Reclaimed doors

[emo_luke]

I drove past a skip this morning with a stack of original Dx-30 pine doors.

I'm currently doing my brothers bathroom and they want this style of door and are into the whole old beaten up fad.

I spoke tot he chap who said I could have them and the rest that are to be coming out of the house! These normally sell for about £80.00 A door!! I dropped him a big slab of cider off to make sure I get the phone call for the other doors and no body else does!

Downside to this is.... They are 810 x 2040 x 44. The extra thickness isn't a killer as we are skimming out the rooms as we go and so I'm building frames out to suit so hides most of this.

Spent this afternoon reducing the bathroom door to 690 x 1980.

Re spaced the center stiles and scribed the mouldings back. Joined it together with 10 x 10x50mm dominos and polyeurethane glue!

So he's got a bargain and I get 10 hours of work extra to not charge him for! Plus I paid for a crate of cider! No wonder I'm Poor





Re : The bathroom. I made all the panelling from 18mm MR MDF. They then decided they wanted a bit of storage so I made a lift up lid.

Ignore my tools, I'd have been bollocked putting them all over as an apprentice but I was taking liberties as it's family.









I put my foot through the ceiling also, first time in 8 years I've done anything like it!

[Colour Republic]

Always makes me laugh when customers find stuff in skips and tell me how much money it's saved them. It's then down to that awkward conversation straight after where you need to tell them it's going to cost a few hundred pounds to make all the adjustments necessary to make something fit. Making the whole thing cost more than if you'd bought the right thing in the first place!

But in this case it's you that is stitching yourself up What you'd do for family ehh?

Nice doors though. Look to be in far too good of nick to end up in a skip.


BTW you've fitted the pan connector all wrong

[emo_luke]

Probably why the pan flushes anti clockwise?

Well I resized the door today and then he came to look and informed the SWMBO wants glass in the top... Guess I'm cutting beads out tomorrow!

Well There should be 4 spare doors so I'll be selling them. Just wondering how much joe public would pay for them already remade to a standard size instead of just buying the door. It took me 3 hours to reduce it today. Obviously doing 4 at the same time would speed it up so might make me a bit of beer money!

[Colour Republic]

If you're gonna resize them, you might as well hang them... don't know £200 a door hung? £250-£275 pre-finshed (i.e sanded and waxed up)?

BTW you THINK there is another 4 doors coming. I hate cider so would maybe chop them up as fire wood if you got me a case of that


Only just figured out what the scored MDF was for, I thought it was something to do with the doors to start

[emo_luke]

Well the chap invited me into his house and I had a quick tot up of the amount of doors to come out. I was a little hurried as I though I may end up like Fritzels daughter in his basement.

I had to twist his arm to give him some beer in payment. Personally if someone gives me gratuity in alcohol over money I'm always a happy man!

The MDF was instead of T & G boards as they would be a waste of time in a bathroom. I'm not sure if you can buy 18mm off the shelf, I've seen 9mm grooved sheets but they are less than useless.

[Colour Republic]

Not sure on the 18mm off the shelf? I've certainly installed 12mm faux T&G MDF before. In fact it was an absolute ton of it, 3 pallets from memory.

We converted some old 18th century potting sheds in to swimming pool shower/changing rooms in the ground of a massive manor house. The place was heated but only by a few electric towel rails and the place was poorly insulated without even taking the ledge and brace entrance doors in to account. The MDF panels were moisture resistant but I can only think what it looked like after a single harsh winter. But that job was a mess from start to finish. We undertook the works but the job had been sub-contracted out about 3 or 4 times above us, so whatever we were charging you can bet it quadrupled by the time it hit the home owners mat.

MDF at 18mm is certainly more stable than cheap pine T&G, the amount of bathrooms I see where all the paint has cracked where it's expanded and contracted

[emo_luke]

Exactly my thoughts as they were wanting to paint it would look a pigs ear when it shrinks and expands!

Heres a question for everyone... I never charge family for work.. Do I need my head looking at?

[Colour Republic]

You need your head looking at!

Close family and small jobs (1 or 2 days) then rarely charge. I'd like to think my close family are savy enough to realise that if i'm working on their place it's costing me elsewhere.

Extended family, especially larger jobs can be a mine field. Prefer for them to get outside quotes so they have a good idea of what the market rate is. Otherwise somebody always feels aggrieved, them for thinking you've made a packet off them, or you because they don't realise how cheap they got it.

If I can help it at all then try to do as little myself and just supply 3rd party labour and materials at cost.