Board skeptical historic wooden doors can serve as daily entry; suggests reinforcement or fixed leaf

A central tension at the workshop was how to treat the building's large, weathered wooden double doors. The applicant proposed switching the hinge direction so the leaves outswing and then placing modern, tempered-glass doors inside the opening for daily use while preserving the wooden leaves as decorative elements.

"We would just mount them so they now swing, as shown ... sort of swing outward instead of swinging inward," the applicant said. Several committee members cautioned that the original doors are heavy and in poor condition and are unlikely to withstand frequent daily use without substantial reinforcement or replication. "They are in terrible condition. They are not going to be used all day every day and be able to withstand real high traffic," one committee member said.

Options discussed included reinforcing the existing leaves with additional hinges or pivot hinges, building a supporting steel frame, or creating a fixed leaf plus one operable leaf paired with an inset glass door that swings in. The applicant said he could strengthen hinges and make a custom frame, but warned that doing so would increase costs and complexity. Board members asked for a more detailed drawing showing the door frame, hinge details and an explicit plan to ensure nightly closure for security and HVAC performance.

The board asked that the applicant provide hinge and frame details and a clear approach to testing or guaranteeing that wooden leaves are not relied upon as the primary daily entry without adequate reinforcement.