Turning a French Door Into a Shower Wall.

Jo Ann Spofford
by Jo Ann Spofford
7 Materials
$20
2 Weeks
Medium
We are currently remodeling our major bathroom. Our home is 97 years old and through the 35 years that we have lived here we have done many projects to make changes. We have a set of French doors that we took down many years back. They have been stuck away in a storage closet. I have always wanted to do something with the set or just one of them. During our bathroom project, we removed a wall with the intention of replacing with something more attractive. As I was contemplating what to replace the old wall with I remembered the French doors. So, I asked my husband, who does a lot of the carpentry work for me if he thought that was a feasible idea. So plans are set in motion and we get busy. It was my intent to use as much of the antique parts and pieces that we have saved through the years and that is exactly what we did. The paint was the only thing that we had to purchase. The project took longer than we intended because the weather (snow and cold temperatures) brought everything to a standstill.
Here is the door before any work was done on it.
Time to start stripping and sanding. There were so many coats of old paint on it I had to use paint stripper and sand it in order to get all the paint off. I wanted as much of the old paint off as I could get off.
Using painters tape I taped off all the panes so that I would not have to do so much scraping once the I painted.
This is after some sanding and stripping were done.
Finally, the stripping and painting are done. time to bring it inside begin the decision-making process of how to attach it to the wall. We had already discussed several options. It was just a matter of deciding which idea was best.
We ended up drilling holes in the tile and attaching it to the tile with brackets.
Side view. I have decided that I am going to paint the floor so, you can see that I had to paint that section before we completed putting the door up.
Alrighty, all is up and in place.
We placed the original door knob back on the door but, there was still a hole where the key slot was. Through the years that piece had gotten lost. I had to put my creative thinking into gear and decide what to do
Out to the workshop, I go and start rummaging through all of our antique parts and pieces we have saved through the years. I found this old pull that we used.
I am very pleased with the outcome. I still have to complete painting the floor. I have decided that I am going to do that in sections. Doing it in sections will keep me from having the bathroom totally out of commission.
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Frequently asked questions
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3 of 116 questions
  • Phillycop Phillycop on Oct 14, 2022

    Where does the water that gets between the tub and the window go?

  • Mary Mary on Oct 15, 2022

    What did u use to hold the shower curtain and pole on.

    allot of work but it was well worth it. U did and awesome Job 🙂

  • Cindy Ledford Cindy Ledford on May 22, 2024

    I don’t know that I would worry about safety glass. How many deaths were caused by French doors before safety glass was invented? Still, you probably wouldn’t pick this for a child’s bathroom. I think this is awesome!!

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2 of 588 comments
  • Isolatina Isolatina on Mar 02, 2024

    It's beautiful but I would be concerned about the old regular glass unless it was replaced with safety glass

  • Kay Cooper Kay Cooper on May 22, 2024

    I think frosting the glass would look nice and add privacy. There are sprays or adhesive sheets available in many styles that could be added.

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