Inner porch door, outer door glass?

greensalad

I have a very small porch which is only 50cm in depth. For this reason, my front door opens outwards. Internally I have a glass door going into my hallway. 

I want to make my actual front door as clear glass, in order to make it evident to visitors that it's a slim porch. My hope is that, subconsciously, people will realise the door is going to open outwards. Thus stopping me from nearly smacking delivery drivers in the face and being routinely trapped in my own house by parcels left out front. 

Obviously, this also means I will need to change the internal front door (this is the one we actually lock at night) so that my entire house isn't on view to anyone approaching.

I just can't find any examples of doors being round this way. I don't want to spend a tonne on a solid "front" door that doesn't ever really get seen, but my partner is against the idea of just frosting the current one and wants to replace it to be a nicer solid door. 

Thoughts? Should I swap them round to make the external porch door see-through? Do you think this will help with my predicament?

FreeBear

Very similar setup to my front doors. I must admit, having the external door opening outwards is very useful for combating the cold callers that like to have a foot ready to stick in the door. They either get a bloodied nose, or a stern reprimand.

I've just replaced the internal door with a half & half clear glazed and left the outer door & window with obscured glass. If I were to go clear outer, frosted inner, it is a simple case of getting new sealed units made & fitted - Cheaper than buying new doors/windows, and avoids the need for FENSA (or equivalent) certificates. Would still need toughened glass all round though.

greensalad

See this is what I want to do, at least partially. I wanted to frost the inner door and then purchase a nice new clear front door (the current one is nasty anyway). But partner is against frosting the internal one as it is and thinks it will look like "a dentist's waiting room". At the moment, his desire is to put in a new outer clear one and then replace the internal one with a "real" front door, though still probably with some glass (e.g half-glazed). 

I am still considering whether it might be easier to just replace the outer door with something I actually like that isn't clear glass, and just stick a note on the door saying "opens outwards". It'd certainly be cheaper, and probably give the front more curb appeal as I'm not a huge fan of the glass front doors on the rest of the street, the true front doors do look nicer... but it wouldn't help with my predicament!

TELLIT01

Not a perfect solution, but cheaper than new doors - can't you just put a sign on the outer door saying "Door opens outward, please do not obstruct"  We've been in our house 34 years now and have managed to avoid breaking anybody's nose so far.  Just open it slowly when somebody is there.  I think we have only had 2 packages left against the door and I've managed to slide those away easily enough.

Another alternative to the clear inner door problem is obscured film which sticks to the glass.  We used that on the porch windows so that nobody can see into it.  We go away a few times a year and don't want anybody to be able to see a build up of post and junk mail.  Our previous neighbours used to put the post in for us and vice versa, but we don't know our new neighbours well enough to implement that with them.

If you replace the inner door with a solid, or near solid one you will lose a lot of light in the hallway.  Before going that route, cover the glazed sections with card to see the effect.

outtatune

Delivery drivers aren't going to care which way the door opens. Even if they bother to check the internal door it's still not going to stop them from leaving stuff propped against the door.

Unless you actually want a glass door anyway this all seems a lot of expense for no real benefit.

greensalad

TELLIT01 said:

Not a perfect solution, but cheaper than new doors - can't you just put a sign on the outer door saying "Door opens outward, please do not obstruct"  We've been in our house 34 years now and have managed to avoid breaking anybody's nose so far.  Just open it slowly when somebody is there.  I think we have only had 2 packages left against the door and I've managed to slide those away easily enough.

Hmm, I just wonder if anyone would ever actually bother to read it?

Also glad you've gone 34 years without causing any injury. I've seen six delivery drivers trip whilst stepping back (there's a flowerbed just behind our door on the concrete path) and one poor driver bit the dust after twisting his ankle and ended up sprawled on the lawn (I've got in on video!) and we've only been here 4 months! I've had to push parcels aside with the door itself more times than I can count and have twice been so badly trapped I had to go around the back lest the item they'd propped up at my door fall over and break. Perhaps the fact that I'm renovating which means lots of large deliveries isn't helping, but still.

RAS

Until such time as you get the door replaced, a hazard type style notice with "Opens Outwards" might be worth it? Even add "Stand Clear"?

Robin9

Your indoor looks likes a standard double glaze.

Have a word with your local " cloudy to clear" franchise -  they may be able to offer a solid panel without having to replace the entire door.

TELLIT01

Maybe the people you have to deal with at your door just aren't bright enough to read signs.  Opening an outward facing door slowly should be enough warning for all but the thickest person standing outside.  All I've ever done is open it slowly and say 'The door opens outward'.

diystarter7

I'd get something on the glass as I can envisage people walking into it or smashing their hand/fingers/wrist as many start to reach out from that disatance.

How about lead oblongs on the door?

Brie

Is getting something akin to a barn door a possibility?  That way at least you wouldn't have the issue of getting stuck inside due to a parcel outside.  

random google shows a company selling what they call Dutch Doors.

Dutch Doors | Half & Split Doors from Simpson (simpsondoor.com)