I sampled many colors on the door. I considered leaving a note on the door and a sign at the sidewalk asking passersby to come vote. I almost chickened out and painted it blue. I asked for opinions on Facebook and had more comments about that than any other thing I've ever said.
Finally, I settled on Red Delicious and sent my husband to Home Depot. (Trip 1.) He came back with the correct paint AND the correct primer, took the door off the hinges and put it on sawhorses. He borrowed my pal, the Orbital Sander (more about this in another post) to smooth it out and put on the paint. Done, right? Wrong.
First, it didn't dry in one day so we had to sleep without a front door. We took careful security precautions though. The door had a sheet of plastic stapled over it to keep most of the bugs out and the cat and the dog in, so that was the first barrier. I was still nervous that a truly resourceful crook could figure out how to get through the plastic shield so my husband stapled a quilt on the inside. He told me that would make it look dark so that no one would know we didn't have a door.
Okkkaaayyy...everyone knows that a sheet of plastic AND a quilt are inpenetrable. But, just in case, he set up a trap. He put two chairs in front of the door and filled the seats with the tools he had been using (staple gun, screwdriver, orbital sander, etc.) Anyone coming through the plastic and the quilt would not expect that and would fall over it, making a lot of noise.
And, at my request, we added our main noisemaker. We left our dog, Tally, out of her kennel. She barks loudly at anyone (known or unknown) who comes into our house. She is really saying "Yay,yay,I'msogladyou'rehere.I wanttolickyourface.Yay,yay!" But, crooks wouldn't know that and she does sound very fierce.
As it turned out, we were safe and ready for Part II of Behind the Red Door.
I totally identify with the creative and improvised alarm you setup. You should have called. I have trip wire devices that use gunpowder to make a deafening report. Of course, the dawg would probably keel over from the shock. Short of that, plywood and screws would be my first choice. Looks great! But what's the story with red doors? I have one, you have one, everybody I know has one. Is it a biblical thing? Maybe a Republican/Conservative thing. Enquiring minds.
ReplyDeleteWell, we discussed plywood and screws, although tripwires and gunpowder did not come up. But, we opted for the plastic/quilt barrier instead.
ReplyDeleteAnd, red doors are symbols of a secret society. It means that we are cool.