Talk About Home Improvement! Homeowner Completely Transforms His Front Door

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Home improvement projects typically involve more than just a door, but this guy’s talent is worthy of some serious praise.

Which begs the question: Have you ever wanted to make your home look more like something out of medieval times? Perhaps you like the effect of people walking up to your house and wondering if they’d find a lavish throne room, or perhaps an armory. Reddit member “SpudDragon” (because everyone knows fire-breathing lizards eat potatoes) decided to give his family and guests a thrill by creating a front door worthy of something out of Game of Thrones.

Lets face it. This door makes you feel about a secure as a nudist in a paintball tournament.

This double door is very flimsy and very annoying to get through with a laptop bag or groceries so it is getting replaced. Doors this wide (1m) are quite expensive and I've always wanted to make a medieval type door so here we go. Sorry, didn't have an image of the front of the door.

“SpudDragon” wanted to know how he could feel a little more like this.

First Step was to buy a Tasmanian Oak door.

I bought Tasmanian Oak. As it is a front door (exterior) that has to withstand weather, I didn't want to use pine as it might swell up and bow. I bought enough timber to create a frame around the existing door frame and then made it so that there would be a 10mm gap between the door and the frame. The house is old and moves a lot during the dry season and wet season so I didn't want to have to deal with the door 'jamming' every time the house moved a little bit.

SpudDragon bought enough lumber to reframe the doorway, leaving a 10mm gap between the door and frame to avoid jamming when the house adjusts to the wet and dry seasons.

Using pencil is great on wood but then you have to sand it off :(

Three coats of stain and varnish added an aesthetic, protective barrier to the elements. The galvanized bolts, painted black, give the door an added impression of strength. Some of the varnish was done over the bolts to help seal them in and further protect the door from moisture.

I am happy with this darkness of the wood by now. Doing a few coats over top of the dome head bolts is to help seal them and protect them from moisture

The bolts were left with a some length. Perhaps for a little extra intimidation?

The protrude a lot don't they?… I thought I could just cut them down to size with my angle grinder if they annoyed me enough. I don't mind too much so they are still that length.

He bought some 3mm metal plates and formed these blades from them, using a ball peen hammer and anvil to create the “dimple effect.” The blades were finished with a coat of glossy black paint.

Another angle showing the finish. I wasn't happy with the flat metal finish so I used a ball pein hammer against my 'anvil' to give the dimpled effect. Gloss black spray paint is the finishing coat.

With a door this heavy, he added extra bolts and epoxy to keep the hinges attached.

The door is dusty in this pic. I tried to bend the hinges so that when they are pulled into the door with the bolts, they would become straight. You may be able to see in this and other pictures that some of the pointy ends stick out. I also used epoxy as an extra measure of keeping the hinges sealed and stuck onto the door.

For the handle, SpudDragon took a 25mm metal bar and created 5mm deep notches at 40mm intervals, to make it twistable.

All of the notches are cut. It is now time to fire up the forge.

Using the forge and appropriate tools, he got the metal red hot where he wanted to twist it, and created a gradual spiraling handle. Note the sledgehammer head in the background? That’s his anvil. Innovation at its best.

Focusing the heat on the notch to be twisted I got the metal to red hot then fastened it in a vice and twisted it with two shifters/spanners/wrenchs. It only needed a little twist at each section to create the effect I wanted. The hotter the steel, the easier it is to twist. You can see my 'anvil' in the background, its sledge hammer head. yup.

The handle was buffed with an angle grinder and a wire wheel, then sealed from the elements by clear coat spray. It also doubles as a spear that would make Genghis Khan proud.

Spiked ends are done and entire piece is buffed with a wire wheel on an angle grinder.

Here’s the final product, complete with dead bolt to “keep things simple.” I’m not joking. That’s a direct quote.

Sorry to skip ahead like this but I didn't take the photos. Door is mounted, handle is mounted to same metal as the hinges and bolted to the door. Dead bolt type lock is installed to keep things simple.

One thing’s for sure: you don’t see home improvements like this every day — especially of the DIY variety.