"Doorspeak"

And as usual, the Craftsmen at My Door Company welcome you back to the on-going discussion about all things "Door." We hope you all have enjoyed the exciting motions of the last few postings - rest assured, we post nothing but the best for all to see.  Though in case you missed our Virgin Island endeavor, or perhaps our voyage by "Ship through a Sea of Glass," see our archives to the right for the unforgettable details. Only here, with My Door Company, can one gain such immaculate insight into the ultimate craft of door building.

Today, we discuss the ever-growing vernacular of the trade - "Doorspeak," if you will (thank you George...). While most everything to do with doors is commonplace, and somewhat self explanatory, we do not wish to leave any of our followers behind in the weeks to come as we explain the intricate details of the workings of My Door Company. Given there is some debate over certain terminology within the industry, and a popular substitute of slang for others, we will try and wade through the muck and discuss nothing but the facts. Furthermore, much of the door vocabulary we use crosses the lines into other industries, such as architecture and the likes, so some terms are used differently depending on the field. And due to the innovative spirit so evident in all work by My Door Company, you will see definitions and terms exclusive to My Door Company - we have no choice but to maintain that same sense of innovation from our physical work in our written word as well.

Let us begin with the door above (and below): in "doorspeak" - Knotty Alder, 2-panel, top rail arch, square-top; 1-panel, 1-lite sidelites; with "Rustic Iron Scrape".

Now for the layperson - A square-top door with 2 panels, a curved top rail, with windows to either side, all made from Knotty Alder, and complete with the "Rustic Iron Scrape."

Let us begin with the basics (reference the letters on above image):

Although there are a variety of types of doors, almost all of the doors from My Door Company are panel doors, with panels, stiles, and rails (we will discuss the other types of doors, like slab or flush doors another time...). Stiles (H) are the vertical supports, and Rails (D) are the horizontal portions - this door has 2 stiles and 3 rails. Panels (A & B) make up the majority of any door and there is virtually an endless amount of combinations and shapes when it comes to the panel configuration - this door has 2 raised panels, the top panel being curved. These particular panels have a raised profile, though flat panels are also an option for a simple, straight look. These components apply to all doors - exterior, interior, cabinet, etc. 

This particular door is a square-top door, though it does have a arched top rail. Not much else to say about square-tops, though a discussion on the architectural feature known as the "Arch" could go on for days and days. The "Arch" has fascinated humankind throughout all of history, and remains to this day a prominent feature in all types of construction and design. The top rail on this door could be classified as a "flat" arch because it's curves come to point. For our intents and purposes, let us mention only a few types of arches - true, flat, gothic, tudor, elliptical, and cathedral. Click HERE for an example of a roundtop (or true arch) door and HERE for a flat arch door unit.  Our apologies to all the past and present Thinkers and Theorists of Arches and Architecture for the brief (and perhaps butchered) explanation. 

Moving on to glass - all glass/windows in and around doors are called "lites." If panel A was glass rather than wood, it would be called a "doorlite"; glass next to a door is called a "sidelite" (C); glass above a door is called a transom (this door unit has no transom). And as you can see from the image above, the door and sidelites are all part of the same unit. The above sidelites could be considered stationary doors, given My Door Company builds them with the same quality and integrity as the door itself. Label E references the actual glass within the sidelite. 

To maintain weatherproofing and longevity, the entire door unit sits on a threshold, or sill (G). Much like everything else, there is almost endless threshold options (adjustable, aluminum, wood, handicap-accessible, residential, commercial, etc). Obviously, the door opens on hinges (not visible), and closes against weatherstripping to ensure energy efficiency and a quality seal (again not visible). The door itself is also suited with a door bottom, or sweep (also not visible), that is attached to the bottom of the door - it is usually made from aluminum and vinyl and rests between the door and threshold when the door is closed. And for those of you from the "knob-less" corners of the world, every door has a knob, to open, close and lock the door. 

