ᐅ Used Wooden Front Door – Experiences

Hello,

we are planning to build soon, and I have a question. Since a wooden front door like the one I like would cost a considerable amount, I started looking for used doors and found a beautiful door, including glass side panels and a wooden frame, which I have already put a down payment on.

Has anyone here installed an old front door in a new build, and what has your experience been? I don’t want to tell our construction company about “our lucky find” just yet, so I’m asking here first 🙂!

Is it possible to change the lock so that it can be opened electrically via the home security system?

The wood is still in good condition, reportedly 7 years old, and has double glazing.

Many thanks—I’m looking forward to your answers 🙂

I think you should have discussed that with your building partner first.

Besides the size (the opening should be built accordingly) and the color, the insulation value according to current standards also plays a role. You should know that for your door.

I’m not sure if retrofitting is possible.

Is the lock supposed to unlock electrically, or are you referring to a buzzer (pressing it at the intercom to release the latch)?

So far, the size has been planned exactly like this. I don’t know the insulation value, of course – it probably won’t be the best, but for a 7-year-old, high-quality door, it shouldn’t be bad either.
Yes, there will be a buzzer. The garden gate and the front door should be able to be opened via the intercom system.

And we deliberately didn’t discuss this beforehand – otherwise, we would understandably only be advised against it! After all, this way, the commission for a new door is avoided.

How is it with your construction company? Does your contract include windows and doors? If you suddenly bring your own, I would almost assume that you are now the proud owner of two front doors.

No, we have specifically arranged in the contract to be able to procure services/items ourselves. So that is not a problem...
We also do this with the tiles/tiler, floor coverings, interior doors, and possibly the windows. We would have contracted the roof ourselves as well, but they then submitted a better offer. So we are "free" in that regard.

So where exactly is the reason not to discuss this with the builder?

However, there is a difference between doing entire trades yourself or contracting them out differently, and telling the window installer, "Install the door that is already in my garage."

I believe you should be upfront about this. You would certainly expect the same from your contractual partner...