The Challenge of Contemporary and Conservation ..... with style!

Question:
  How do you make a modern contemporary door using salvaged, recycled, and green materials ?

That was the question that I had to ask myself with a challenge of solving that situation while creating beautiful door.

"the rest of the story!"

    I was asked by a local contractor, known as Rosenthal ~ Thorton Construction, if I could make a door similar to a sketch provided by their designer, Ron Press.

My first response was ......... SURE ......... then the caution sign started flashing and the sirens started getting louder.  Why you ask ?  Back in the 1400’s most of the doors were plank style doors made of boards attached together to fill the hole in the wall.  Cut lumber, even though it is no longer growing,  still swells and shrinks due to seasonal and climatic changes.  This can mean that several boards fastened together would swell up in the rainy season and actually bind so tight that the plank door would swell to the point of not opening without a stiff shoulder and a running start.  So that is the primary reason for developing a frame-and-panel door that really has only the outside boards that will swell and shrink.

So there must be a solution .......... and there is.

Take a 100% recycled waterproof substrate (core), edge it with Redwood (2”), on all four sides, and face it with  book-matched thick veneers that give the plank appearance, but won’t swell and shrink during seasonal changes.

Now before you think of the postcard thin mass-produced veneers, as seen on most doors and furniture these days, think of slices of wood about 5/16” thick.   We sawed these planks from vertical grain Old Growth Redwood lumber 

                            

Then we take these thick veneers and make two large sheets and adhere these beautiful pieces of wood  to the inner core made of  recycled material.  This material will have to remain a “secret” for now, but it’s pretty cool! These faces we adhered with my ever faithful waterproof glue in a vacuum press.  This press is like a giant “seal-a-meal” that exerts 1750 lbs of pressure on every square inch of surface.  And I keep these pieces  in my press for at least 72 hrs (3 days), until it is fully cured.

Next, after sanding, came the the inlay of a 3” wide stainless steel strip, on each side.  This was “sorta” tricky, but we got it done and each piece wraps both ends and is affixed with stainless steel screws.

By the way, 90% of the consumer market stainless steel come from recycled sources.

“According to the International Stainless Steel Forum; unlike other recyclable materials, 85% - 95% of stainless steel does wind up being recycled - very little winds up in landfill. The is  because stainless steel is so precious and durable.” (Sourcing http://www.greenlivingtips.com).

Last but not least, we found stainless D handles that we mounted on both sides.  They wanted handles that mounted without visible mounting brackets and we found this hardware through a wonderful online company called KnobDeco (http://www.knobdeco.com).  I think you’ll agree these handles are like candles on the cake!

If you are interested in viewing more of this door, please visit our Door Gallery and check out The Sea Cliff Entry.

I also would like to invite any questions you may have regarding custom doors, gates, or stained glass.

Trying to Show and Explain Quality and Craftsmanship

Sooo......... there are literally dozens and dozens of door manufacturers out in this big wonderful world we live in.  And I’m sure that some of these manufacturers try to make a door that is not only nice to look at, but made with the “intention” for durability.

    Many of the doors on the market are presented as “solid wood, Oak” not solid Oak wood.  That is because the frame of the door is made with a Finger-Jointed 2nd party wood such as Pine or Poplar (see a youtube video on finger jointed wood at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9_IprVDZRo).

Here you see short pieces of wood,  joined with a Finger Joint.
This allows manufacturers to take wood scraps and
convert them to pieces of lumber used inside their doors.
WE DON'T DO THIS !

Then  the substrate (door blank) is edged with 3/4” Oak and the entire face surface is veneered with Oak or whatever species they are selling.  This veneer is about twice as thick as your business card 0.040" (yikes!) There are very few solid-wood door manufactures out there, and even fewer who use all vertical grain wood in the construction of their doors.

    How the wood is cut is very important.  Less than 25% of wood milled is "vertical grain", making it  more expensive.  However, vertical grain wood is infinitely more desirable than the cheaper and more plentiful flat grain.  Vertical grain is much more durable and stable, and will last up to twice as long!  Others may claim to use clear, vertical grain wood, but looking at their pictures frequently shows something completely different.  All of the salvaged lumber we have sawn, and all of the green
eco-friendly lumber that we purchase is Vertical Grain, because that will help us create doors that will stand the tests of time and the elements.

Here is a completed entry of
vertical grain Old Growth Redwood.
It is ALL solid Redwood

   Another revelation that I had (many years ago) was that if I delivered a door that was finish sanded but not sealed, all of the door parts “inside” of the door would never be sealed, by me or by the client.  Therefore it will be exposed to humidity and moisture.  This exposure makes the wood swell, shrink, mildew, water stain, enhance cracking, and could even cause joint failure. What a nightmare !
    Solution:  We seal every door frame, door panels, jambs, and even the door stops at least 3 times (many 4 times), with out own combination of premium exterior finishes, we call Varnish-Oil.

Here is a door frame that is soaking with our Varnish-Oil.
It will be wiped down after an hour or so and will
dry for 3 days and re-coated three more times.

These panels will receive 3-4 coats
of varnish-oil, allowed to soak in an
then wiped down and allowed to cure.

The panels will receive 3-4 coats of
varnish-oil before they are installed
into the door.

Even the stops for every door are soaked in a tub of our
varnish-oil so that, with the door and panels
ALL our door parts are sealed from the inside out.

      During the entire construction of each clients door, I photograph each step and after the door is glued up, I create a website for my client (and the rest of the world!) to see the progress and watch it blossom into the door they envisioned.  That is my goal and so far (knock on wood) this process and dedication to craftsmanship and quality is being embraced by very nice folks who dream up beautiful and unique doors for their home or office.  And for that I am thankful and strive each day to do better.

This "slice" of nature is a piece of vertical grain Redwood.
It is sliced very thin and that is the summer sun shining through.

Please visit Our Website to see how we make doors.  Thanks for stopping by.