Custom doors welcome visitors
SANDY LAKE, Mercer County — The first thing visitors to a home see is its door, and Gravatt Door & Custom Glass make a lasting first impression.
Owner Ron Gravatt will design, make and install a one-of-a-kind custom door.
“I do the work. I sell them the door. I build them the door, and I install the door. I don't build decks or install siding,” he said.
A hallmark of his doors, Gravatt said, is the customized glass transoms he installs.
“All my doors have leaded glass. It matches up to the customers' requests. It's 100% custom. That's what makes it unique,” he said.
He uses a glass company that is “pretty much exclusive to me. That's what makes it unique.”
He believes this is what sets his product apart from his competitors. “Nobody else is doing this,” he said.
The installation includes the surrounding side posts and threshold.
From start to finish, it takes three weeks to design, build and install a Gravatt door.He said he rarely sells doors to customers with new homes. The bulk of his clientele are people looking to replace existing doors.Even in expensive homes, he said, often the workmanship is substandard.“They're in a hurry. Nobody cares. They get slapped in,” Gravatt said.From his showroom and shop outside Sandy Lake at 102 Patton Road, he sells his doors to customers in Cranberry Township and Pittsburgh.Gravatt credits his wife, Debbie, as being an integral part of the business. She gives potential buyers tips on styles or colors.“She worked for years as manager at R.W. McDonald & Sons furniture store,” he said. “She designed my whole showroom.”Gravatt has finished doors a potential customer can pick from or he will design a door to the customer's specifications.He's been doing this for 30 years and works alone.He got his start in shop classes at Commodore Perry Junior Senior High School in Mercer County.After graduation and after stints working for a hardware store and a garage door company, he struck out on his own.“I started the business in 1990 and the Gulf War broke out. I said this was a bad as its going to get. Then 9/11 happened and I said this was as bad as it's going to get. And then 2008 (recession) happened,” he said. “You just keep plugging along.”Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown forced the early closure of the Pittsburgh Home and Garden Show, an event he relied on to give the public a chance to look at his products and services.But recommendations from previous customers had helped Gravatt's business.Gravatt credits his unique design, craftsmanship and relaxed business model for his success.“I do it all on a handshake and a smile. I've never signed a contract in my life,” he said.For more information, visit the Gravatt Door & Custom Glass Facebook page.
