Dressing up a Steel Entry Door

[hoops902]

The house we're building/remodeling has some oversized doors, 3 of them to be exact.  They are 42" wide.  We aren't having a problem with a front door, because you can get a fancy door with glass and all that in it special-ordered from pretty much anywhere.  The other 2 doors at that size are not fancy entry doors though, they are a back door and a door from the house to the garage.  The problem is once you get rid of glass, you're pretty much left with an option of just a smooth steel door (no paneled look, no detail, just a big flat surface which isn't all that pleasing to the eye).  

Anyone done anything to spruce up the looks of a flat steel exterior door?  I've tried googling, but haven't had much luck.  My parents used to buy these things and then basically superglue them onto the door to make it look like a paneled door...but the things were kind of ugly and eventually melted being in the sun.  I was thinking something magnetic but couldn't find anything when I looked online.  We could obviously paint it in some way, but that's probably more of a last resort.

Anyone have experience with this?

[thyme4change]

Hire a muralist.

[Cheesy FL-Vol]

Apparently these guys do custom steel doors with or without glass:

ProVia offers its fiberglass and steel entry doors in a wide variety of styles, with or without glass. Its custom entry doors come in a wide selection of panel styles both interior and exterior, and a variety of glass styles and designs as well as options for hardware. Accessories like pet doors, Craftsman-style hinge straps, speakeasies and kick plates also can be added

www.provia.com/entry-doors/customization

[Cheesy FL-Vol]

Oh, and Thyme's suggestion really is a great idea. Hire an artist to make your doors appear to have raised panels. My brother used to do this. He made basic metal garage doors look like wood with huge cast iron hinges. It was unbelievably realistic.

[hoops902]

I could hire a muralist or get a custom door made for me, but I probably wasn't clear on the purpose.  These don't need to be nice doors, they don't need to be custom, they're just utilitarian doors that I was hoping to dress up simply and cheaply in some way.  

The place we're getting our actual front entry door could surely do custom doors for all the other exterior doors as well...but I don't see a reason to spend that kind of money on the garage door and back door that nobody but us will see.  Just trying to find cheap/simple ways to make it a LITTLE less...boring.

[thyme4change]

Maybe you could just do a little paint yourself. Make sure you research what will stick and make a pattern with painter's tape. It would be unique, but not expensive.

Hiring a muralist for a simple painting might not be too expensive. I don't consider it as "custom" as much as decorative.

[Tiny]

Are fiberglass doors out of the question?   I think those come in more decorative choices.     If you have to go with steel - can you not get one that's textured with a wood finish?   OK, maybe that's not the best choice.   I opted for a textured steel entry door with a cherry wood finish.    Unfortunately, after 10 years the intense western sunlight has caused the finish to fade and flake.      I will eventually be repainting it a solid color. 

Actually, I'm knocking around the idea of having a mural painted.   La Loteria  images are very popular in my area (they look very vibrate and bright and cool).   I would possibly go with something alittle more tarot style  perhaps a 4 of Wands theme...   


Added: when I thought about it - maybe the door width only came in "plain flat door"  so  I googled this:  Steel entry doors 42 inch wide without glass 

Is the problem the height?   So, you have to special order the door because of the height? 

www.homedepot.com/p/Steves-Sons-42-in-x-80-in-Premium-6-Panel-Primed-White-Steel-Prehung-Front-Door-ST60-PR-36-4ORH/205486659?mtc=Shopping-B-F_D30-G-D30-30_24_EXTERIOR_DOORS-Generic-NA-Feed-PLA-NA-NA-ExteriorDoors&cm_mmc=Shopping-B-F_D30-G-D30-30_24_EXTERIOR_DOORS-Generic-NA-Feed-PLA-NA-NA-ExteriorDoors-71700000032209583-58700003832418681-92700049594974256&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7Ymwp9P35gIVBdvACh0otwzfEAQYAiABEgJZmPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Tennesseer]

Have someone laser etch a design into the doors?

For the back door and door to the garage - wouldn't you want to know what might be on the other side of the door before you even open it?  A small window would be nice.  Even a spy hole.

[CCL]

Don't know if it would serve your purpose, but they make magnetic toe kicks. Those would spruce them up a bit. Or maybe nicer hardware like handles and/or hinges? Whenever we have changed out those kinds of things it made the doors look (and) function much better.

