One door closes, one door opens

One of the things that can drive you slightly insane when you buy an old home in need of repairs, is the necessity to "project-hop" as we've decided to call it. You can't just take the time to paint all of the trim for 6 weeks or just use the next 2 weeks to bring all of the windows to ship-shape. Sure enough, the moment you're settled in with all your project tools and supplies in place, something needs to be done first/breaks and has to be fixed - not to mention the kind of brain-numbing boredom and paralysis that sets in if you do the same thing over and over without the fresh wind from a new and exciting project.

So after a great evening with friends, BBQ, campfire and s'more we woke to the sounds of torrential rains the next morning. No big deal - still plenty to do inside to keep us busy and from catching cabin fever. I don't remember what we'd settled on doing that day, but those plans went out the window when husband had to ram the shed door to get to a piece of needed supply. The rain and the high humidity had caused the awful shed door to swell and rendered it unusable. Since we couldn't just leave it open, our plans changed to "install new shed door".

[Before: Old nasty door. God only knows why somebody had cut
a rectangle into it only to cover it with a piece of ply again]

Dear husband made a dash to the home improvement store to pick up a new exterior door and returned soon after with a brandnew JELD-WEN pre-hung panel door and some galvanized screws and nails. Everything else we fortunately had already on hand.

[In-Progress: Taking apart the existing frame]

Since this was our first door install, we watched a couple of DIY videos, ogled the existing door frame construction, deliberated and brainstormed about the approach and then started taking the old frame apart since the new door came pre-hung.

[In-Progress: Rebuilding the opening to fit]

After taking it apart, putting it back together didn't seem so daunting anymore. It's funny how you seem to 'grow' with each project in both your DIY abilities and confidence. Half a year ago, I'm pretty sure we'd have squeaked like little school girls at the thought of replacing a door with frame.

[After: Almost finished - the door is hung, level and as plumb as you
can get in a 97 old wooden house]

Once the hardware was installed, we could take a breath. Except for a light sprinkle, the weather had been good to us and the house had cooperated beautifully once again. The new door opens and closes and locks like a charm and looks so much better than that old piece of junk that used to be in its place. Of course, we didn't get one inch of trim painted that day but such is life: project-hopping at its best.