Door dilemma

[WhatapityWapiti]

Help me decide what to do with our front door!

We’re doing up the whole of the front of the house- getting bricks cleaned, repointed, refreshing the cream painted bits in bright white, new lighting, new path etc so it’s all going to look nice and smart.

The old door is not fit for purpose so we’re having a new one, but the frame is in great condition and we are keeping the fanlight above.

Here’s my dilemma. The door is not a standard height. A quote for a bespoke one came in at over 8k. I’ve since spoken to a door fitter who said that he can extend the frame downwards to fit an off the shelf door, so the bar between the door and the fanlight would be thicker. We’d have it properly filled and finished to look neat. I’ve added a pic of the door that I like. Cost is £2.5k.

I’m worried, however, that a thicker top bar will spoil the symmetry with the neighbour and look “off”. As you can see, neighbour’s house is not well maintained, he is old and in very poor health and I think the house will probably be sold and renovated at some point in the next 5 years.

I’m worried that the lack of symmetry will annoy me every time I look at it, but it seems like a lot of money to go bespoke and maybe the other door height will get changed in the future anyway as any buyers will have the same issue.

Also, do you see the tiles in the vestibule? I love having tiles and these are the original ones from 1898, but I don’t think they were top of the range even then, the brown is a bit meh and they are very faded. I am also having a nightmare sourcing the brown edge tile that is missing. I was thinking it might be nicer to retile in new ones but similar configuration. Again, however, that would ruin the symmetry.

Finally, what door colour should I go for? (This may be dictated by the tiles.) They can do it in any RAL colour. I’ve ruled out royal blue, sage, duck egg blue, teal, bright red, bottle green, purple and black. I’m quite keen on canary yellow or deep blood red.

Thanks!

(We’re focusing on the door first as the warp is affecting the closing and locking so need to get that moving asap).

Try a reclamation yard for the missing brown tile

I’ve tried all the ones locally, nothing.

I would keep the existing tiles if possible and perhaps find new edging tiles. I would try and match in the blue of the tile at the top, and I would match the blue to the door colour.

I think that will blend and not clash with the existing brickwork and go nicely with the cream of the stonework.

I actually think that tiled front path is not dissimilar to what might have been there originally. Most got concreted over or ripped up. Front steps were also often tiled. I've got some replicas in my garage that I got from Freecycle which I plan on using for the hearths in my 1930s semi. I can't remember the brand now.

Have you visited Aladdin's Cave in Lewisham? They are a real treasure trove and last time I was there they had loads of reclaimed doors. Measurements can be tricky to get right though...

The floor tiles I have are by Wincklemans

@WhatapityWapiti - I think that black and white front path you posted is a bit busy and harsh and yes,a bit much for a small front garden.Is there anything else locally that you can spy that looks better ?
I'll have a look round on the streets near me (SE London) and see if there's anything I could post that might work .
I think your instincts and taste are sound though and you should have confidence in them.😄

Interestingly I had a close look as I walked down the street today and I realised that the black and white path must be the original as it is visible in quite a few houses, in various states of disrepair. I still think it’s a bit much though. And with the brown tiles too- what were you thinking Mr Victorian builder?!

Round here some houses have a path like the black and white one, but with reddish brown tiles instead of the black. could look great. Victorian tiling is expensive though…

There's the chance that they just concreted over the original path so you'd be able to see if it's the original style or not.

I like the red/brown version - usually bigger squares so, along with the lower contrast in colour, they look less busy. Goes well with the brown wall tiles! 😂

I don't think the black and white would be too much, but as an alternative, black and terracotta were also very popular at the time.

Like this? In a street round the corner.

Pic didn’t add last time

Would it be cheaper to add an extra step inside and out and increase the height of the landing underneath the door/in the entry?

Interesting idea, but for various reasons we need to press on with replacing the door first, then do the steps/path/brick cleaning/wall afterwards.

I'd also go with refurbishing your existing door. Or, if the off-the-shelf door is too short, a good carpenter can add a piece to the bottom and it shouldn't be noticeable when it's filled and painted. I think it could be less obviously than changing the surround above it.

Some of these are lovely https://www.thevictorianemporium.com/store/category/exterior_wall_tiles

If you are going to tile the path, steps and landing you will be a couple of cm higher in any case, in which case the door will just be that much higher and your frame will barely need to be made any thicker at all.

Please don't repoint the front. It will look worse. And if you do, don't use cement mortar. Also be careful how you clean the bricks- you don't want to lose the faces off them through sandblasting. It weakens the brick and makes them more porous.

Sorry, I’m not sure what you mean. We’ve contacted the company who made a beautiful job of a neighbour’s house about 6 doors down.

You have a beautiful old house which looks in decent condition from the photos.

How are the bricks to be cleaned? If they are sandblasted it will remove the hard face to the bricks and will make them more porous. Bricks of that age have a hard shell on them but cleaning can remove that.

Pointing. The mortar looks in good condition to me. The mortar will be lime which is what you need to use on older buildings. If cement mortar is used it's too hard and again can damage your bricks.

You could risk making the property damp with such works.

It doesn't look like it needs cleaning or repointing to me. Could you save the money and put that towards the door and path?

Yes, something along those lines. They're not as stark as the black and white. There are many variations some less elaborate than others.

@WhatapityWapiti can I ask for details of your fitter?