Hi, Normally, you'd make the rough opening, sheath it, housewrap, make the copper (flashing) pan and skirt, then set the stoop, and set the door (which first doesn't matter) then place the door trim, then do the siding. You want the stone in before the trim and siding, IMO, so you can leave the proper splash space, which ideally is exposed copper, so it ages dark and fades into obscurity. You never want wood siding within 2" of the stone, or any horizontal surface. Casey

Thank you all so much. The new growth vs old growth wood was what I thought about when I saw all the doors with those warnings--I thought new random wood was unlikely to hold up like the old wood, and also our 1920's wood doors seemed thicker than the wood exterior doors still on this 1969 house. My front door faces east so even though there is a porch, it does get a lot of sun and as it is painted black, that might also be a factor that would affect the wood. Linelle, your door is gorgeous! That is exactly what I want for my kitchen, where we could use the light and I could enjoy the view to the outdoors, too. I'm going to check out the prices on the higher-quality woods...if I won't have to sell plasma, I still want wood.

As an intervening step before widening the path, which will be a little pricey and may take a year of preparations or DIY time, I would consider very large pots or urns on either side of entrance, probably set up a couple inches on plinths made of stepping stones, &/or on on pretty largish river gravel enclosed by what appears to be existing edging. My goal would be a planting considerably taller and more dramatic than a simple shrub planted either side, with objective of focusing on entrance and proportion matching your very nice stonework. You have many more shrub-in-a-pot choices in your zone, but here in IN I would choose Ivory Halo dogwood as in keeping with your roses and hydrangeas. Underplant that seasonally with trailing stuff...maybe just white petunias, or embellish further as your fancy takes you....mine varies considerably from year to year:) Asparagus fern dies to a finey textured gold in winter. A few ordinary vinca lives through pots in most winters here. In fall plunge in a couple mass market mums and plant a handful of bulbs for spring color, and at Christmas, maybe beef up your pots with some fake berries or cut boughs of evergreens. Deborah Silver's website has fabulous over-the-top year-round planters, for inspiration.

"Do y'all have dealt with mosquitoes on lake front property?" Get a screen room -- my cottage has a 10' x 12' screened in room about 3 steps away from the door. That's where my hammock is. "In the age of VRBO I see no compelling reason to sink investment dollars into a second home." It depends a lot on how often you use it......I felt exactly like you did for 30 years, but when my sister moved 4 hours away, I bought a lake-front cottage closer to her. Before, I might have wanted to go to a lake front cottage once or twice a summer, but now I go year round every 2 or 3 weeks (since the lake is not the only reason to go).