[hoops902]

Jan 9, 2020 18:13:20 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Are fiberglass doors out of the question?   I think those come in more decorative choices.     If you have to go with steel - can you not get one that's textured with a wood finish?   OK, maybe that's not the best choice.   I opted for a textured steel entry door with a cherry wood finish.    Unfortunately, after 10 years the intense western sunlight has caused the finish to fade and flake.      I will eventually be repainting it a solid color. 

Actually, I'm knocking around the idea of having a mural painted.   La Loteria  images are very popular in my area (they look very vibrate and bright and cool).   I would possibly go with something alittle more tarot style  perhaps a 4 of Wands theme...   


Added: when I thought about it - maybe the door width only came in "plain flat door"  so  I googled this:  Steel entry doors 42 inch wide without glass 

Is the problem the height?   So, you have to special order the door because of the height? 

www.homedepot.com/p/Steves-Sons-42-in-x-80-in-Premium-6-Panel-Primed-White-Steel-Prehung-Front-Door-ST60-PR-36-4ORH/205486659?mtc=Shopping-B-F_D30-G-D30-30_24_EXTERIOR_DOORS-Generic-NA-Feed-PLA-NA-NA-ExteriorDoors&cm_mmc=Shopping-B-F_D30-G-D30-30_24_EXTERIOR_DOORS-Generic-NA-Feed-PLA-NA-NA-ExteriorDoors-71700000032209583-58700003832418681-92700049594974256&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7Ymwp9P35gIVBdvACh0otwzfEAQYAiABEgJZmPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

The height isn't an issue, but that link is to a 6-panel door, which happens to be the one kind of door my wife just absolutely HATES (obviously the luck would be that about the only non-glass door you can find commercially is the kind she happens to have an unexplainable hatred for lol).  Fiberglass isn't out of the question necessarily, but the options for that size still don't really open up much (and I do think we'd both prefer steel, we're out in the country and the extra security of steel is nice...even if it's just from storm debris).  

I do think a painted design might be a very good choice on the garage door.  It's inside, protected from the elements, likely to last, etc.  The back door takes a beating from the sun and other elements, so historically doors back there don't fare well (that's the door my parents glued things on which just melted from exposure to direct sunlight).  

There's also a chance we could just go with a small piece of glass in the back door since that would provide more opportunity to see outside (though there are plenty of windows nearby that work for that function if we wanted to look out)...so far most doors 42" wide are intended more as front doors than back doors though, and they have these "frilly" glass pieces with designs and all that (I'd prefer just an open pane of glass without the frills).  

Magnetic kick plates might actually be a good solution for the back door.  We could craft some sort of design out of them, and they are built to stand up to some beating so would have a good shot at lasting.

[Anne_in_VA]

We put in a steel door for our back door and it has a smallish window in the upper portion of the door. It also has a sort of Venetian blind between the panes of glass so we can open the blind or close it for more privacy. We do have tempered glass in it too. IIRC it was a custom order, but not that expensive.

[hoops902]

Jan 10, 2020 9:09:28 GMT -5 Anne_in_VA said:

We put in a steel door for our back door and it has a smallish window in the upper portion of the door. It also has a sort of Venetian blind between the panes of glass so we can open the blind or close it for more privacy. We do have tempered glass in it too. IIRC it was a custom order, but not that expensive.

This is what I was hoping to be able to find, because it seems pretty simple.  So far it seems like the 42" width is problematic to get someone to make with the interior blind.  We can get one with a pane of glass on the upper half for $500 or so.  But getting the blind seems like we go from big box/retail-door-sales special order to high end custom manufacturers and it balloons well up over $1000.  

It may also be something where we just have them install the flat steel door, see how we like it once it's up, and if I hate it I'll just replace it later on my own.  

We're also not fancy people, so maybe I can hire a "muralist" from the local HS art class to paint something fun my kids will enjoy on the garage door (that's the one they'll see every day anyways).  That also accomplishes the goal of just not having to worry about this until after the house is built...which is a pretty big motivating factor in being able to just check this "issue" off the list and move on to things more important than the aesthetics of a door only my family will ever likely see.

[Tennesseer]

If you can find one which meets the dimensions of your doors, you might consider self-adhesive removable art door decals like this one.  I imagine there are multiple different scenes.

[hoops902]

Jan 10, 2020 10:09:48 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

If you can find one which meets the dimensions of your doors, you might consider self-adhesive removable art door decals like this one.  I imagine there are multiple different scenes.

That's exactly the kind of suggestion I was hoping for.  I'll have to see if they make some for exterior application.  

[gambler]

I just because it is me would get in touch with a car wrap company and get them to make a wrap for the door of attack dogs or a person with  ak-47

[Tennesseer]

Just saw this.  Posting it in case you want to do something with your stairs after you decorate your steel doors.

