Zinc front door canopy

[L1zzy]

Hi all - long time no post .I've been repointing the greenstone front elevation of the the cottage with lime (ongoing) - much happiness and fulfillment.

I am about to remove my hideous 1970's porch to the front of my cottage and have thought to put up a zinc domed door canopy (some cottages in Shaftesbury still have the originals of these) CO has agreed to this - I have found one company who makes such a thing (Garden Requisites) spoke to a very nice lady the other day but they don't come out to measure up and advise (only if I pay an additional £100) I'm really nervous about measuring up and getting it wrong or even just the dimensions wrong. Has anyone had this experience and does anyone know of an alternative option.

Lastly I do wonder if I can do without a canopy - though neighbours et all have all said water will come into house - anyone any thoughts on this?

Nemesis - be kind .....!!

 

[Penners]

Lizzy - if you want the canopy, you surely aren't going to go without it just because of the measuring up problem? Water may or may not come into the house (depending mainly on your front door design), but if the canopy is right for the property, it will surely be of practical and aesthetic benefit.

What is it that you're nervous about? If you want to avoid measuring errors, I reckon the best way is to do it very carefully yourself, then get someone else - friend/partner/husband/milkman/passing morris dancer/etc. - to measure it again (without showing them your measurements). If the two sets of dimensions are the same, you can be pretty confident. If they aren't, you investigate and double-check the discrepancy.

Go on - go for it!

 

[skier-hughes]

What's the total cost of the canopy without the £100 measuring fee?
If it is £500, would you buy it?
If they said £600 would you still buy it?

Just wondering if they'd inserted the fee for measuring into the total cost if you'd still thought it good value and gone ahead?

 

[Tom]

Lizzy, you'll be fine as long as you use this rule.....measure twice, cut once. Of course, you could always alter it slightly....measure 10 times, cut once

Jaqy

 

[L1zzy]

Thanks to all - I'll have a bash ......I hadn't thought of the 2nd party checking approach well done Penners!

You inspired me guys !

for info its £235 excl fee of £100 for a man in a van coming from Bath and no I probably wouldn't be so keen if the canopy was £335 . Also for info this company did wirework for the Crescent at Bath .......it means they'll only send a man for REALLY big spenders!! of which i am not. BUT they seem to be the only company I can find on the web that do these darned things.

 

[alice]

Lizzy, if you're still nervous, what about making a paper template of the area? You can get some very large pieces of butcher or brown kraft paper and make a life-size tracing of the area and, roll it up and send that off with your measurements. If might seem as if you're over-compensating, but if the fabricator can set his canopy on a 1-1 template, there will be no excuse for the final canopy not fitting.

alice

 

[Nemesis]

I had a look on the website and the stuff looks really nice - classic wirework etc. I can't see why water would come in without a canopy, but it will give you and visitors shelter while at the door.

I have no links and nothing to do with the company!!!

http://www.garden-requisites.co.uk/


I know what you mean about getting it wrong (sums are not my strong point either) but I can't see which measurements you are worried about. Try to expand a little and maybe people can help?

 

[L1zzy]

What a brilliant idea about making a life size paper template thankyou

Nemesis I have glimpsed a kinder side of you which is much appreciated !
Glad you like the design I thought them tasteful.The canopy on the site I am going to choose is the solid Roman version.

My nervousness is really due to the following:

The lintel over the door is currently rotted and about to be replaced but the 'slot' is very wide much wider span than I want the canopy so I'm a bit concerned its going to look odd. Might ask the builder who's going to cut me the new Lintel for guidance on this or if we can Lime mortar over the outer edges of the wooden lintel to make it appear more narrow..

The stone front elevation is not smooth Ashlar but instead Local Green Sandstone rubble ( a sort of uneven faced grey sandstone (its bloody hard in places)) so I'm a bit concerned that the canopy wouldn't be 'flush' to the wall and how to deal with this - Lime mortar fillet would spoil the look I fear.

Majorly I'm uncertain as to what the 'correct' dimensions are for a canopy related to the front door and door frame ie what is a good balanced width from the outside of the door frame to the struts of the canopy (hunch is 6 inches either side)

And most importantly what the correct dimensions are vis a vis height from the top of the door frame to the underside of the canopy?

The ide of a paper lifesize template will hopefull enable me to resolve these though - its a great idea. ......and cost effective.

 

[Penners]

Lizzy - if you look at the picture of your Roman style canopy on the website, there is - as you say - about 4" - 6" of door frame and wall between the edge of the door and the canopy brackets. The canopy is positioned so that the bottom edge of the solid sheet metal is roughly level with the top of the door.

If you use that as a guideline, I can't believe you'll be unhappy with the results.

The only thing you need to be sure about is whether you have enough blank wall above the door to accommodate the height of the arch. Is there a window above your door? The height of the top of the arch will be approx. half its width (as it's a semi-circle). Have you got this amount of "free" wall?

 

[L1zzy]

Penners you've highlighted something I'd not spotted at all well done my man. I hadn't noticed that the solid part of the canopy started at the top of the door frame.Yes i have got enough 'free wall' above the door - only got 4 windows - (cottage looks just like a childs drawing of a house.) useful to get the dimensions tip as well

PPUK has really helped me with this - spotting things I had completely missed about the design and photos . I reckon I can measure up with confidence now.

I just needed a bit of support - when you're on your own doing all this new stuff it can get a bit depressing I just needed somebody to say - course you can .

Thanks everyone

 

[Nemesis]

Course you can - bluudy ell if a bloke can do it...

 

[Mark]

You say that some cottages still have the original ones - how are they fitted ?

Go round and have a good look at some. (maybe knock on the door first)

 

[Penners]

Course you can - bluudy ell if a bloke can do it...

I said Lizzy could do it. I didn't say I could do it.

 

[Nemesis]

for info its £235 excl fee of £100 for a man in a van coming from Bath and no I probably wouldn't be so keen if the canopy was £335 . Also for info this company did wirework for the Crescent at Bath .......it means they'll only send a man for REALLY big spenders!! of which i am not. BUT they seem to be the only company I can find on the web that do these darned things.

I meant as in the post above... of course you could do it Penners I'm sure (says she soothingly).