Ever look at an older home and the front door and surrounding trim catches your eye? On this project in Brewster, NY we took advantage of the opportunity to replace some rotted trim to create a traditional front entry door surround using Versatex PVC. The front door was still in good condition and was not in the budget to replace.
Front entry door before trim. (Source:TEKRA Builders)
Completed front door surround by TEKRA Builders. (Source: TEKRA Builders)
Benefits of Using PVC Trim
For a front door surround, or any outdoor trim application, PVC is a great solution. It’s mold and mildew-resistant, and won’t rot, crack, split or warp. Versatex Trimboard has a variety of stock molding profiles that makes creating traditional details simple and attainable.
For more information on the benefits of using PVC trim, check out our blog post, Pros and Cons of PVC Trim.
Design Inspiration
The main inspiration for this project came from digging through architecture books on traditional homes, specifically Get Your House Right by Marianne Cusato. Her book, detailing architectural elements to use and avoid, is an excellent resource for understanding specific design elements. The following details are excerpts from her book.
Trabeated door surround details. (Source: Get Your House Right by Marianne Cusato)
Trabeated door surround details. (Source: Get Your House Right by Marianne Cusato)
Trabeated door surround details. (Source: Get Your House Right by Marianne Cusato)
Nailing the Details with Stock Versatex Moldings
The goal for this door surround was to create an elegant front entrance, but do so while keeping it simple, easily attainable, and cost-effective. Versatex offers a ton of stock molding profiles that are available at our local lumberyard.
For the pilasters, we used a 6×6 Versawrap that we cut in half to use on each side. We also used their Accent wrap and base moldings at the bottom of each pilaster.
PVC Moldings from Versatex Trimboard.
(Source: TEKRA Builders)
Resources
Cusato, Marianne, et al. Get Your House Right: Architectural Elements to Use & Avoid. Sterling, 2001.