We have been slacking on blogging lately. There’s a couple of reasons for that. One being personal, Kara’s sister & her husband have been dealing with some health issues and the family has been pitching in here and there to help (hey, it’s what family does). It’s been a rocky road and any prayers or assistance is much appreciated. You can ready more about it here if you are interested or feel led to help.
The other reason our blog has been neglected of late is our frickin’ front door. The bane of my existence.
What.
A.
Nightmare.
But how did we get here?
We have always known there was water damage at the front door. The home inspector pointed it out to us when we bought the house. But it wasn’t a huge deal to us as we had plans to install new hardwood throughout. When we ripped up the old floor in preparation for the new, we truly discovered how bad it really was. The thresholds were rotten, the door jamb legs were rotten, and the subfloor underneath it all was also rotten.
For months, there lay a bare spot of subfloor at our front door in anticipation of being repaired before adorning the lovely espresso colored bamboo that now graced the rest of our floors. I always knew that the front door would be a beast of a project. Even that was an understatement. I had resolved to cut and patch everything, since the cost of a new similar unit would set us back at least a couple thousand dollars. I had a plan of attack, but as any homeowner will tell you….sometimes it’s all a wash. You get in there and start working only to realize it’s way worse than you originally prepared for. Also, *disclaimer* All these photos were shot with my phone, because I wasn’t about to bust out our nice camera and cover it with sweat and sawdust. 
Unfortunately, the damage was too extensive and the easier solution turned out to be taking out the ENTIRE assembly. For this, I had to enlist help. I consider myself pretty handy around the house, but this was beyond my expertise. Once the assembly was out, we were free to start cutting away the rotten jamb legs and patch them with new ones. This…took a long time. Longer than normal people could do in one day. What I’m really saying here, is that the door wasn’t going back in place that same day. So this had to happen…
And man, did I feel bad about it. Our poor neighbors having to drive by our boarded up house looking like it had been condemned. Throughout the week, I was at least able to rip out the rotten subfloor and patch it too. It was bad you guys. Like….real bad. It’s honestly a surprise how anyone hadn’t fallen through the floor at this point. Everything was very soft. 
The following weekend, my friend came back over and helped me re-hang the door. Thankfully, it was pretty smooth sailing and we may have muttered a couple of “thank God’s” as the door frame slid back into place with minimal issue. Once everything level and fastened to the framing we suddenly had a working door! Hard stuff is done!
Once the new thresholds were in place, a LOT of caulking had to take place. That’s how this whole thing got out of hand in the first place. Our house faces NW and it takes extreme exposure to the weather. The previous owners never bothered to touch-up the caulking to ensure a good seal. So, believe me I will be staying on top of it. From here on out, it was easy stuff. Wood filler, trim, caulking, painting. And then installing a NEW storm door!
Yeah, we went with black. And rest assured, it did not go up in only 45 minutes as advertised on the box. And even though we still had no finished floor, the boys wasted no time in staking out their favorite spot again. (please excuse K’s reflection)
I wanted to have a couple of good “rain-blowin-in-sideways” storms before installing the last of the hardwood. Gotta make sure that my caulking job is waterproof. Verdict? So far still dry! Which allowed me to FINALLY do this last Sunday afternoon. 
Truly an historic moment. This bare strip of subfloor has been haunting my dreams for months. And my poor, patient wife always asking when the door would be fixed so we could finish the floor. And let’s not even talk about the MONTHS of asking visitors to use the garage door. I can finally say we’re done and our guests can use the front door like real people do. Next step? Building a small front porch over the concrete stoop to protect all the work I’ve just done. Oh, and to add some curb appeal. 
And the boys can keep watch. If you need me, I’ll be sleeping easy tonight.
Looks good!