For both structural and aesthestic reasons, all doors have brick moulding (F). Brick moulding is part of the door unit and is a heavy-duty moulding used to attach the actual door unit to a home or building. Brick moulding is the exterior version of the baseboard and casing that is found on the interior of any given house. 

The last, but not least, characteristic on the above door is the exclusive "Rustic Iron Scrape" - this is a carved finish meant to give certain doors an aged or distressed look. It has been used on both exterior and interior doors and the finished look is exclusive to the doors of My Door Company. Just another example of the custom and creative nature of the work done by My Door Company. (Look for more details and examples of the "Rustic Iron Scrape" in the coming weeks - for now click HERE for an enlarged image to see the carved detail).

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Let's do a quick review of everything discussed so far on a new door, pictured below: 

In "doorspeak" - Select Alder, 3 panel, 6 lite, square-top; 1 panel, 2 lite sidelites; arched 5 lite transom

A - arched 5 lite transom (again, the door, sidelites, and transom are part of the same door unit)

B & C - 1 flat panel, 2 lite sidelites

D - doorlites and mullions. "Mullion" is an architectural term that references a divider on or between windows. This particular door has mullions on the door, sidelites, and transom. 

E - flat panels on doors

F - brick moulding

HERE is an unlabeled image of the above door. 

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Hopefully, this onslaught of door jargon has given you a better understanding of doors and what is part of the custom door process. While there are almost unlimited options of almost all door components, the quality of different options and processes widely varies - and needless to say, My Door Company only utilizes the top of the line hardware, wood, and processes in our production. 

For those readers that are absolutely overwhelmed or bored, look forward to a new "Project of the Week" next time, with less words and more pictures. And as always we appreciate your time and attention. 

Visit http://www.mydoorco.com/ for more info. 

-rh@mdc

Project of the Week - Ships & the Sea

Let us carry on from where we left off last week to the latest and greatest 'Project of the Week' from My Door Company. We jump from the Virgin Islands to the heart of our very own Colorado landscape - Black Forest. Located slightly northeast of Colorado Springs, Black Forest is a beautiful wooded area with rolling hills and great views of the Rocky Mountains, particularly Pikes Peak.

This particular door, as you can see from the image above, is simple in design with an arched top and oversized sidelites (sidelites are the stationary windows to either side of the door). The door unit was built from select Alder, which is a common hardwood used for cabinets, furniture, and the likes. Much of the Alder used in the States originates from Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, as well as Canada, though other sub-species of Alder can be found in Africa, Europe, Russia, and Japan. Even further one can purchase 'Select' Alder, which is mostly straight-grained with limited knot patterns, or 'Knotty' Alder, which has a more rustic look with it's natural character and prominent knots.  Alder is easy to work with and once finished has the elegance of Cherry, without the price tag. Given it is a pleasant-looking hardwood that is both widely-available and affordable, My Door Company has used a great deal of Alder recently for both exterior and interior doors, as well as cabinets and other furniture.

This particular door unit is quite impressive as it towers almost 8 feet tall and 9 feet wide, though it is the glass itself that commands all attention. As you can see in the below image, the glass in the door and the sidelites have quite the ocean scene (the project was for a retired Vice Admiral). Between the three panes of glass, there is a massive ocean vessel with sails and crew, along with tumbling oceans waves, whitecaps, clouds, and fowl to match. Such a simple elegant door, with such a sandblasted scene leaves one captivated, even with the great mountain views surrounding the property.

As much as the craftsmen at My Door Company would love to take credit for both the door AND the glass art, alas, we cannot. We must give credit where credit is due (imagine Immaculate Door Builders AND Incredible Glass Artists - quite the resume!). We utilized the artisan talents of a local glass artist, who as you can see in the short video below, both designed and hand cut the pattern, as well as sand blasted the scene on the glass panes. The video shows the process of the design and fabrication, and at the very end you can get a better look at the finished product of My Door Company.

Not only does My Door Company strive to build the highest quality doors made in Colorado, we also offer options like this glass art to truly personalize all the work that we do. The options are endless. Thanks again for joining us.

Visit www.MyDoorCo.com for more info.