[toomuchreality]

🤔

I know! I know!

Wait for it...

Wait...

Window clings! Super simple, super cheap, and can be changed to match your mood, season, holiday, etc. . Add as many, or few as you like.
Brilliant!

🤣🤣🤣

Okay, a little more seriously ~
How about either painting, or with tape (or ?)... make squares for a calendar. Then use dry erase markers to fill in the dates and make notes.

Or you can wrap the doors like a gift. If you wrap it in white or brown butcher paper, people (kids?) can use it to draw, or write notes on it.

That's all I got. (Thank goodness!) ☺ 😁

🤣🤣🤣

[NoNamePerson]

Just don't paint it RED!!

[oped]

Paint it like this!

[countrygirl2]

Hey my 2 exterior doors, front and garage are painted red!  They were a dull gray color, added nothing to the house, now it looks really nice. We took them down, I taped them off and painted them red.  The one on the back is white, steel clad but it is mostly glass.  Could the one from the garage to the house be glass instead?  I like the ideas of the wraps, those are really awesome.  Those are sure big doors, why so big?

[buystoys]

Could you have it burnished or stippled in a pattern?  I have no idea how much that would cost, but have seen some interesting patterns on the inside of elevators.

[laterbloomer]

I think just painting it a nice colour would work wonders. For some reason I am picturing a nice jade or something like that. And a really nice door handle. And hang a nice plant next to them.

[tskeeter]

Jan 11, 2020 11:01:27 GMT -5 countrygirl2 said:

Hey my 2 exterior doors, front and garage are painted red!  They were a dull gray color, added nothing to the house, now it looks really nice. We took them down, I taped them off and painted them red.  The one on the back is white, steel clad but it is mostly glass.  Could the one from the garage to the house be glass instead?  I like the ideas of the wraps, those are really awesome.  Those are sure big doors, why so big?

Most building codes require a fire rated door between the garage and the living space.  Glass doors, or doors with windows usually don’t meet the fire rating requirement.

Why are fire doors required?  Because your garage is full of flammable material.  Cars full of gas, gas cans for lawn mowers and other garden equipment, gas for the boat, cans of flammable solvents.  Then mix in grinders and other tools that throw sparks, chargers for cordless tools that can overheat and catch fire, hot car engines that may ignite leaking fuel or under hood rodent nests.  In general, a mix that increases the risk of flammables catching fire.  You want to keep the fire that started in the garage in the garage until the fire department can get to your house.  (The drywall on the wall between the house and the garage is part of the fire barrier, too.)

[countrygirl2]

My garage door to the house has a glass window.  We have very little flammable in ours, its all out in hubs garages.  No gas, none of that stuff, of course the car is in it. But I can see where folks would if they didn't have other garages or storage buildings.  All our gas cans about 45 gallons of it is stored in our mower shed.


I still like the wraps, those are pretty.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

I second Oped’s idea!!

[mroped]

In our old house at some point we got a few mice- we were living next to farm fields.
Our son was just learning to write and had a thing about going constantly in the basement. I can’t recall the exact reason why but we told him not to go in there anymore because there is a big, scary dead rat in the basement.
He ended up writing on the door to the basement “do not enter! Dead rat!” And an arrow pointing down!
We left that door as it were, with the writing on for years to come, until we moved!
Great conversation starter!😂

[oped]

Jan 12, 2020 8:09:19 GMT -5 mroped said:

In our old house at some point we got a few mice- we were living next to farm fields.
Our son was just learning to write and had a thing about going constantly in the basement. I can’t recall the exact reason why but we told him not to go in there anymore because there is a big, scary dead rat in the basement.
He ended up writing on the door to the basement “do not enter! Dead rat!” And an arrow pointing down!
We left that door as it were, with the writing on for years to come, until we moved!
Great conversation starter!😂

WE never told him that...

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

😂😂😂

Mom and Dad are fighting!!!

😂😂😂

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jan 9, 2020 18:44:39 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Have someone laser etch a design into the doors?

For the back door and door to the garage - wouldn't you want to know what might be on the other side of the door before you even open it?  A small window would be nice.  Even a spy hole.

Laser etching was going to be my first suggestion also. 
Another thought: We have a lot of wrought iron and metal work around here. What if you found someone to make a metal artwork appliqué for the door? 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

If you were to have something like this designed and then overlay it on the door? (Am I thinking of a steel door correctly? Does it resemble my stainless steel appliances?)