This is Not a Garage Post

The truth is our lives haven't been consumed with the completion of our garage, it only seemed like that.  I actually was able to finish a couple projects in the last few weeks and am finally getting around to sharing.

One of the most dramatic changes (and probably the least expensive), was painting our front door.  Because the door is covered by the porch, I wanted to make sure it didn't fade into the shadows.  From the moment I saw our house I knew that with the beige siding and black trim, a bold red door would be perfect.  Mike was less (okay, not at all) enthusiastic.

Before I painted, we had to finish the trim.  As embarrassing as it is, this was the state of our front door, (and back), for the last couple months, yes months. 

To complete this project, Mike borrowed a metal break to make the custom bent aluminum trim.  This was done by measuring the aluminum, cutting it down to size, then locking it into place in the break.

Then Mike grabs the handles and lifts up, creating a 90° bend.

We continued to bend and flip over until we got the desired profile.  Here's our work in progress:

After bending all the pieces needed, Mike installed the trim around the door.

After the trim was in and the J-channel was installed, the siding was put back in place and the job was 50% done, and already looked 100% better.

After living with some paint chips for a couple weeks and checking in on different times of the day to get all the different lights, I finally decided on Sherwin Williams Brick Paver (SW7599) which looked a little like burnt orangish red, because it was bright enough for a pop of color, but not too red. 

I started by washing the door with a TSP and water solution, then I simply used a paint brush (I wish I could have rolled, but the oil-like paint left weird roll marks), and applied that paint.  The deepness of the red required 3 coats, and the temperature (in the 40's and rainy) did not help the drying at all.  We actually had to leave the door open overnight twice because it was that tacky.  Eventually it was dry enough to add the final coat and Mike, being the genius he is, added Vaseline to the edges so that we were able close the door without the risk of pulling the edges up after re-opening. 

I quite like the new color and Mike doesn't hate it, which is good enough for me.