Door for 1929 English Tudor house

Fir is murder!

It’s intimidating

Are you trying to keep something out..........or in?

Knotty Alder!!!

No OP. It’s not right. It doesn’t go with Tudor.

Perfect for a Tudor house of horrors.

Unless the house is old - and in the PNW, that means reproduction of an old style. Wholly inappropriate for a bungalow or postwar house.

That is Spanish Southern California 1930s. Wrong era.

Hire a designer. Fire yourself.

What is this??!!!

That’s Spanish, OP. It would look ridiculous. This is more like it.

What I would do is go on Zillow and look at English Tudor houses. There’s a magazine and TV show called This Old House that does correct restorations. Everything they do is authentic. They’re a good resource for learning what something is supposed to look like.

There’s another magazine called Old House and Oldhouseonline.com) that also showcases period correct restorations. Here’s a link to a story about a Tudor house. They show an interior door that would give you an idea.

Here’s another article showing a well documented Tudor house.

There’s a similar style, called a Storybook house. Some of the elements are the same. That’s a very particular style, and it’s hard to find parts and furniture in that style. So if you don’t know what you’re doing, stick to Tudor style, it’ll be simpler in the long run.

This is a Storybook house door. It’s basically like a hobbit’s house.

Those houses can be really charming, but it’s so easy to get off the track if you don’t know the style.

Before you buy something as expensive and prominent as a front door, study the style. Amazon has a lot of books about the style. Also, look on Pinterest for Tudor homes.

I wouldn’t listen to a salesman that sells standard doors, they will sell you anything. There are some sellers that really specialize in this stuff. Even if you don’t use one, go on websites and look around.

Miss OP is just signaling that she can afford to blow $1,000 on a door.

If OP has a standard rectangular door opening, and doesn’t mind glass but wants a small glass opening, this might do it.

A lot of Tudors have a large glass section on top, with small panes.

Thank you. I am going to tell the company not to order the door and will do some more research. I really want a speakeasy door if that will work with a Tudor. It really is a cool house and I don't want to ruin the integrity of it. I'm not sure how to find a designer.

For what we were going to pay for the front and side door, we should have had a designer's expertise.

This is from the Bob Villa website regarding a Tudor:

Chunky iron door ware that lends a Medieval look.

That is what I thought the door looked like in my OP link.

OP thank you for asking and kudos for the bravery. You really don’t need a designer when you have Datalounges.

OP check out Simpson Doors. They have a reputation for high quality. They also have a large number of styles for outdoor and indoor doors.

Thank you, r19 and r20. Our side door was going to be a Simpson, the front door a Rogue Valley door from Southern Oregon.

I found a local company that will make custom doors, but they start at $8k, which is about what 2 doors installed will cost (which seems high to me.) I noticed the door manufactures won't give prices online on the doors and the contractors don't break down the price, they just give a final cost.

OP, speak to a door expert about painted doors vs stained doors. I was looking for doors a few years ago and talked to some door specialists. Stained doors wear faster and the finish can wear off. They may need to be refinished every once in a while, depending on your weather and whether the door is exposed to the sun or is under a cover. Stained doors are a lot prettier though.

You should also find out what colors of paint suit a Tudor door better. I’ve seen a lot of red, but it’s better to research it.

This company specializes in Tudor doors, windows and other Tudor design elements. They’re in Georgia but ship nationwide. They have multiple examples of door types that will fit your style.

This is the kind of company you’re looking for. Specialists who know Tudor design. Look all over the website, it will give you some guidance about what you’re looking for. Even if you don’t use them, you need to know what you’re looking for.

Here’s a book list from the people at R22. They also offer design services for $700.

Do you have a photo of the (original) door of your house, OP?

Keep in mind that sometimes the catalogue model names 'Tudor', 'Jacobean', 'Spanish', etc are just that, and you should choose the door the fits the house, not match it to a name of a style (architectural historians use different terms to describe the same thing all the time; it's rarely a hard and fast point of universal agreement on term choice.)

The door you show does look a little 'Spanish' as someone suggested; the description even uses the Spanish word clavos.). But it's shortcoming to my eye are the underscaled and overly textured hinges which look like an afterthought. (I might consider the walnut; it's not as though your house is a celebration of home grown architectural style and materials.)

The same place or a quality carpenter who does restoration grade work can make a door to order if you have a specific design. Doors are expensive generally, and a new front door that doesn't look like off the rack Lowe's/Home Depot can easily cost $1200+ without being or looking anything special.

