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Pricing Information
for hand-carved doors
Prices vary depending on
several factors, including:
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Door size (height, width, thickness) and number of plies.
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Door type (single flat panel, or rail-and-stile).
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Solid wood door, or with a steel and foam core (to enhance
dimensional stability, and to increase the R-value).
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Window size and shape.
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Window type.
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Carving size and shape.
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Wood type and finish (bare or coated with multiple coats of preservative).
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Door finished on both the front and back (for homes), or just the front (for
sheds).
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Custom door hardware, if any.
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Shipping costs depend on the door size, weight, and destination.
I've received many requests from people who evidently want
to buy a custom hand-carved door for less than they'd pay for a mass-produced
fiberglass door at Home Depot. These doors take a lot of time to make, and
if you want one of these one-of-a-kind works of art, you must be willing to pay
for it. I am NOT the person to contact if you want an economy door!
I cannot give exact prices without knowing all specifications
for your door, but the following ballpark figures will give you an idea of my
prices:
Door alone: approximately $2000 to $3000.
Door with:
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sidelights on each side of the door and
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a round-top arch (with carvings on its lower perimeter to
complement the door carvings) spanning the door and sidelights and
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a laminated frame for the entire unit.
Approximate price for the door, sidelights, round-top
arch, laminated frame, and hinges: $7000 to $8000.
If I were building a million-dollar log home, I wouldn't scrimp
on the entry door area, since that is one of the focal points of the home that
dramatically affects its visual appeal. My prices may seem exorbitant, but
it is not possible to sell a highly customized hand-carved door (that takes a
few weeks to a month to make) for the price of a mass-produced door that anyone
could pick up at Home Depot. Considering that plastic (fiberglass) doors
can sell for $1000, and considering that other door carver's prices begin
at $10,000, I think my doors are very reasonably priced.
Frequently Asked
Questions about
hand-carved doors
Q: Can you carve a moose or a bear?
A: Yes, but carving a moose or bear is significantly more
difficult than carving trees. The morphology of trees in a given species is
sufficiently variable so that when people see a carving of a tree, they can
immediately recognize it as such even if its shape is substantially different
than something which perfectly epitomizes "a tree." The same cannot be said for
animals. If I botch the area around the eye, for example, I can't just move it
to another area (as I could a tree branch) and have it look OK . . . it'd be an
anatomical disaster. There isn't any market for carvings that depict animals
which look like their ancestors hailed from Hiroshima! :-)
This problem is compounded because wood sometimes bears hidden defects that are
not apparent until I carve into a certain area. What if I carve into the
periorbital area, and the wood is friable, as it sometimes is in the areas
around knots? I've just lost a month of time and a few hundred dollars of
materials. Hence, I'm less than eager to tackle such a project. I'd do it if you
are willing to pay enough to make it worthwhile, but otherwise I won't.
Q: Can you make a door 8 feet tall and 36 to 42 inches wide?
A: I can make a door any size. However, for the sake of
proportionality, a door of that height should be more than 42 inches wide.
Typically, the minimum door width for an entry door is 36 inches, but such doors
are usually 80 inches tall. With a width to height proportionality constant of
.45, an 8' door would be 43.2" wide. If your home and entry are fairly massive,
I recommend a larger entry door so it will not appear to be relatively
lilliputian.
Q: There are knots in the wood in your doors. Isn't it
better to have a door with no knots?
A: If you want that, I can make it. Most people think (and
I agree) that knotty pine doors complement the aesthetics of log homes much
better than clear wood.
Q: Do you also make hand-carved doors without windows?
A: Yes. Omitting the window naturally gives more room for a
larger carving, should you desire it.
Here are some more points to keep in mind as you dream up
your ideal door:
1. I like to make my doors in a single slab because I think that makes for a
more striking door. However, wood is subject to dimensional changes and shape
changes as its moisture content varies. The standard method for minimizing the
effects of changing size and shape is to make doors using the rail-and-stile
technique in which there are separate horizontal and vertical boards along the
door's perimeter and one or more panels inset into them. This helps because the
length of a piece of wood varies less than its width as its moisture content
changes — which it inevitably will, no matter how well sealed the door is.
2. If you do not want a rail-and-stile door, I can increase the number of plies
in the door to keep it as flat as possible. The standard number of plies is two,
but I'd recommend at least a three-ply door. Keep in mind that this makes the
door flatter and stronger, but it will not minimize door width change from
summer to the winter heating season. Even when wood is always inside (e.g., a
door on a dresser) and kept in a relatively controlled environment, it will
still experience seasonal variation in width. Exterior doors are subject to more
extreme climatic variation, and hence expand and shrink more in width. Besides
the ambient temperature and humidity, other factors affect wood
expansion/contraction, such as sunlight and wind. A good door seal can minimize
the effects of this problem. Another thing to consider is that wood exterior
doors are selected for one reason: their beauty. If dimensional stability
and low-maintenance are your foremost concerns, a steel or fiberglass door is a
much better choice — they're just unattractive. I assume that you are not put
off by the prospect of maintenance, because if minimizing that was more
important than aesthetics, you'd now be building a stick-built home clad with
vinyl siding. Logs inevitably require maintenance, and so do wood doors. At a
minimum, you'll need to re-coat the door once per year to maintain the integrity
of the finish.
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