont cover my area (North West). The tatty one is sadly not the original. I will have a look at Ebay and see what I can find. Thanks so much.

Hi OP, we've just done this as part of our 1930s renovation.
I've done a lot of research and never found modern reproduction doors that look as good as the originals!
I trawled eBay and found this shop:
www.ebay.co.uk/str/englishperioddoors
Flawless reviews and nice doors - and they can arrange national shipping! - but a bit higher than my budget. It was a useful benchmark though and gave me good ideas about what I was looking for, which DH and I both liked etc.
Sizing is critical - the original doors can be altered but only fairly slightly, depending on the structural tolerances of the frame, etc. We had our carpenter who was in charge of making the frame for us come over to measure up and give us exact sizes of what we needed, and we didn't deviate by more than 25mm from his measurements.
In the end we bought an eBay frame that we loved - an original 1930s door that had been stripped and repaired - and are having the stained glass panels refurbished by a local stained glass artisan (!) who is based down the road from us and is a local legend.

In total we'll spend (I hope!) about £600 on the door, £80 on locks etc and £200 on the frame and fitting. Breaks down as £300 on the frame including delivery from half the country away :) and the same again on the glass. We'll paint it ourselves, no prep needed because the frame was in such good condition, and then buy a lock, 2 bolts etc, which will be fitted by the carpenter who is hanging it and building the frame.
It's very sturdy and feels massively secure.
Our local stained glass guy reinforces the leads with strategic steel bars for security and the new glass will be draught-proof too.
It's an absolutely beautiful door and I'm sure will add much more value to the house than is reflected in what we spent.
(And much MUCH more value than a composite one would have done!)
Best of luck!!

https://www.doorsofdistinction.co.uk/exteriordoors/Exterior-Hardwood-Glazed-Doors/edinburgh-external-hardwoodd_door.html
This company has some nice 30's styles

This is the tatty door in question - could it potentially be original ?

@WoolyMammoth55 - im really curious and want to see your door now !

That does look 30’s style. If it’s solid wood, then probably original. I’d just paint it a colour that goes with the brick work + get stained glass in the door panel and above. Once you pressure wash the front and add some planting, it’ll be lovely.

Have a look at other doors in your street, see if you can see one the same as yours or a couple that may be original.

@ChilliBeanSauce Promise as soon as we get it back from Mr Stained Glass I'll post a pic! :)

I reckon yours might be original you know! Does it seem solid - no rot, or anything? If so then I'd definitely get a couple of quotes for getting it refurbished...

This website has a selection of those transom windows and might have something original that would work for you:
leadedstainedglass.com/

Good luck!

@ChilliBeanSauce it does look original - and exactly the same as our 1930s house's front door. I'm planning on getting ours dipped and then re-painting it.

I don't think that is original tbh.

Have you tried here?
traditionalfrontdoors.co.uk/doors/bespoke/1930s/

The cream one with the oval window is identical to the original ones still in my parents street.

@LBOCS2 just to say that along the way we've had a few people warn against dipping 1930s doors. Apparently the period joins in the wood can be partially dissolved along with the paint... Ideally you'd want to hand-strip it - more costly and time-consuming but much kinder to the wood.

This is our 1930s door. We had an awful 1980s door so I got quotes to have a 1930s door made but they were £1500 - £3000. I searched ebay for one the same as a neighbours and got this off for about £150.

@fruityloopyloop your door is beautiful. Id love something similar. Actually a few of the doors on my, soon to be, new street are similar to yours too. Thank You for sharing.

Hi OP, you could try contacting a Falcon Pine in Halifax, check out his Instagram @falconpine.co.uk

He had a huge building of reclaimed original internal doors but is a cabinet maker and restores external doors too. Sometimes he gets external ones in and may be able to source one for you. He loves his job and is very good and Has a wealth of knowledge on period doors. He travels too, you are certainly not a million miles from him.

If you email him (email on Instagram) you get a quick response, he is a nice guy.

Is your door pvc? mine was and I painted it , here’s the before and after

@bumbleb33s - you've done an amazing job on that door ! Mine is a wooden door. I currently live 5 hours from so will need to have a look at it when I next visit to check if it's the original or not.

@ChilliBeanSauce thanks, good luck with yours :)

@ChilliBeanSauce thanks, I love it but it could really do with a professional stripping it right back to fill the cracks then a repaint. It was a horrible gloss brown colour when I got it and I sanded, filled and painted it myself.

I'm pretty certain the door in your pic isn't an original, it doesn't look a 1930's style. You should be able to find a local joiner who could make a 1930's replica door but all the quotes I got were very expensive.

If you look on Pinterest or instagram you'll find loads of pics of original 1930's doors and there's usually quite a few on ebay and reclamation sites.