Dining Room Door Backward

It so happened that Dave and I stopped by the jobsite this morning after a teacher conference.

Our new dining room door is in! We waited 10 weeks for this funky combo from T.M. Cobb. It has an operable casement sidelight, providing the only ventilation into the dining room. It's not the main entry door, but is an entry from the porch on the wall adjacent to the main entry door.

BUT IT'S HUNG WRONG!!! I could SCREAM!!

The main part of the door (the wide part, with the note taped to it) is supposed to be hinged on the left, so that when it opens, it guides you into the room, rather than into a wall.


Instead, it's hinged on the post.


The order is correct, and it even has a drawing on it that shows how it's supposed to be hinged. I called our door guy immediately, and he said, "Oh good grief." He has to order and finish another one now.

Whose fault was this? The factory, initially. Who was supposed to catch it? The door store, certainly. But since we ordered the door, our jobsite foreman and the carpenter assumed it was hung right.

Who's going to pay for this? Ultimately, us, in one way or another. We're not paying for a new door, but someone has to pay the carpenter for the time he spent installing it. And, of course, it presents delays and scheduling complications that will certainly cost us.

ARRRHGHGHGHHHH!!

The good news is, it works beautifully and the finish is smooth and beautiful. It's going to be great. But what a missed opportunity to leave the jobsite thrilled about a major milestone.

Sliding Door Backward

Damn. This sliding door opens on the wrong side.

That corner on the left with the window is where I'd planned to put a guest bed, and I knew it would have to jut out and block the left side of that sliding door a little (with the red diamond sticker still on it). Fine, if it's blocking the inoperable side, which is really just a giant window.

But I noticed today, for the first time since it was installed months ago, that there are drill holes on the left for a handle. What?! The left side is supposed to be fixed,and the right side is supposed to slide open....nope, the right side is fixed. Damn!


First thing I did when I got home was to check the door order. There it was, my initials on the order, with the fixed section on the left side as I expected....oh no! As viewed from the exterior. Damn!

My affinity for doors, windows, built-ins, niches and nooks has taken a serious toll on wall space for furniture. I'm not sure where we're going to put everything. Anything.

Stair door backward

I can't stand wasted or unused space. So, this nook under the staircase had to be accessible, via a funky little door that fits right to the space.

In discussing it with the door guy, our jobsite foreman, our contractor, Dave, and anyone who'd listen, I was adament from day one that it open into the hall, not to the stairs. I had to repeat this in every conversation, because everyone wanted to hinge it on the long side. NO, I insisted, I don't want to stand on the steps to nudge it open.

Door-swing terminology is really complicated. There's "left-hand" and "right-hand" swing, but what does that mean? Does it matter if it swings in or out? Does it matter if you're standing on the "inside" or "outside" of the space? Does everyone do it the same way? Maybe, maybe, and definitely No.

I insisted on seeing the printed door order and approving it before any purchases were made. That might sound smart, but in fact, it means you take on responsibility for any tiny obscure mistake in the order, often in some part number or code for the finish color or something you don't know enough to notice.

But this one, I made certain was specified correctly: "LH," meaning, when you look at the door and it swings away from you, the hinges are on the left.

Despite my great care, I was dismayed to see that sure enough, the hinges ended up on the long side, and it opens into the stairs.

Looks like I have another round of draining phone calls to make when everything re-opens next year.

Framing started

Framing has started! The east-facing dormer is starting to take shape.


Underfloor radiant heat is in. Additions have insulation and subfloor too.

Still have an issue with the south wall along the property line -- does the entire wall, including the existing, have to be fire-rated? No overhangs within 3' of property line though, so the original south-facing overhang was torn down. Bummer.

We do have to order a new kitchen window, as the 45-degree bay we ordered will project within 3' of the property line. Our window guy is looking into a 30-degree bay, or maybe a 15-degree bow.

New problem with entry door. The custom door company's CAD drawing is considerably different than the door we were trying to imitate, an IWP (formerly Jen-Weld) model we hacked up to add glass area.


Re-order, start over. Another 10-12 weeks.