How to build a front door: Using the past to build better today.

[@timmile]

Thanks for taking time to explain in such detail, not only in this video but all your other design series videos. I’ve learned a lot.

[@BrentHull]

Ok, thx. You're Welcome.

[@davidporterrealestate]

Brent's a genius

[@BrentHull]

Very Kind. Thx.

[@jefflawrentz1624]

I think your attention to detail is spot-on. Federal houses are among my favorites.

[@BrentHull]

Nice. Thanks!

[@michaelbissen1946]

Great stuff, Brent !!!

[@BrentHull]

Thanks!

[@tommyknightly1659]

Love your channel . Your a true inspiration and craftsmanship in your work and attention to detail . Real deal. Not the rubbish been manufactured today.

[@BrentHull]

Wow, thank you!

[@a97chrjo]

I hope you change the lamps as well, they look enormous. Thanks for sharing

[@BrentHull]

thanks for watching

[@DrMJJr]

Love, love, love the cut stone quoining on the door surround!!! Of course as a French provincial fanatic I love it around all fenestrations

[@BrentHull]

Haha, true. Thx.

[@moneymakingmikeg.9555]

I'm a sponge my friend soaking up everything you're teaching us as much as I can. Hoping all is well my friend, Dirty Jersey out!!

[@BrentHull]

Nice. Back at you! Thx.

[@ricfulton]

Wow, thank you! So beautiful and inspirational!

[@BrentHull]

Thanks so much.

[@pointnemo369]

Defiantly inspired. Just freak'n fantastic. I would go with the pediment.

[@BrentHull]

Nice. Good to know. Thanks

[@ZachGorham44]

Look forward to the Wednesday design videos every week. Love that federal door design. Was just in Savannah, GA and Charleston, SC and saw beautiful examples of this. Thanks Brent!

[@BrentHull]

Yes! Thx.

[@stefboulas]

Love the inspiration! I know where those gorgeous entrance doors are! They are the best. Thanks for sharing

[@BrentHull]

Thanks for watching.

[@HistoricHomePlans]

Could you talk sometime about how you bring these ideas to fruition? Is all that trim custom fabricated by woodshops, to your drawings? Are you working with finish lumber outfits that carry materials like this in stock? etc.

[@BrentHull]

Good ideal. Thanks.

[@АлексейМаринчев-м1з]

Brent, if you leave the final version as on the drawing it will be asymmetric but cute due to resemblance with ancient ruins 😃

[@BrentHull]

Haha, cute.

[@tc9148]

Fabulous. Love the Wednesday videos. You show a number of historical precedents. How do I find these so I can do my own research as I work on front doors?

[@BrentHull]

Good question. I have been collecting pics of these for years. There are a lot in Salem. Check out eBay for books on old entry's. New England Doorways is one.

[@marvinhaines9297]

Wonderful!! When I saw the proposed design, I immediately thought, "Why is there a French door with Federal sidelights and fan?"

[@BrentHull]

Ok, good eye. You saw it right away. Thx

[@joelstillson6713]

May be a silly question.. but the pilasters you put between the door and side lights- do they need entasis? They looked straight but wasn't sure if that was solely for porch columns? Thanks for the videos Brent 👍🍻

[@BrentHull]

Good question. Those do not have Entasis. because they are engaged to the door entasis isn't has important. Thx.

[@sparksmcgee6641]

I vote this the comment of the month.😊😊😊

[@ravimediatube]

NEW BRENT HULL VIDEO HELL YEEAH What song do you use?

[@BrentHull]

Thx.

[@ravimediatube]

what songgg@@BrentHull

[@Daihatsu_Hijet]

I think once they see it they will understand it too.

[@BrentHull]

Ok, good to know. Thx.

[@sparksmcgee6641]

3:24 the pediment on the right is more forgiving. Ive seen a lot of the left milner style that isnt done very well. The stone isnt thick enough, efloresence thats not addressed later ect...... Just my 2 cents but ive seen hubdreds of houses trying to do these entrances.

[@BrentHull]

Thx for sharing.

