Going Greener Bit by Bit

As we work toward a Green Point Rating at our 1924 bungalow in San Rafael, we’re doing small, incremental changes that will add up to a greener, healthier and more comfortable home. First project – replace the old, leaky front door that sticks shut when it’s hot out.

Isn’t our old front door lovely? Not! Also, it was broken into years ago and two of the glass panes are actually plexiglass. We have a curtain for privacy, but it’s faded, old and dusty. I started by going for a neighborhood walk to see what I liked on other houses like mine. Here’s a few I like with antique wood and old beveled glass. Check out the door knocker on the door on the right.

Unfortunately, antique doors like these are hard to find and expensive to retrofit to an existing door frame, especially on a house that is almost 100 years old. For both energy efficiency and price, I found my best bet was to go with a new wooden door, in a similar style to the second one, that where the installers would replace the whole door frame to create a tight seal that will be energy efficient, secure, and open and close easily, which is what we really want. The new door is now on order, so stay tuned!