Before and after
Keep the bay. Simplify the visible grid.
The brick footprint and projecting roof remain, while broad bronze steel lites replace the dense white-framed window pattern.
Before
After
A Plano Residence Reframed in Steel
Plano, Texas
Across three phases from 2021 to 2025, a Plano residence replaced rear doors, a projecting window box, library and dining openings, and a garage-hall passage with a consistent family of bronze steel and glass.
Ironwork
- Rear door and sidelight package plus steel replacement of a projecting window box
- Five double-door sets serving library and dining spaces
- Garage-hall double door measuring approximately 68 by 98 1/2 inches
- Separate drawings, fabrication, glazing, finish, hardware, and installation for each phase
Before and after
A cleaner garage-hall threshold.
The recessed passage keeps its brick architecture while a made-to-measure bronze steel pair replaces the divided white wood-and-glass doors.
Before
After
From the project drawings
Measured before it was made.
The drawing view isolates the coordinated geometry and useful dimensions behind the finished work.
Improving a residence in phases without letting the steel package drift?
Rear elevation and window box
Three openings, then a fourth volume of glass.
The first phase replaced rear doors and sidelights and rebuilt a projecting window box in steel. On the main wall, three tall glazed openings establish a simple rhythm between the exterior lanterns. At the bay, broad dark frames replace a dense white residential grid.
The before-and-after sequence is especially useful: the footprint and roof of the window box stay, while the steel changes the amount of frame, view, and perceived depth.
Library and dining rooms
Bring the exterior language into the formal rooms.
A separate order added five bronze steel double-door sets — two tall pairs at the library and three at the dining areas. Clear insulated glazing, Cardinal LoE-366 with argon, and flat-black hardware were coordinated across the package before installation in March 2023.
Garage hall
Continue the family at a heavily used passage.
The final phase added an approximately 68-by-98 1/2-inch bronze steel double door between the garage passage and hall. It reused clear insulated Cardinal LoE-366 glass, argon, flat-black Emtek hardware, and coordinated keying, then reached completion in October 2025.
Buyer notes
What this project answers.
A long-running residential project needs a repeatable standard, but each new opening still deserves its own survey, glass decision, drawing, and release.
How do later phases match earlier steelwork?
Keep records of the frame profile, finish system, visible rail heights, glass build, hardware family, and keying. Then field-measure the new opening rather than assuming the old dimensions apply.
Can an existing projecting window box be converted to steel?
Often, yes. The structural opening and weather conditions must be evaluated, but the bay can keep its volume while broader steel lites replace a dense residential grid.
A single design family with separate evidence
The rear openings, library and dining doors, and garage-hall passage were completed in separate phases. A coordinated frame profile, bronze finish, glass selection, and hardware family allowed later work to feel at home beside the original installations. Explore custom steel doors and steel windows and glass.
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