Happy Birthday! My very own front door.

April 2nd

the second of April is my birthday and this year I turned 24 and I gave myself the day to install a new door frame for the front door. unfortunately having realized the frame was the  wrong size I had to change the plan for the day to include installing a new front door as well.

The old door frame came out very easily, it was quite clear that it had been very badly treated and left in such a bad state that the main jamb on the lock side of the door was pretty much split in half. that is what made it so easy for the kids to keep breaking in and inflicting so much damage on the rest of the house. There is a saying; a chain is only as strong as its weakest link and when it comes to home security that is very true. after the fire a few months ago I had reinforced the frame with an aluminum angle and extra padlocks but it was never a permanent fix and this new frame was needed urgently.  

We got quite involved in a job that turned out to be way more involved and time consuming then I initially thought and I forgot to take photos until the frame and the door were in and I had chiseled out the hole for the lock. the whole process has to be fairly accurate so that the lock fit well and match up so that the door works properly and is completely secure. This was the first time myself or Dad had fitted a door and new hardware (locks hinges etc.) so the job continued later and later.  

This last photo was taken showing the new door in place and ready to go, or so we thought until we closed it fully and found that there was still an issue. by the time we had it right. we had lost daylight and were far to late to make it to my own Birthday dinner.

Despite the trouble, the time and the lack of a birthday dinner I was quite pleased with the days work; I now have a working front door that I can enter through with one key from the outside, the weak link is gone. That night was also the first time I had been at my house after dark and I felt like things were starting to move forward. It was odd but in the dark of night I caught a glimpse of this house turning back in to a home. with a proper front door and the lights on, inside seemed safe and inviting compared to the dark streets outside. I said in my first post; a home should be a refuge and this house is on its way back, before long it will be doing its job once again.