Door Replacements of Sonoma County transforms home interiors

When Carroll Jung remodeled her home in rural Bennett Valley, she decided to replace both exterior and interior doors.

The inside doors for the 1990-era house were dark wood “and they were cheap,” said Jung. None was a standard size.

A year ago, Jung turned to door contractor Steve Lightman. About the same time, she also upgraded her kitchen and bathrooms.

In looking back on the work, “I think the doors made the single biggest difference in the remodel,” she said.

“They’re so rich looking,” Jung said. “They really are gorgeous.”

Lightman, owner of Cotati-based Door Replacements of Sonoma County, thinks he’s found a niche in the remodeling sector, one that offers homeowners a significant transformation of their home interiors.

With new doors, “every room in the house looks so much better, all at once,” said Lightman, who this week was installing doors in a home west of Sebastopol.

Lightman has worked as a general contractor for three decades. His past work includes building passive solar homes in the 1980s and installing exterior doors in the 1990s.

He started his current company two years ago after seeing “a real need for interior door replacements.”

His work involves customizing a door to fit an existing frame.

Contractors do use pre-hung doors in frames for new homes or room additions. But using them in an existing home would require removing existing door moldings and frames from walls, Lightman said.

Instead, Lightman leaves the existing frame in place and replaces just the door. This involves carefully measuring the door’s dimensions and the location of hinges and latches.

It also means adjusting for imperfections. Some doors never were exactly square or level. And as houses settle, the doors and frames may not remain true.

In such situations, Lightman adjusts the door to make it look square. “You’re basically fooling the eye,” he said.

Lightman starts with an unfinished door, or a “blank.” He machines it to fit the frame and users a router to notch a spot for the hinges. He also bores holes for the latch and handle assembly and bevels the leading door edge, the one with the latch.

When ready, the door is spray-painted to a color of the homeowner’s choosing.

Along with paint, customers have a variety of choices of doors and door hardware. Popular handle colors today include silver nickel or aged or oil-rubbed bronze.

“This way, when I leave, they don’t have to do anything,” he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Robert Digitale at 521-5285 or robert.digitale@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @rdigit