First Impressions, Simple Statements - Page 5
One door design that has been making inroads into the modern communities is the Wayne Dalton Model 8800 door, a full-view garage door with a reasonably compatible contemporary look featuring a series of simple rectangular panels. Choose from tempered safety glass, acrylic, or solid panels in a wide variety of colors (including preferred earth tones) and styles. Most panel styles are also available in both single pane and insulated configurations. The glass panels make a contemporary style statement. The Dalton is carried by Peninsula-based Eichler Solutions.
Very similar in design to the Dalton door, Northwest Door’s Modern Classic door is constructed of commercial-grade extruded aluminum alloy stiles and rails. The company will configure panel widths and heights to fit the home’s requirements, and you can choose between aluminum or glass panels.
“Depending on the glass you choose, it gives you privacy, but it can also have a mirror quality that is interesting,” Wilcox says of the Northwest Modern Classic, which he installs.
The Northwest model is also offered in the Bay Area by Keycon, Inc. and Artistic Garage Doors.
Another option is to create a custom door made with a company that specializes in wood-framed carriage doors, which feature wood siding and are installed with low overhead tracks. This solution is heavier than traditional metal doors, so it’s important that you work with a contractor who can marry the load of the door with appropriate automatic door-opening hardware.
Photography: David Toerge; and courtesy Jon Jarrett and all the participating door manufacturers
Simple, Stylish Entry Doors at Every Price Point
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Nothing beats the formal simplicity of a flush front door. Here are three winning options, separated mostly by their price tags.
Budget: The Jeld-Wen composite unfinished flush slab door is engineered for durability with carefully selected raw materials. It has 1-3/4-inch frame thickness with a solid core and bare wood faces. The door can be stained or painted and offers reversible handing for flexible installation options. Hardware not included. $54. Homedepot.com
Investment:Not finding what you want in a ready-made door? Create a custom look by adding architectural windows to a solid slab that's matched to your original door’s specs. New hardware, primer, and paint wrap up this DIY project. Matched and drilled door ($160). Southernlumber.com. Crestview Langston Doorlite Kit ($537) and ball-doorknob hardware kit ($124). Crestviewdoors.com. Behr Premium Plus Ultra paint and primer in one ($40). Homedepot.com
Splurge: A contemporary take on the plain slab door is Neoporte’s Racerback model—a sheet of stainless steel accented with metal grommets that race up the center of the door. The company builds each door to order, and sidelites and transoms can be added for a total system. Nineteen door level styles and practical options including precision-machined peephole, solid stainless steel threshold, and a flush-mounted stainless steel doorbell. Starting at $11,750. Neoporte.com
Do-It-Yourselfer Powers Up His Own Garage Doors
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In today’s ‘I-have-a-remote-for-everything’ lifestyle, there’s really no good reason to have to settle for manual garage doors. Eichler’s original sliding garage doors weren’t automated, so Cupertino Eichler owner Ed Hirshfield decided to change all that a few years ago by creating his own automated system tied to his original doors.
“But I wanted electrically controlled garage doors consistent with the Eichler ethos,” Ed says.
Total disclosure: Hirshfield is an engineer by trade, and the plans he sent to CA-Modern certainly prove it. The good news is that he began the project with two Chamberlain (model HD175DM - ½ HP) garage door openers, which came with remote controls, and which he purchased on clearance for $10 each. “I didn’t want to reinvent the world,” Ed says. He rigged the rest of the project, MacGyver-style.
