Idea for secondary door - crazy?

pineapple

I love the original wooden door to my cottage but the frame and door are wonky. The lock itself is pretty historic and a locksmith has said it would be impossible to find a lock to properly do the job. Plus the whole affair is draughty and probably not mouseproof. :eek: . In addition, the cottage lacks light so in the summer, I often leave the door open to get the light and the view onto the garden. It has been suggested I replace the door with a nice new half glass UPVC one. Light, rodents, draughts, vermin sorted! The cottage isn't listed so no problem.
Except I like my old wooden door
So I wondered about a compromise. What about keeping the original but adding a secondary 'outer' French door? The walls are thick with space to fit another door frame. The new glass door - preferably with a wood frame - would open outwards. The original house door opens inwards. So in winter for example I could have the original one open but with the outer door closed to enjoy the the view and the light.
Plus the house would be warmer and more secure (in all senses) at night.
Tell me if you think this idea is barking. Don't hold back! :rotfl:

missile

A photo would be helpful

EachPenny

pineapple wrote: »

I love the original wooden door to my cottage but the frame and door are wonky. The lock itself is pretty historic and a locksmith has said it would be impossible to find a lock to properly do the job. Plus the whole affair is draughty and probably not mouseproof.
...
Except I like my old wooden door

The advantage of a wooden door is they can be modified. You could retain much of the charm of the door, but get it upgraded to make it more weather and mouse-proof, and perhaps add a window into it. This wouldn't necessarily be a cheap, but would retain the character of the cottage.

Having two doors very close together can cause practical problems, although less so if the doors open away from each other. However, a front door (or one used by visitors) would normally be expected to open inwards so an outward opening 'outer' door may take some getting used to. If the door opens directly onto the street the local council may also take issue with it.

People like uPVC doors because they are perceived to be weather tight and low-maintenance. But on an old cottage it may look very out of place. A decent hardwood door should give you the same level of whether proofing with only minimal maintenance needed, so if you do go for a new door you ought to consider the cost and benefit of a wooden one rather than uPVC.

Another thing to remember is old cottages often move around a bit with the seasons. A loosely fitting wooden door will cope with a door frame that moves around a bit. But a precisely fitted wooden or uPVC door may react badly to movement. In particular, the deadbolt/security mechanisms of uPVC doors are very sensitive to movement in their alignment, and if it isn't 'just right' it can be very difficult to lock and unlock the door.

As missile says, some photos would help

Apodemus

Yep, Barking!

Even if it's not listed, you want to keep that door, but I'm not sure how!

You could do worse than posting the query on the Period Property UK discussion board, plenty of experienced people there who will have been through similar quandaries. Google "PPUK Forum" (I think it can take a couple of days for a first post to go live, but bear with it).

EachPenny

Apodemus wrote: »

Even if it's not listed, you want to keep that door, but I'm not sure how!

That's where some pictures will help

My guess is it will require some additional wood around the edges in order to make it weatherstripable, and something added to allow a modern lock to be fitted.

pineapple

Thanks. An additional glazed door would open outwards onto my courtyard so the street is not an issue. It's a low wide 'planked' wooden door with 3 horizontal pieces across the rear. The inside wood is untouched but the outside has been painted with some sort of dark brown 'gunk' which needs stripping back. The gap varies - it's not some nice even space that you can stick a bit of draught excluder on. How do I post a pic?

Cisco001

pineapple wrote: »

How do I post a pic?

upload picture on website like imgur, copy & paste the link.