Kate and I like old homes even if they come with a lot of mechanical puzzles. One of my favorite features on our current 100+ year old home is its original oak and stained glass front door.

A hundred years of slamming and freezing weather had left the stained glass precariously loose with broken zinc came and gaps you could pass a pencil though. After a lot of hunting we found a local restoration company who did a great job fixing the window using all the original glass and new lead came.

With the pristine glass it really showed how the whole door was in pretty shabby shape, so after six months I finally got around to sanding it down and re-painting. It wasn’t much of a project, taking only an afternoon, but I couldn’t be happier with the results. The brass doorknocker cleaned up wonderfully, but the modern-ish lock set is fake-antique bronze on metal, and just wasn’t going to ever shine up right.

With half a can of paint left I probably won’t let it get quite so run down before taking care of it again. No Rolling Stones were played during the execution of this project.

A door with paint peeling

The door before. Click to embiggen.

A door with fresh paint

The door after. Click to embiggen.