Storm doors and some fun doorbells

We needed storm doors on 3 exterior doors to our home.  The doors to the side of the house and the kitchen had ugly 1960s storm doors and one blew off during a severe storm [edit – to be clear it was one of the ugly 1960s doors].  The basement had a single door with no storm door and it alone is not suitable.

I did not think that this would be the most exciting addition to our home.  But I kinda got in to it.  I am not sure where I found this 1932 image of a Public Works parade (I would like to give credit), but I blew it up to see a storm door in action!

I love this west side beauty.

Below are storms doors found on Highland Road at the Cliff Club.  Word on the street is this well maintained historic building (to me it has a summer cabin vibe) is for self made millionaires and they meet weekly – men one night and women the next. Maybe to play cards?  Sign on the door indicates it was founded in 1896. 

Looking at this home (still standing on Manawagonish) in the pic from the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick – House with vehicle in front on road. Manawagonish road (Mahogany road) – Item P210\380 — 950 (front) and 935 Manawagonish Rd (still standing in 2019) – Saint John, NB – my friend pointed out the storm door so I zoomed in!

Just for fun, here is the house in 2023.

My neighbour has an original storm door, they come in sets, so this acted as further inspiration.

I wanted a window so when I open the door I can peer out and my husband wanted the window diamond shaped.  My husband’s great grandparents lived for a time on Bella Vista in Vancouver and the home has a diamond shape window that my husband has always admired.

We sketched out what we wanted – a diamond shaped window included.  I LOVE that “Zed” shape on the inside – I have it in my kitchen cabinets too.  I know it is a structural not aesthetic item but it is cool nonetheless.

Below is an example of the Zed shape on doors in my basement going in to the laundry room.

Seaside Woodworks got busy on our three doors.  

Antique wavy glass was added and doors painted prior to dry fit.

Here we are installing one storm door to the side of our home.

In working on our side entrance we uncovered a pretty fab doorbell.  The side entrance, which leads to a landing with a simple bathroom then stairs to the basement or stairs to the kitchen, was intended for day staff.  Our home was not intended to have live-in servants.  We found the wiring for this doorbell along with the original doorbell.

It was very smooth after decades of paint.  When I started to remove the paint I thought I damaged and gouged it.

Lo and behold a beautiful brass pattern emerged.

 

The innards are still there.

We were able to reattach this doorbell to our home.

Saint John has many other fine examples of this doorbell style – see examples below.

 

Dryfitting on the back of the house allowed us to discover beaded edges around where the original storm door had been.

Then we had to consider hardware.  We looked to our neighbour – see below.

And we found hardware examples within our own home.

We purchased replica hardware and love it.  This is the final door.

Since we featured one doorbell, I will gratuitously share our other two.

This brass piece was purchased from Golden Beacon Auctions – I recognized it after having a neighbour and friend describe these types of doorbells.  When we lock only the interior door from the vestibule to the foyer this acts as the doorbell.  Plus I lovingly gaze at it each time I leave the house.

And this is our front door feature.  Solid brass and antique.  Added when we restored the front of our home.  It is attached to a deco school bell so my husband can never say he did not hear our doorbell.

When we moved in the house I told the movers they could break anything except the stained glass window.  They did break the front doorbell chime.  No biggie, but we went through 2 or 3 modern pieces that just died and barely worked.  Brass is a sort of antiseptic surface and these beauties work amazingly well.  The craftsmanship and quality we used to have far exceeds the mass produced sub standard pieces we find now.