“Clavos” are the big decorative nail heads on the door. That’s a Spanish door. There’s a lot of wood doors with a similar style that are made in Mexico for Mexican/Spanish homes. The large clavos like that are definitely Spanish/Mexican.

My advice is don’t use antique hardware, there’s a lot of reasons for that, but basically unless there’s a local locksmith that knows how to repair or replace it (99% don’t), don’t bother. I wasted a lot of money trying to do that, only to find out the last locksmith that knew how to work with it retired and the younger ones don’t even know how to service or install a reproduction and don’t want to. No matter how nice your door looks, if the lock breaks and you can’t get another one quickly or get it repaired, you’re screwed.

There are reproduction antique-looking doorknobs and locks that look old but use a standard hole. Be sure and get that.

Thankyou r23/r24.

I hope I set Flickr up correctly. If so, you will see a photo of the original door. It has a unique piece glass in the door that matches a small window in the living room. I don't like it in the door because I can't see out of it to see who is at the door.

I rode around the neighborhood on my bike and saw a door similar to the one I posted in the OP on a beautiful Tudor. I think I would not use the clavos and instead put on a knocker.

r25, thank you! I was thinking of asking if they could pull the old hardware off, I will find new stuff that looks old instead. Restoration hardware should have something.

I think I'd get rid of that lamppost in the yard first before replacing the door.

R28, yes, it's on the list. Right now the driveway, walkway, part of the sidewalk and the apron are being replaced. The cement will be poured this week.

R27, eventually, if the door hardware is really old, it may simply wear out and then you’re screwed because the hole is not the same size as whatever you could buy.

As far as taking the door hardware off, if you’re not going to use the door any more, why not? Keep it, maybe you could sell it. And at least you would have it as a reference for what looks authentic to the house.

Tudor Artisans has strap hinges and passage (interior door) knobs as well as door knockers. You could ask them for a reference for an exterior door set if they don’t make it.

Looking at the photo, OP, your door choice isn't bad at all, I think it just has too much going on: if you could lose the distracting strap hinges and the clavos. I might also consider painting it unless you love the the look of wood (look at some photos of the walnut; I see a lot of walnut doors where I live and even the more ordinary ones are striking for the wood, and the graining looks good in the catalogue examples.) There's lots of texture and light and shade and other things going on at your entrance that I think reducing the detail makes a stronger result.

Losing the strap hinges and clavos, your replacing the door mostly in kind but with the addition of the two raised panels which gives it some architectural dimension that the existing door with its flatness lacks. A good choice less those extras.

(I looked at Tudor Artisans mentioned by R30, but their doors are about 4x the cost of your example.)

Thank you, r31. The door in my OP is kind of busy, the clavos for sure need to go. The door faces south, so painting it red might be a better choice than staining. We've been on the fence regarding paint vs. stain.

Just refinish you’re original door OP.

There’s a lot of door manufacturers that make various styles of doors. Identify the correct style, then get a stock door and buy the hardware separately.

Look on yelp or search for local door retailers. Not Home Depot, but companies that do nothing but sell doors and door hardware. They’re usually in the industrial part of town.

Once you identify the correct door style, send them a picture of your dream door. A lot of door companies can order one from one of the manufacturers they buy from. If there’s nothing near you, you could try door manufacturers in LA. There’s a lot of them and they have a wide variety of doors. Most door companies ship. You can also try craigslist searching for doors under “materials,” sometimes retail companies advertise on there.

Wow, I didn't realize that some of you were ACTUAL trolls.

A house built in 1929 is a mock Tudor. The Tudor period ended in the 17th century.

r34, Thank you. That is exactly what I did. Both companies gave me a quote on a door similar to the one in my OP, plus a side door for $7k installed. That seems a bit high. I'm going to go to Home Depot to see what their doors look like. I'm thinking I should be able to order two door and have them installed for under $3k.

r34, a friend stopped by this morning and told me of a place that will order doors and hardware and they can refer me to installers. So, I am going to show them a door from r22's link (it's the top right door from the link below) and see if they can come up with something similar. Hopefully it will cost less than what the two other company's quoted me.

Thank you for your suggestion. And thanks, r22 for the link.

That looks like a graham cracker or a s'more.

That’s a nice door, R38.

A few years ago, when I was looking at doors, I found out all the door companies have catalogs from the door manufacturers they buy from, and they can order whatever their suppliers sell. So there may be a lot more available to you than what they have on the floor. It’s good to have a picture to show them.