Door Drama! Who knew?

Metalworking is well underway! Our welder Austin has been slicing away, reducing the unnecessary weight and making room for all-things-bar! The floor is gone, a bar window has been created, the horse feed shelf has long since been carved out and carried away, and all of the previously rusty areas have been patched. We were left with a beaut' of an empty shell, and one big hold-up. We needed a door!

We came into this with a game plan and measurements for absolutely everything, including a door. But as anyone who has embarked on a DIY construction project will tell you-- you can be prepared as possible, but something will always go awry. Doors are doors. They open, they close, they lock, they're simple...well, this one's a little more challenging. Here's why: the two dry-rotted wood-lined doors that we just yanked off are short, half doors that don't close the cabin. Great for horses. Not so great for bar equipment. In addition, the original doors opened from the center and swung outward with hinges on the side and a bar down the middle of the entryway. The configuration was getting in the way of our plans for a second bar off the back of the trailer, so we knew a reconfiguration was in order--we would need one big ol' door. This meant we needed a custom iron door created from scratch to fit the curve of the trailer roof, which is apparently tougher than we had bargained for.

We stood there with our welder, staring blankly at the gaping hole, contemplating just how to make this door functional yet aesthetically pleasing. As fans of HGTV's Fixer Upper, we relied on ever trusty #shiplap to maintain the trailer's farmhouse charm. We deferred to our welder for the mechanics in crafting a watertight frame and exterior shell. At this point, this door has definitely been the biggest challenge of our project.

Determined to finish this door project in one weekend, we found ourselves in a race against the sun. Between rushing to Home Depot and back with planks of shiplap in the back of the Uhaul pickup, and our welder's metalworking ingenuity, we managed to mount this new addition onto our trailer right as the sun went down on Sunday evening!

Pictures speak a thousand words, so take a look at our pièce de résistance. As you will see, no one lost any limbs and our door looks rad! We think it will be the perfect backdrop for some amazing wedding photos-to-come. Smooth sailing from now on, right? Fingers crossed, but I have a feeling we have more challenges to come. At least this one has been conquered with a finished product just like we had imagined!