Ledge Door

[GK]

Nemesis, quite so, since my new doors will be left natural I thought the bent over bits looked tacky.

thiambal, that crossed my mind. Though judging by the force needed to drive them in even with a pilot hole, I hope they stay together.

 

[thiambal]

GK, did you use the shorter deco nails for other other 11 doors - or another sort of nail?

 

[GK]

I used shorter deco nails. I think they're a variation on a cut brad, tapered. From memory I got about 15mm of penetration into the second piece.

 

[thiambal]

Food for thought - cheers

 

[dandrew]

To prevent the battens from pulling off if they are not clench nailed, you can skew nail them - simply drive the nails in at different angulations, preferably opposite directions so that there is not just a single path of withdrawal for the batten.

Nemesis's idea of screws is far easier, though they should be counterbored not countersunk so that the screw heads are below the surface of the wood. Putty would have been used as a 'stopping' to cover the heads in times of yore, after which the door would have been painted. Wood filler would be the norm nowadays, but won't look too good if you are going for a polished or varnished finish.

 

[Nemesis]

Well - I was nearly right ! Heads below the surface.

 

[thiambal]

Cor! You guys are clever!

I would still be interested in the best technique for clenching - I suspect if you just bang the nail through and then turn over and bash the pointy end that you may not get a tight join. Biff?

 

[Nemesis]

You'd surely get a very bruised door though.

Clenching - tighten buttock muscles?

I'm a guyess. I think. Hard to tell under all the winter woollies.

 

[Phase1]

Being "in the market" for some ledged doors, the standard new construction seems to be: screw the battens in, plug the holes with dowels of same wood, hammer roseheads in the planked face along the lines of the battens for additional strength/effect.

Now, how would you hang them with T or HL hinges if you've got a frame that needs some form of casing and door stops, if only I could work out the design... :roll:

 

[biffvernon]

, the standard new construction seems to be: screw the battens in, plug the holes with dowels of same wood, hammer roseheads in the planked face along the lines of the battens for additional strength/effect.

That seems a bit fake. I follow GK's method except I work on the lawn when hammering the nails through. Haven't skewered a worm yet. When you come to bend the nail over (clinching) it helps to have the door on a hard surface (move to concrete drive) so you don't accidentally push the nail back from whence it came. If you can tap the tip over first and then the rest of the nail the sharp tip buries itself in the wood instead of snagging your best pashmina shawl.

 

[Nemesis]

Concrete drive???

 

[mike]

I think I was taught the best way.
Lay the door face down with a piece of steel plate or similar under where the ledges are to go.
Hammer a rosehead in at each corner of the ledge until the face of the nail is flush with the surface of the ledge - the nail will crlmp and turn back when it hits the steel providing a very tight and secure fixing.
Turn the door over and nail the boards to the ledges using the same technique.
Apparently this was know as deadening, hence the expression 'dead as a doornail'. Thats what I was told and I'm sticking to it!
Doors made like this are extremely difficult to take apart without wrecking every single piece of wood.

 

[Me!]

'dead as a doornail'

Well, that's an expression I've heard and used many times before, and I never had any idea where it came from.
Do I understand your description correctly though, in that you put the first nails through from the ledges to the planks, and then the remainder the other way? If so, do you know why they aren't all done the same way?

 

[worms]

I suppose it is too obvious to ask if the OP's door cannot be trimmed without removing the ledges? It would seem to me that this may be the only way to avoid serious damage. Either a portion off top and bottom which may leave the ledges in strange positions or off one end alone with a replacement ledge added if the cut is above the ledge. Care would be needed to avoid damaging saw blades on the nails.

 

[thiambal]

Ah, interesting point about the trimming of the door.

THe new door way is quite a bit smaller and the is very badly damaged above the upper ledge - hence my willingness to hack it down to a smaller size.

I will need to cut the door down to just below the top ledge. I can simple add an additional ledge to the top of the door - but the they will not be equally spaced - causing Mrs C endless annoyance (Oh, OK it is actually me who is the anal one).

I was hoping to remove the centre ledge and reposition this and add and additional one to the top.

But perhaps people are right - the damage getting them off might outweigh the aesthetic benefit.

Next question - what sort of latch, lock, handle etc works best with these doors - I have two door with no means of keeping them closed - I only need to be able to open them from one side as they are both cupboards.

 

[Nemesis]

Traditionally, a latch. However. our pantry door has a ball catch with a latch handle without the sneck - easy to get into when your hands are full.

 

[thiambal]

ball catch with a latch handle without the sneck

I have literally no idea what this means. Latch handle - I think I can handle, ball catch - sounds like a terrible form of bullying, sneck - welsh for noggin?

 

[Nemesis]

Oh, dearie dearie me.

A ball catch is a modern(ish) device which you need to gouge a bit out of the door to fit, with a plate with a hole on the door frame. It simply pushes closed, the ball bearing on a spring pushes in and out again as if by magic. Simple and easy. Any DIY shed.

http://www.romark.co.uk/


Then you need a handle of some sort to pull the door open again.

Any sort of handle.

The sneck is the bit you lift on a proper sneck type latch.

http://www.jenningsbrewery.co.uk/sneck_lifter_product.htm

 

[biffvernon]

Lots of great Architectural Ironmongery to choose from. Excellent quality goods and service IMHO.

 

[worms]

Happy to be corrected if I am wrong, but I am sure I have seen ledged doors where the upper and middle ledges are closer together than middle and bottom - I assume this is because the stresses caused by the weight of the door are not equal across the three ledges if they are evenly spaced (same goes for hinges).

If the ledges are on the inside of the cupboard with the boarded face into the room, then I can't see that it matters hugely where the ledges are positioned.