On Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:26:48 -0700 (PDT), gpsman
wrote:

On Aug 19, 12:57 pm, Bob Simon wrote:
Can a hole be filled in such a way that would not be very noticable
with a clear coat finish?

Well, yeah, for about the cost of a new door, or thereabouts.

If I decide to hide the hole, I was told that one way this could be
done is as follows:

Plug the hole with a similar wood trying to match the grain.
Lightly sand the existing door retaining the wood dust.
Mix the wood dust with a suitable binder (he said epoxy but I'm
thinking varnish) making a thin paste.
Paint the finish over the repaired hole and feather out.
Sand and repeat.
Finish.

Does this sound feasible or bogus?


Can a good carpenter modify the door frame so the door will look good
and work well?

"Good" is kinda subjective, but I would suspect so.

What should be done about the missing 1/8" in width?

Nothing, probably, that's 1/16" per side... but that's relative to the
existing door, and not the opening, so that would depend on how well
the existing door fits.

The existing door fits poorly. Every couple of years I have to put on
new weather stripping to reduce heat (and cooling) losses. Here's my
chance to fix this problem for good along with substantially upgrading
the appearance of the front door.