Having had lived in two brand new homes before moving in to this 1970’s rambler has been quite an adjustment. When you live in a brand new home any changes you make are usually cosmetic decorating only. When you move in to an older home, everything needs replacing and updating.
2 years ago this houses garage door looked like this.
As much as I would love to replace it there are other things like piano lessons, school lunch, baseball cleats, etc. that are taking precedence at the moment.
It works just fine…just not very pretty to look at.
Over the past two years we’ve been making small changes to improve the look of the exterior.
We added new trim and shingles…
Then added a coat of primer and paint but still something was missing.
So I set out to add some trim to the existing windows. For under $20.00 I was able to purchase some wood trim (3/4 inch wide by 1/2 inch deep) from Home Depot.
Using my miter saw I measured and cut each piece for each window.
Then used some Exterior Liquid nails and glued the trim right on to the windows.
Using just enough glue was quite a science. Wiping down the smudges proved even more tricky. After it dried I used a razor blade to scrape off any excess glue.
This little level has been one of my most valued tools in my tool box. I made sure everything was even and level.
Voila. $20.00 and 3 hours later I added trim to our 30+ year old garage door.
Eventually this very old door may go in to retirement but until then…the trim prosthetic will have to suffice.
Next up, to address the stain on the shingles that didn’t seem to take very well. I have a bone to pick…
Hey there! I’m Michelle; I’m an Passionate DIY’er and in constant pursuit of how to bring beauty to my house full of men (3 boys + 1 hubby). Stick around and see what I’ve got up my hard-working sleaves!
great job! i love your clever solution to work with what you have…we all have those things about our houses. And, I think it turned out lovely.
You would never even guess that was the same door! It looks amazing!
Love it! It looks so much better and I love that paint color. What is it?
Love the windows! I was going to say how I kind of liked the patina on the shingles. But if it wasn’t the look you were going for that’s frustrating! We stained some cedar shakes to hurry along the patina process, the house was going to be put right on the market so the color scheme had to be better than the new orange cedar, and we didn’t have time to let them naturally age… Our project here… http://lindsayandandrew.blogspot.com/2012/03/miracle-on-main-st.html . Ours appeared to soak the stain right up. I’m curious to see how you did the white!
I just checked out your transformation and it is AMAZING! Thanks for sharing the link!
Hi!
Bravo, it’s a great improvement !
Guylaine 🙂
Well done! And if you don’t mind me saying….I kinda like the weathered look of the stain on the shingles
Way to work with what you have! Love the look and colour of the garage now.
Great job ! It’s what you needed to make this garage door interesting … oh, and just one thing. When you mean to write “there you have it” in French, you need to spell it “Voilà”. Just to let you know ! Keep with the good work ! Take care.
I could get inspired from your blog all day long. Thank you for this amazing project. I’ve repinned to Doors & Windows on Pinterest/homedepot.
Did you actually add the wood square trim to the door? Or just the windows? The before picture isn’t super clear. I have a super boring door and want to add the raised trim to my existing door.
I actually glued it right to the window. Probably not the “correct” technique but it’s an old door and I thought I couldn’t ruin it any worse. It’s held up marvelously thus far. 🙂