Flush fit glazing

There were some special factors to consider while making the door.

The integral blinds assembly was purchased from Pella (with some conniving). It's their slimshades feature that I already have in the bow window nearby. I got them to sell me just the blinds and glazing panel. It's actually part of their exterior door product that's typically sold only as a prehung system with full weather-stripping, threshold and jambs. Trickiest cuts were the slots for the pivoting tabs that held it in place.

I also had to consider the available space between the first and fourth wall studs. I actually calculated backwards and got a 35-inch door that can still contain the Pella slimshades. It met wheelchair accessibility requirements, too, which is a nice bonus.

So this glazed door had to be finished before framing the opening!

A tempered beveled glass panel enclosed the other side. Both glazing panels are in fact tempered because of the proximity to the floor and window.

Custom door

(continued from earlier)



The type of door installed here becomes very important. It had to provide full control of privacy and view because the potential function of the separate rooms are so different. I needed a fully glazed door with integral blinds. It also had to be seamless, contemporary-looking and maintenance-free.

My search turned up nothing like it for sale.

I had to design and fabricate it.

New doorway

After careful consideration, I decided to open a doorway between the "living room" (now office/library/den) and bedroom #2. The floor plan here is such that having the access is ultimately better than not having it. My estimation is that it will improve circulation, function, comfort, accessibility and home value.



Structural restrictions were also absent. There was no load from above, no shear wall involved and no mounting substrate to be eliminated. It was a simple cutaway of a non-load-bearing interior partition.

Nonetheless, for good measure I built a double 2x6 header with sandwiched 1/2" plywood and further added a Simpson LSTI49 reaching across four studs. Existing sheetrock was used as patch for good texture match.

See completed door.

Wall speakers

I got a "designer's deal" from Cambridge Soundworks for their top-of-the-line in-wall speakers. Retailing at $200 a pair, I got these Ambiance 82's for $160. It fits perfectly in the gable wall created after raising the ceiling to the rafters. Speaker wires are routed to this room and to the family room.

Home office

As global headquarters for my burgeoning world-conquering business (yeah, sure), my home office had to be spectacular. While most any space in a typical house can be adapted to serve as a basic office, for me the criteria were proximity to an exterior door, relative privacy, space for occasional sitting clients and an efficient computer layout (criteria which are actually quite universal for any viable home-based, computer-dependent business).



The original living room was perfect for a makeover. It's right off the front door. It's an otherwise static 12 by 16 foot box that gets little use. The new bow window improved it dramatically. Gleaming morning sun, though controlled by the Pella slimshades, meant the computer displays had to face perpendicular. It was the only absolute. Besides that, the entire room design was a balance of flexibility, feasibility and fantastic features.

My needs also included a side layout (conference) table, lots of deep desktops (for large drawing sheets) and plenty of bookshelves. Mindful of the potential for a change in room function, I designed semi-modular components. They would simply be furniture pieces. In fact, I scaled back my original plans and went with simple same-height work surfaces all around (instead of lowering the printer table, for example). The built-in wall shelves can hopefully serve as general storage at some point in the future when I'm gone.

Next, raising the flat ceiling to a nice volume.