Well, here’s a pretty big one: an 8-foot steel double door with a transom above it.
At first glance, it doesn’t look overly complicated. Painted finish, clear glass, and a multipoint lock system to help keep the doors sealed properly and prevent long-term warping. Clean, practical, and straightforward.
Except renovation projects are almost never as simple as they look.
Matching the Original Architecture
This door was replacing the original system that came with the house. The tricky part was that the original door had been intentionally built in odd proportions to match the surrounding windows.
So we couldn’t just install a standard-sized double door and call it a day.
We had to carefully replicate the original layout so that the horizontal line between the door system and the transom would line up with the same division line in the adjacent windows. On top of that, the top casing line also had to sit more or less in line with the window casing.
Those are the kinds of details most people won’t consciously notice when they’re done right—but they will absolutely feel when something is off.
Working Around Existing Automated Blinds
To make things even more interesting, the home already had an automated blind system installed on the existing door glass.
That meant the new glass inserts couldn’t be standard sizes either. They had to be made off-size to accommodate the blind system and preserve the original function of the door.
It took some extra time to measure, plan, and confirm every detail before production, but that planning is exactly what made the finished result look seamless.
Simple-Looking Doors Can Be the Hardest
This project is a good reminder that complexity isn’t always obvious.
Sometimes the most challenging jobs aren’t the ones with wild colors, custom metalwork, or unusual shapes. Sometimes it’s a clean, simple-looking replacement where every line has to land in exactly the right place.
And when it’s done properly, the best compliment is that it looks like it was always meant to be there.
That’s usually the goal with renovation work: make all the effort disappear into the final result.