Do it yourself metal doors

Gusevsky Andrey Anatolyevich

Original front door trim

The front door is the hallmark of our home, and many of us want it to look solid and beautiful. After all, the owner is often judged precisely by her appearance.
With wooden doors it is easier - after installation, it is enough to cover them with varnish or stain. But for more reliable protection of the apartment or house from unsolicited guests, most owners prefer to put an iron door.
Finishing metal doors has several options, which we will tell you about. Of course, the doors are sold already finished, but it is so monotonous, especially cheap options, that many want to do everything their own way.
In addition, the decorative layer on the door will serve as its additional soundproofing. Perhaps you are quite satisfied with the quality of the old door, and you just want to give it a more noble look.

Types of cladding

For this work, various materials can be used that can be marked by the installation method and the possibility of application.

MDF

One of the most popular materials that can be used to decorate an entrance metal door is MDF.This wood-fiber material is conventionally divided into three types: painted, veneered and laminated.
So:

• As for the painted MDF, it is better not to use this option in this case, because the painted surface does not have special strength. Leave it for interior decoration.
• Laminated MDF panels are moisture resistant and have sufficient strength. The top layer of PVC has excellent decorative properties: a smooth surface and texture that imitates natural wood.
  Here they are great for decorating doors.

Veneered MDF

• The most durable and durable look is veneered MDF. Here, birch or oak veneer is used as the facing material.
  Sometimes veneers are used and more expensive species - ash, beech or mahogany. Naturally, the price of MDF is increasing.

Laminate

With the same success, the finish of the metal entrance door can be done using a laminate, which serves as a floor covering.

• It differs somewhat from laminated MDF in its design, and has a much higher strength.
• The basis of the laminate is also fiberboard, but of a higher density, which is pressed with several layers of paper impregnated with acrylic or melamine resin - a kind of “layer cake”.

Laminate

• With all this, its maximum thickness is only 1.2 cm. Therefore, for finishing the door, the laminate is very convenient to use.
  Since this material is not afraid of ultraviolet radiation, temperature extremes and high humidity, they can sheathe not only the front door of the apartment, but the door of a private house facing the street.

Powder coating

This type of door decoration is made only in the factory. This is a very high-quality coating of metal with powder paint, which is produced by electrostatic spraying and subsequent baking in industrial furnaces.
So:

• Such a paint is a fine crystalline substance containing substances that form a film. It never flakes on the surface, therefore it protects the metal from corrosion as much as possible.
• Powder coating is not afraid of mechanical impact, has dielectric and antistatic properties. A huge range of colors allows you to create a coating with any imitation - even leather, even granite, even gold.
• Powder spraying is one of the most expensive decorating options.. Especially if these are metal doors with forged trim.
  The cost of such doors may also depend on the complexity of the forged elements.

Powder spraying with forging elements

Lining

Finishing a metal door with your own hands can be done by sheathing with a wooden lining. This board is produced from different types of wood, so the buyer can always find what he likes and suits for the price.

Clapboard door

• When decorating the door with clapboard, there is a lot of scope for design. Reiki can be positioned at different angles, separated by decorative strips, covered with carvings, burn, paint.
  In the photo below, an excellent example of door design using a lining board.

Diagonal Reiki

• The question immediately arises: "How to decorate a metal door with wood?" After all, you can’t nail it with metal.
  The answer is simple: for this you need to make a frame of thin strips.
• They are attached to the door with self-tapping screws for metal, decorative slats are already filled on the frame. In order to create a soundproofing layer, the internal cavity of the frame can be filled with insulation.

We talked about the most popular types of door trim. There are more options, for example: vinyl and leather.
In Soviet times, that was how most of the doors of citizens were decorated. This is the cheapest option, but it has outlived itself as the most fragile.
The most expensive finish can be considered a door decorated with solid oak.. This is an elite product, such decoration is carried out by the manufacturer in the process of manufacturing the door - it is very difficult to work with such a durable tree at home.

How to fix the cladding

In this matter, it all depends on the condition of the door itself and the material you have chosen for decoration.
If it is MDF or a laminate, then the panels just need to be glued to a metal surface:

• For better adhesion of materials to each other, the door surface must be primed. This is a necessary measure, otherwise the connection may not be durable.
• To fix the trim elements, you can use glue "liquid nails". As an additional fixation of the decorative layer, it can be fixed with metal corners.
• In principle, the lining can also be fixed in this way. But a natural wood board is much heavier in weight than MDF panels, so nailing will be much more reliable.
  In other cases, gluing is much preferable - nails simply spoil the front side of the panels.

Slopes

The installation of a new door, or the sheathing of an old one, cannot be considered complete if the slopes are not fixed. A slope is a part of a wall framing a door around the perimeter.
When dismantling the old door, they can be broken, if not constructively, so cosmetically. Finishing slopes after installing metal doors is done in order to strengthen the mounting seam.
There are several possible options, and we will tell you about them:

• The easiest and cheapest way is plastering. This is not at all difficult to do - you only need a tool called a template.
  It is needed so that the angle of repose is perfectly smooth. For clarity, watch the video.

Plastering the slope according to the pattern

• The plaster mortar is mixed from a dry mixture on a gypsum or cement base, which are sold in 25 kg bags. One bag of such a mixture is enough for you for one door.
• First make the upper slope, and then proceed to the side. When everything is ready, the plaster must dry completely so that its surface can be sanded with sandpaper.
  Then it is covered with a primer - and you can even paint, even wallpaper from the inside.
• If you don’t want to plaster, you can make slopes from sheets of plastic or drywall. A small instruction, however, does not bother you.
  It is necessary to navigate what material for the slope can be used, based on how the door is trimmed, or the wall adjacent to it.
• If we are talking about the outer side of the slope facing the staircase, then you have to: either plaster it, or sheathe with drywall, and then paint. Plastic can be used to decorate the part that is inside the apartment, if there are such walls in the hallway.

Wooden slope

• So that the finish of the slopes after installing the metal door looks harmonious, it is better to use the material with which you lined the door. If you take into account that MDF and laminate most often have a wood texture, then the slopes can be made of wood, choosing the material by color.
• The wooden slope on the front door will look appropriate and beautiful. First, the mounting seams are sealed with foam, then its excess is cut off.
  The wall is cleaned and primed, after which the starting strips are mounted, which are attached to the wall with dowels.
• The first set the top slope. It can be fixed with glue or self-tapping screws - then their hats will need to be closed with decorative caps.
  Close the slope seams with a colorless silicone sealant and close with plastic corners or platband.

Backlight in a wooden slope

What is good about the wooden trim of the slope of the front door is that you can even arrange lighting in it. Then you don’t have to feel the switch in the dark. Spotlights mounted in the upper slope will automatically light up when the door is opened.