After nearly two years of putting up with the seasonal swelling and lack of security of our old white wooden door, we finally broke down and bought one of those steel doors that the Turks are so fond of but that I always had mixed opinions about. I think a gigantic steel door on a residential apartment is a bit over-the-top unless you’re storing gold bars or something, and in addition there seems to be a contest to have the most pimped out door in the neighbourhood— some of the doors I’ve seen around here look like Liberace reincarnated in steel. You see everything from gold plating to mirrored panels to diamante-encrusted doorknobs. Luckily it was left to me to pick the style of our new door, and I chose the most understated, plain one the catalogue had to offer: a simple walnut finish with only the most basic decoration.
I was shocked when the guy came to take our old door away and he pretty much just ripped the entire frame out from the wall and left the guts of the apartment exposed. That was the weirdest thing, having this big hole in the front of our aparment and no way to close it up. I started to wonder what would happen if something went wrong with the fitting of the new door and we were left to deal with the hole.
As it turned out, I was worried for no reason— the guy fit the new door frame in record time (honestly, it only took about ten minutes). However, he spent the next three hours cementing the thing thoroughly from all sides. I had no idea just how secure this door was going to be, but he left nothing open to chance. He also installed a marble threshold, which was a nice touch, and not too flashy.
So here we have the finished product— it looks surprisingly like wood, even close up, and I’m pleased with the result. It’s by no means the most flashy door in town, but that’s just fine with me. I never wanted the front of my domicile to resemble the entrance to a cheap beer joint in Vegas. Mission accomplished.
Keep underselling it all you want… that’s a really nice door IMO.
Keep underselling it all you want… that’s a really nice door IMO.
@Emilio: yeah, we like it, and it’s nice not to have to struggle to open and close it, like you do with a wood door in the summer.
@Emilio: yeah, we like it, and it’s nice not to have to struggle to open and close it, like you do with a wood door in the summer.
as a former rock-climber, I giggle inside a little whenever I see these pimped out doors and think about how easy and relatively safe it would be to climb up the side of these tall Turkish buildings, stand on a balcony away from the sight of all and break in through the rickety old windows or doors on the balcony. I mean how hard is it to climb from one balcony to another? I’m pretty sure that most thieves in Adana don’t try to enter through the front door.
By the way, nice door.
as a former rock-climber, I giggle inside a little whenever I see these pimped out doors and think about how easy and relatively safe it would be to climb up the side of these tall Turkish buildings, stand on a balcony away from the sight of all and break in through the rickety old windows or doors on the balcony. I mean how hard is it to climb from one balcony to another? I’m pretty sure that most thieves in Adana don’t try to enter through the front door.
By the way, nice door.
Lovely door. If I needed a new door, that’s the one I’d go for too.
Lovely door. If I needed a new door, that’s the one I’d go for too.
…That’s the most understated door? Turkey is a bit flash, eh?
…That’s the most understated door? Turkey is a bit flash, eh?
good choice. i think it’s really pretty.
good choice. i think it’s really pretty.
It IS a pretty door. I have a steel door, too, as wood swells very easily in the humidity here. Mine is plain except for the jalousie windows and is nowhere near as rich looking as yours. (And by rich, I don’t mean diamond-encrusted-gold-teeth-rich.) Good taste.
It IS a pretty door. I have a steel door, too, as wood swells very easily in the humidity here. Mine is plain except for the jalousie windows and is nowhere near as rich looking as yours. (And by rich, I don’t mean diamond-encrusted-gold-teeth-rich.) Good taste.
And here I thought the Bordum Penninsula was filled with just un-finished apartment blocks!
I’m surprised you have only three locks on that door! 🙂
And here I thought the Bordum Penninsula was filled with just un-finished apartment blocks!
I’m surprised you have only three locks on that door! 🙂
@jake: yeah, the one time I got broken into (not in this apartment, back in Kemer), they came in through the balcony door, which doesn’t even have a lock. It seems to me that these doors are for show more than anything else (it was difficult to find one as plain as the one we got) – the reason we needed one was because the door swells so much in the summer that you literally can’t close it, and that means someone has to be at home and awake at all times to play security guard, which sucks.
@jake: yeah, the one time I got broken into (not in this apartment, back in Kemer), they came in through the balcony door, which doesn’t even have a lock. It seems to me that these doors are for show more than anything else (it was difficult to find one as plain as the one we got) – the reason we needed one was because the door swells so much in the summer that you literally can’t close it, and that means someone has to be at home and awake at all times to play security guard, which sucks.
@Sara: thanks Sara, I know we have similar taste in home decor. 😀
@Sara: thanks Sara, I know we have similar taste in home decor. 😀
@melissah: well, ours is just a plan wood finish door, not much flash about that… but you can get them as glitzed out as you want.
@melissah: well, ours is just a plan wood finish door, not much flash about that… but you can get them as glitzed out as you want.
@Thelma: thanks, Themla – we definitely like it.
@Thelma: thanks, Themla – we definitely like it.
@MetroOwl: I wasn’t prepared for the swelling-door thing when we moved here… it literally got so bad that we couldn’t close the door. Yikes!
@MetroOwl: I wasn’t prepared for the swelling-door thing when we moved here… it literally got so bad that we couldn’t close the door. Yikes!
@djhomeless: well, I don’t live anywhere near the Bodrum peninsula (never even been there), so I can’t comment on that… ours is a really old Turkish neighboorhood in Antalya, no unfinished anything here. And it’s a family area, so even one lock is enough. It’s safe enough here that I can walk alone at night.
@djhomeless: well, I don’t live anywhere near the Bodrum peninsula (never even been there), so I can’t comment on that… ours is a really old Turkish neighboorhood in Antalya, no unfinished anything here. And it’s a family area, so even one lock is enough. It’s safe enough here that I can walk alone at night.
Oops! Only a few hundred kilometers off! 🙂
You should see the doors of the house where my wife’s family lives in Ankara. 4 locks and a huge deadbolt!
Oops! Only a few hundred kilometers off! 🙂
You should see the doors of the house where my wife’s family lives in Ankara. 4 locks and a huge deadbolt!
That is one beautiful door~ Looks like mahogony 😉
That is one beautiful door~ Looks like mahogony 😉
@Vivian: thank you, we’re really enjoying being able to close the door without a struggle.
@Vivian: thank you, we’re really enjoying being able to close the door without a struggle.