You can't trim it that much without screwing up the hinges AND the locks.

However, I'd try to find a place to use it in the house because for $80 that's a helluva deal.

I agree with Lazy Gardens

Beautiful.. I agree. Find a place to use it.

Use it on the back. Now scrounge up a screen door!

Well, we're going to bite. Mr. Weedy is going to pick it up tonight when his flight gets in at 9 pm. He's going to drive 60 miles to where this is, then all the way back home (2.5 hrs). What a husband!

Given all that effort, we've got to make this work. What kind of screen/storm door will shield it? It doesn't seem like a screen door will be sufficient, will it? This will be south facing. I don't want to just cover it up with something ugly. Any suggestions?

Isn't there something you can coat it with to protect it? Waterlox? or Poly?

Seal the door with spar varnish. Seal a screen/storm door also with spar varnish.

Does the south facing exposurehave any type of a roof overhead?

No advice, just wanted to say that is a beautiful door.

The only overhead we've got planned is the eave/soffitt. The door will be flanked by windows, the thought being to bring in the winter sun to warm the room. So if we built some sort of overhead cover, that would interfere with the winter sun.

Does spar varnish come in matte finish? Any brands to recommend?

Is a screen door sufficient to protect the main door? Or do I need a storm door? Is there such a thing as a vintage storm door or are those more modern creations? Any inspiration pics you can share so I get the style right?

I just wanted to say the the bottom looks non-square, IOW it will need to be trimmed and end up shorter. The sides need to be checked for straight and parallel. The top should be checked for square as well. Then assess if it is warped on the stiles or twisted overall. These conditions are a bit less important with an interior door, but to be used exterior it needs to be true or it will be drafty and hard to close.
Casey

I have used Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane with success. Considering you can laquer a boat with it, it should work, however, some people don't like polyurethane because it yellows. For me in an old house, I just find it kind of adds age to the finish.

Casey, do you have any tricks for assessing warp or twist in a door. I mean, aside from just visually looking at it.

Im pretty sure that's what's going on with one of my original doors - Id hate to replace it with something having the same problem.

Actually Im not 100% sure that its the door thats the problem and not the door opening... or maybe both....?

If you don't have the "eye" to detect it, it can also be checked the same way you check openings in rough framing for twist, which is strings stretched from corner to corner in an X. For a door, you may have to perform this test on both sides, if the first side shows the strings laying flat on the door, because with an opening there is only air, and a door is solid, depending on the curvature it will only detect the concave side of the twist.
To "eye" it: pick up one end of the door, while the other end remains on the floor or a sawhorse. Detect if the top rail is exactly parallel with the bottom rail, and vice versa; check from both ends thus.
Casey

Wow, Casey, you've got the eagle eye! The bottom indeed had been cut, and it was out of square by around 3/8".

It needs some cosmetic work before trying the spar varnish. Any recommendations for this? Do I need to completely sand it down to bare wood or can I sand down the rough parts and apply something over top of it?

I have dabbled in refinishing and am far from an expert, but IME, if you sand anything down enough to smooth out the rough parts, you will end up sanding off the stain. Stain penetrates, but not that far into the wood. It is possible to sand down a patch, and re-stain with matching stain, but it might not blend in perfectly. Just the act of applying finish will even things out and enhance the look.

I think you need to carefully look over the door to see if it needs to be stripped and refinished. IMO refinishing isn't that difficult. If the door already has a coat of finish on top of the stain, it is going to gum up your sander. So I do a few coats of chemical stripper, which will lighten the stain all around. Then you can sand it down to get a uniform surface. Then build it back up by re-staining, and applying your final finish.

Weedy, if you need to refinish it, try Citristrip. It's very effective - and much less toxic than a lot of chemical strippers. I've used it on several things, and been very happy.

The secret is to apply it in a thick layer - more like frosting than paint - and completely cover it with plastic, so it doesn't dry out. Then let it sit for at least 24 hours - no peeking! When you remove the plastic, you can scrape off the old finish with a plastic scraper - it will look like a brown sludge. Don't use metal - the wood will have softened with the stripper. When you've scraped off as much as you can, rinse with water and a plastic scrubbie, and towel it dry.

Depending on how many coats of finish are on the door, you may need to reapply stripper, repeating the process. Then you'll be ready to sand and refinish.

I hope you find a good home for it - it is beautiful!

My .02 on stripping. Even if the package says you can brush or roll on, apply like you are spreading frosting a thick layer and use heavy plastic not the press and stick like so many advise. I bought a heavy plastic drop cloth and sealed the mess up with blue tape and let it sit over night. This has given then best results with CrItistrip and multistrip