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Garage utility room conversion

M

MY63

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My project for the next year is to convert our garage into a utility room / tempoary kitchen.
I need to start with the door, I am ashamed to say I have not touched this door since we moved in 21 years ago. In my defence I had a life changing accident in 2004 and it took me 15 years to get back to the point where I can consider taking on such a project.

2020-10-21_10-38-21 by my0771, on Flickr

As you can see it is rotten from top to bottom it is north facing and does not get any light ever, together with my neighbour we have sorted out the issues over the waterflow from our garage rooves.

You can also see the pipe from the new C/H boiler which was fitted through the frame not ideal but it has to be there.

The opening is 850mm brick to brick the inside edge of the pipe is 40mm from the wall, this leaves 810mm from the pipe to the other wall.
The current door is 1970mm high although I could fit a higher door as I will be making a new structure above it, 50mm to 75mm could easily be added.

I would like a simple outward opening door possibly with half glass, I would have considered a premade UPVC door but it is difficult to get the size at a reasonable price a custom made door is £1500 to £1750 which is out of my budget.

My local timber yard has suggested a door blank which they stock which is a solid door (I think this is what was fitted when we moved in). Which I could fit glass into if required.

Advice as always appreciated.
 
Where abouts are you in the North? I had a really good plastic company that I used to get quite a bit from in Leeds.
 
9fingers":2tgeufes said:
That condensate drain pipe is going to end in tears.
Just bound to freeze in winter especially "oop narf"

Bob
Click to expand...

Nah...softies over on the East coast ...always balmy weather over there :lol:
 
My workshop has 2 UPVC doors. Both came from watching ebay for a while. One cost 99p and the other was about £130 but it also came with a window which is again is now part of my workshop.

I didn't want to drive too far to pick up so each one took a few weeks to find. You'd be surprised at the range of sizes and configurations of used doors complete with frames. I expect you'd find one suitable for your opening without too much trouble.
 
Thanks Robert
I have tried ebay and gumtree over the last few months I have also checked local manufacturers for mis sized units, This is how I got the window, as winter is approaching I need to get this sorted.
Plastic is ideal especially as the location does not get much light.
 
I did not have any luck buying a door and frame so I have decided to replace the frame as a starting point.
My local timber merchant has timber frame in stock so I went with that. I have started painting it with Bedec multi surface paint.
The door is what the T/M called a door blank, this is actually in good condition so it will stay for now.
The frame pieces are 90mm deep and 50mm at the widest point.
My first question is what is the best joint to join the corners both to the top of the frame and the bottom.
 
I think it is tenons on the stiles and mortises in the header and foot. The header and foot go the whole width of the door frame and a little bit more into the brickwork for retention. And the header is probably also acting as a lintel, so it is bearing down onto the cheeks of the tenons of the stiles.
 
Malc2098":2fh2i6h6 said:
......The header and foot go the whole width of the door frame and a little bit more into the brickwork for retention.....
Click to expand...

It's unlikely to work like that with existing brickwork. I suggest cutting everything off flush because frame fixings, spray foam, and silicon are way more powerful than what was available to most in the first half of the 20th century, and no frame is ever going to come loose these days if done half-way properly.

Your joint will be a bridle joint, Michael, unless you want to do a haunched mortise and tenon, or a dovetail. Pros do a haunched M&T and then cut the horns off, leaving just a few mm of short-grain the difference between that and a bridle joint.
 
Just to make sure I dont do anything silly, I am going to measure brick to brick and make the frame to fit the smallest. No scribing to fit. Filling the gaps with foam.
Joint wise the bridle joint looks simple enough for me. would a dovetail be stronger would it just be one large one ?
I have just realised I did not buy the wood for the bottom part of the frame go back tomorrow.
 
You could do a dovetail for the fun of it, but there is no strength gain in that circumstance. You don't necessarily need a piece of wood at the cill. Many thresholds these days are just a low aluminium strip, rather than a thick piece of wood. So long as the bottom ends of the verticals are fixed well in place this has the advantage of giving a virtually flush threshold which will last forever.
 
I bought some frame fixings today M8 x 100mm they look a little on the light side, the thickest part of the frame is 60mm they are going into single brick, I dont know if that matters but suspect it might.
Actually the label says window anchors might have to go back tomorrow.
 
Drill a hold bigger than the head 20mm into your timber, then a 8mm hole for the remaining 40mm. You then have 60mm in the brick (and if you wanted you can plug over the bolt head to hide it)
 
Thanks StevieB 60mm will be almost through the brick. I might go 50mm.

I decided to go with the threshold and even made a mortice and tenon joint for the first side.

2020-11-12_04-57-55 by my0771, on Flickr

It took all afternoon but I needed a break from another project.
 
I thought I was getting the hang of this first thing this morning it took me half an hour to cut this.

2020-11-13_12-28-31 by my0771, on Flickr

Fettling the fit took an hour but there you go.

2020-11-13_12-29-41 by my0771, on Flickr

I might be over thinking this but I am struggling to work out where the mortice goes. If I put the mortices on the top part do I need to leave some of the frame to fill in the upright. I have tried to show it below.

2020-11-13_12-29-58 by my0771, on Flickr

Any help would be appreciated
 
Personally I wouldn't try to be that clever. Just cut a rebate in the uprights and drop the top piece in then a few 4" screws through the frame from the outside to hold it in. Assuming its going in a wall opening where the screws wont be seen of course.
 
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