[@Print229]

I need you to redesign the front entry for my house. It's an arts and crafts meets Tudor Revival.

[@BrentHull]

Great that sounds like fun.

[@JS-qf8bo]

Lock rail of front door needs to be wider, say 7 to 8" minimum, like the historic precedent shown in Mr. Hull's photos.

[@BrentHull]

THx.

[@maciejtrybilo]

This is all interesting in its own right even for people who will never live in a house like those. I wish though that there was a Brent Hull for the rest of us who are trying to infuse some soul into a 1970s German, plain looking, semi-detached house. What is on offer nowadays in terms of front doors is shocking to me frankly.

[@BrentHull]

Interesting, thanks for sharing.

[@ryansoo4000]

It appears from your sketches that you're planning on narrowing the width of the front door a bit (which looks to be about 36" wide, if not wider) in order to include the wider column details within the brick arch. What happens when attempting to improve historic details conflicts with modern building or fire codes (which would normally require a minimum 36" wide front door)?

[@BrentHull]

The door will be 36" just sketching ideas to start.

[@sparksmcgee6641]

I've seen that usually there's room in a remodel if the front of the house is laid out right. If you have to a lot can be done in 72" total. Doors are tough because most people's desire is to have a wider door. Think those horible french entry doors of the 70s and 80s that we only opened to show your friends once. It's more important that the most used door by the garage is 48inches so it's easier when your hands are full.

[@stephen7938]

Love the video again, i was wondering as you talk through multiple elements of a buildings make up drawing from historic precedent. My wonder is if modernism never took a hold over the world what do you think the logical progression wouldve been next in architecture after WWII? As designs morphed from one style to the next over the centuries and large events that shaped them i have always wondered if the "great" architects of the 40s-70s never lerched in such a different direction from the past what would the nwxt progression of architecture look like?

[@ThePTBRULES]

Probably more detailed houses still, but many "modern" concepts would still come about because new materials being invented.

[@BrentHull]

That is a very interesting question. Inspiration drives a lot of new design. So new materials, or new discoveries would have helped. I also see simplification and then ornamentation changing like a pendulum, swinging one way then another. We also recycle design ideas so old styles become popular again. Maybe some genius like a new Frank Lloyd Wright pushes us in a new direction. Its interesting to consider.

[@miketackabery7521]

IMO Lutyens might've had a lot more influence on modern design. He was a traditionalist who took LOTS of liberties with traditional design. And then maybe the Romanticist school would've come into its own... What a lovely dream! Would've been nice not to have the last 60 years of crushingly bland and soullessly ugly.

[@sparksmcgee6641]

Design of an Era is often only 10 percent of the homes of that Era. Most follow the basics Brent talks about. I'd say contemporary with better basics and detail. Being the most well know pre war architect think Frank Loyd Wright with good construction and details. So skip the tiny kitchens and leaking roofs. Add better quality in the built-ins. Usonian that scaled up to proper proportions for code and comfort on the low end. Some houses have been getting there the last 10 years. Minimal in appearance, contemporary in design and better proportions. Interior it's things like glass guardrails without any visible hardware terminating INTO a wood floor instead of onto the face of one, as an example. Makes all the difference in the world when you see it. Ot oddly looks more natural when done that way. House I'm thinking had the dog door done in the same scale and material as the other exterior doors. Small dog so maybe a 14 or 16 door with the same exterior handlle.

[@miketackabery7521]

So pretty! The original is so plain it seems two dimensional. If you're gonna have an important door you need to make it important and not skimp. Great job as always Brent, and these Wednesday design videos are just about my favorite KZbins. This is the only thing I actually WAIT FOR all week! Thanks again!

[@BrentHull]

Nice, thanks for the feedback.

[@robertbamford8266]

Great explanation. Seems like “fixing” the actual door was a major step. Looked very out of place.

[@BrentHull]

Ok, thanks.

[@mycool8980]

American architecture copies European buildings, I wonder if they looked at this the same way we look at mc Mansions. These decorative pieces pay tribute to a forgotten purpose, like transoms.

[@BrentHull]

Good question. Thx.