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Galve Door Co.
Saint Louis · Est. 2009
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Home/Gallery/CWE Mahogany
Case study · Central West End · 2025

A 1908 brick four-square gets a real mahogany entry.

The Hendersons inherited a beautiful Central West End four-square with one major problem: a 1990s-era hollow-metal entry door that looked like it belonged on a dental office. Here's what we did about it.

HERO / SOLID MAHOGANY ENTRY WITH SIDELITES
Door
Solid mahogany, 8′0"
Glass
2 sidelites, leaded
Hardware
Baldwin Boulder ORB
Investment
$8,940
Timeline
5 weeks (custom build)
BEFORE / 1990s STEEL ENTRY
The challenge

Match a 1908 facade. On a real budget.

The original front door was lost in a 1990s “renovation” and replaced with a flat hollow-metal slab. The Hendersons wanted something that honored the brick four-square aesthetic — heavy, paneled, with leaded sidelites and proper period hardware — but they weren't willing to spend $20K on a custom historic reproduction.

We sourced a stock 8'0” mahogany unit from Therma-Tru's heritage line, paired it with custom leaded sidelites from a local stained-glass studio, and matched the original casing profile with a piece milled in our Manchester Ave shop.

The details

What we got right.

True 8-foot height
Original opening was rough-framed for an 8-foot door — we restored that height instead of furring down to 6'8".
Leaded sidelites
Local studio matched a turn-of-century leaded pattern in clear and amber glass. ~$1,400 for the pair.
Period hardware
Baldwin Boulder lever set in oil-rubbed bronze. Multi-point lock for security without visible deadbolts.
Restored trim profile
We milled new casing to match the original 5-1/4" colonial profile in the rest of the home.
Hand-stained finish
Five-coat hand-rubbed walnut stain finish, applied in our shop before install.
Sealed sill pan
Full pan-flash with self-adhered membrane. The threshold will not leak in our lifetime.
DETAIL / LEADED SIDELITE
DETAIL / BALDWIN HARDWARE
DETAIL / SILL PAN
“We talked to four installers and three of them told us the door we wanted couldn't be done for under $20K. Galve found a way. The crew was here for 11 hours and at the end of it, our house finally looks like itself again.”
— David & Maya Henderson, Central West End
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