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How to change an exterior door

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Okay my friends, today is the day I finally share our front door before and afters! I thought that since we were changing the entire door, it would be a perfect opportunity to write up a quick tutorial for how to change an exterior door. Most of you know the man behind the scenes in a lot of my DIY posts is Mr. Kirk, and if not, he’s my husband 😉 …and he doesn’t love being in the spotlight, but I’m dragging him into it today!

How to change an exterior door | Yellow front door before and after | #SToKCoffee #cbias #ad

You see, he’s a handyman, a creative genius, a maker, a creator. If there’s something he doesn’t know how to do, he figures it out and then he rocks it. I should really give him more credit for all the help he gives me with my DIY projects, but let’s just focus on one thing at a time 😉

We’ve been trying to get our front door changed for THREE WEEKS but when you have three kids between the ages of 18 months and 10 years some projects are near impossible (or so it seems). We needed to change the front exterior door because the bottom was starting to rot (it was rusty inside, I don’t know why. But it was original to the house so I’m assuming it’s just age). Anyway, I don’t know if you’ve ever shopped for exterior doors, but those babies are expensive! Mr. Kirk found us a new front door at a local Restore for Habitat for Humanity store last month for $80!! I love that he loves to shop here, because the money goes to a great cause and he finds some pretty amazing deals.

This weekend was our third attempt to get the door changed, so I came home after a trip to Wal-Mart and poured us both a nice big mug of SToK iced coffee and said, “Ok, let’s do this.” in my most serious tone (HA!) If you’re looking for SToK at your local Wal-Mart, it’s right near the iced tea and creamers in the refrigerated section, and was almost sold out at mine so I grabbed one of each:

How to change an exterior door | Yellow front door before and after | #SToKCoffee #cbias #ad

How to change an exterior door | Yellow front door before and after | #SToKCoffee #cbias #ad

How to change an exterior door | Yellow front door before and after | #SToKCoffee #cbias #ad

He was really watching the kids run around like maniacs in the front yard. 

We made up a quick game plan, finished up our coffee and got to work…

How to change an exterior door | Yellow front door before and after | #SToKCoffee #cbias #ad

I’m going to break this down in a few steps for you, but overall it was a fairly simple (2 person) operation. Even simpler if you don’t have a million kids like we do. Before doing any of this, you want to confirm that your hinges on both doors are in the same position. Exterior doors have a standard sized hinge, so you shouldn’t have to purchase a new hinge, though you may need to adjust the hinge location on the new door itself. According to Mr. Kirk, the placement of the hinge notches depend on the manufacturer of the door. Good to go? Here’s what we did:

  1. Remove the door knob and deadbolt from your existing door. You can just use a regular screwdriver for this, no power tools needed (yet).
  2. It’s likely that you can use the same hinges, so after removing the knobs, have someone brace the door while you unscrew the hinges on the existing door using a power drill. One screw per hinge to prevent unevenness!
  3. Once the old door is off the hinges, line up the new one and have your partner brace it while you screw the hinges into place! Again, start with one screw per hinge using a power drill. 
  4. Once all the screws are in place, double check to make sure they are fully secured using your power drill. 
  5. Put the old door in a safe spot, especially if you have little ones. These exterior doors are super heavy and can be dangerous if they fall over!
  6. If you’re upcycling a door like we did, or want to repaint, start by giving it a quick once over with sandpaper and wipe the door down with a wet cloth after to collect the dust.
  7. Prime the door (we highly recommend using STIX primer)
  8. Paint and replace the door knobs – you’re done!

Sounds easy right? Once again, I am so thankful for Mr. Kirk and his creative ingenuity, otherwise we’d be spending a small fortune on a new exterior door. We were able to get the entire project done over the weekend, with a lot of help from our inspiration in a bottle (aka SToK!) and a little “help” from these guys…

How to change an exterior door | Yellow front door before and after | #SToKCoffee #cbias #ad

Here’s a before and after…

How to change an exterior door | Yellow front door before and after | #SToKCoffee #cbias #ad

If you follow me on Snapchat (@ginaekirk) you will have seen my paint dilemma – we actually ended up painting the door twice because the first paint color wasn’t mixed right. That’s what I get for straying from my favorite paint brand! Regardless, we decided to celebrate with more coffee, and I even broke out the cow creamer, obviously! 

Cheers to many more SToK powered DIY weekend projects with this guy! We’ve found a new love for and stream of creative inspiration from SToK coffee. We have always been big iced coffee fans, and now that we have found one that is brewed low and slow – we’ve realized what a big difference there is in flavor. If you’re a creative person looking to tackle projects around the house, and are a coffee drinker, we suggest SToK for an elevated, coffee-forward experience!

How to change an exterior door | Yellow front door before and after | #SToKCoffee #cbias #ad

How to change an exterior door | Yellow front door before and after | #SToKCoffee #cbias #ad

How to change an exterior door | Yellow front door before and after | #SToKCoffee #cbias #ad

How to change an exterior door | Yellow front door before and after | #SToKCoffee #cbias #ad

How to change an exterior door | Yellow front door before and after | #SToKCoffee #cbias #ad

If you haven’t followed me on Instagram or Pinterest, you need to! I post all of our fun projects on both of those platforms first. You can also pin one of the images below for later.  Happy DIY-ing, and let me know if you have any questions for Mr. Kirk!

Click here to learn more about StoK Coffee!

How to change an exterior door | Yellow front door before and after | #SToKCoffee #cbias #ad

 

How to change an exterior door | Yellow front door before and after | #SToKCoffee #cbias #ad

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4 Comments

  • Reply
    Allison - Celebrating Sweets
    May 31, 2016 at 8:44 pm

    The door looks fabulous! That coffee is well deserved!

  • Reply
    Becky@frametofreedom.com
    May 31, 2016 at 9:10 pm

    You guys are too cute! I love the new front door too! It seems very cape cod! Adorable!

  • Reply
    Stacy
    May 31, 2016 at 10:35 pm

    Way to knock that door off your list! We just replaced a door a few weeks ago and have two more to go…can’t wait to get them done! Looks awesome, team!

  • Reply
    Carolyn West
    May 31, 2016 at 10:52 pm

    I love the yellow! We just changed out our door lock and handle, but we really need to get a new front door completely. Might give it a try, although we’ve never hung our own door before. #client

  • Leave a Reply to Stacy Cancel Reply