-rh@mdc

Project of the Week

Welcome back to the workings of My Door Company - where we continue our journey forward with the first posting of what is to be a regular segment entitled "Project of the Week." We will profile a current or completed project in detail, discussing specs, wood species, processes and procedures, carving techniques, and other details. We hope you enjoy the inner-workings of how My Door Company does doors and cabinets.


We begin with our first international project - My Door Company just completed and shipped a plethora of custom doors to a beautiful little island called St. John. This beautiful island, located some 800 miles south of Florida in the midst of the Caribbean sea, is all the more beautiful now that one of it's vacation homes is fully equipped with our official handcrafted doors! While technically St. John is, of course, still American soil, this job in the US Virgin Islands is our most sprawling project to date.


This particular project consisted of both interior and exterior doors, all fashioned from African Mahogany. African Mahogany is sourced from the tropical areas of western, central, and eastern Africa, most widely used for cabinets and furniture, as well as for boatbuilding. There is a great deal of variance in the natural grain patterns and colorings of African Mahogany board by board (more than some other species), which is quite apparent in some the images posted here. This occasionally makes it difficult to work with in the machining process, as well affecting the look and tones of the finished product. 


The doors consisted of 22 openings, both inside and out. The interior doors were single-door units with raised panels, as you can see above, and the exterior doors consisted of single-door units, double-door units, and four-door units with glass. Overall there were 37 individual doors total. The exterior doors, in contrast to standard residential doors, were all out-swinging. Traditionally, all standard residential exterior doors swing in, and all commercial exterior doors swing out (for fire safety and other issues). Because these particular exterior doors are in a home located in an area prone to hurricanes and other extreme weather conditions, they all swing out. Of course, this may be a detail that only door builders notice, but it does affect the types of thresholds and hinges that can be used. 


As you can see from the images, the style of the doors were simple, yet elegant with the round top of the single unit doors and curved corners of the multi-units. Even though the curves are simple and slight on some, the processes to curve wood for stiles, rails, and panels, as well as door jambs and moulding, are much more complex and challenging compared to the components required for standard square doors and openings. 

Overall, we had almost 10 crates of doors shipped to Florida, then turned over to a freight forwarder to deliver to the island. We used almost 2000 board foot of African Mahogany and over 20 gallons of glue for the 13 sets of exterior doors and 9 sets of interior doors. The doors were all of various widths and heigths, but the largest four-door unit was 12 feet wide and almost 9 feet tall - quite the set of doors to frame that island view!

Visit www.MyDoorCo.com for more info. 


-rh@mdc

Welcome to the Official blog of MY DOOR COMPANY

What began five generations ago in the lumber industry of the Midwest has evolved into over 30 years of custom handcrafted doors and cabinets for your home or business.  My Door Company offers exceptional woodworking with a vision for your design, and delivers one-of-a-kind doors and cabinets like no one else. From multi-million dollar Parade Homes to that Getaway Cabin in the mountains, each design is a challenge that is welcomed with enthusiasm and vision. My Door Company builds on your ideas with over 30 years of knowledge and experience and is dedicated to 100% customer satisfaction.

My Door Company is located in Palmer Lake, Colorado, just north of Colorado Springs. We service all of Colorado - Colorado Springs, Southern Colorado, the Denver metro area, Boulder, Fort Collins and Northern Colorado, and Summit County - as well as the surrounding states. We can also ship product anywhere in the country.

Locally owned and operated in the Palmer Lake/Monument area for the last 15 years, we are proud to provide our customers with the highest quality, Colorado-made custom handcrafted doors and cabinets.

Join us here for discussion on custom doors and cabinets, as well as other woodworking issues. We hope to explore in more detail some of our past and current projects, as well as up and coming news from the building industry.

Of course, please see our website - www.MyDoorCo.com - for more info, or feel free to contact us via phone or email - reed@mydoorco.com - with any questions or inquiries regarding our custom handcrafted doors and cabinets.

Thanks again for your support and interest. Check back soon for updates.

-rh@mdc