A Custom Mahogany Front Door in Ooltewah
Olive Branch Woodworking completed a fully custom solid wood front door for a homeowner in Ooltewah near their home on TN-58. The homeowners wanted a door that matched the existing brick arch and provided a look they could not achieve with any off-the-shelf option.
Challenges and Desires
The biggest challenge was the unique arch in the existing brick. The homeowners wanted the new door to carry that same arch into the door itself. No standard door could match the style, fit, or proportions they needed. A fully custom build was the only way to achieve their vision.
Why Olive Branch Woodworking
We had already built a custom pantry for this homeowner, and they enjoyed working with us. When they showed us their front door, we shared that we also build custom doors. They immediately trusted us to take on this second project for their home.
Consultation Process
I visited the home to discuss possible design ideas and the look they wanted to achieve. The design phase took more than six months. We went back and forth with inspiration photos from the homeowners and sketches from our team until the design, wood choice and proportions were finalized.
Services Provided
To help them visualize the project, we created sketches and drawings that showed how the door would look once installed. This gave them confidence in the style and final direction.
Noteworthy Details
The door was built from solid Mahogany and finished with a natural clear coat that includes UV protection. The wood’s warmth and character became a highlight of the home’s exterior.
Customer Satisfaction
The homeowners were extremely flexible with the timeline, which helped us greatly when a family emergency and a wood delivery delay required us to reschedule the install twice. In the end, the project cost less than purchasing a semi-custom door from a large manufacturer. Those options would have required additional trim work and offered fewer design choices. The homeowners were very happy with the final outcome and the entire process.
Overcoming Installation Challenges
We visited the home to take exact measurements and create templates of the existing brick arch. We also documented the framing under the current door. In the shop we worked with the multiple radius points from the brick arch and ensured every gap and joint was accurate to the templates. This level of precision allowed the door to fit seamlessly into the existing structure.
