I can only see the one door and it's not personally my style, so I won't comment on that.

However, I don't think you're going to save all that much having it finished by your painter. Maybe labour rates are really low where you are, but I would expect to pay at least $300 for that. There's prep involved, and the staining, and then at least 2 coats of finish. It's a lot more work than the walls.

That said, if you're looking to save money, this is probably a reasonable DIY project. I'm painting my own doors. But for me, it was a savings of $750 (for 2 doors), and I don't need to pay someone else to do it for me.

Another thought, these are fibreglass doors? If you're not a big faux finish type, you probably don't want to try DIYing a stain finish on something that's not wood. And your painter will definitely charge more, because it's a stain look, but it's not actually stain. That's a much complicated process. If you want the wood look the manufacturer is offering, get the stain finish from the manufacturer.

To follow-up on the post above, we are also going to have wooden doors, and a builder took us to look at fiberglass doors that he had finished-out to look stained but the look was fading fast on the exterior doors - even those under the protection of a porch. The builder we have chosen was adamant that we not choose to finish a fiberglass door in this manner because he explained that with real wooden doors, the stain soaks into the door and has a richer look as well as lasts longer. After what we saw at the other home, we decided to pay more for wooden doors. Just something to consider, but I thought it was something to throw=out for you.

Have you looked at ETO doors? Just a thought. They have great prices.

If your thinking of ETO doors check their reviews as from everyone I know of they are less than stellar.

millworkman,

I sent you an email.