Adaptation and repair of these garage doors was undertaken as part of restoration works and a new extension to a listed building. The planning authority stipulated that as much of the original garage doors were to be retained as possible, even though both garage door opening heights were being raised. A reasonable proportion of the bottom sections were rotten, including the infill boards.
A meticulous record of exact sections and mould profiles were taken with particular emphasis on determining individual door leaf sizes. We recreated the bottom half of each door leaf in the workshop with replica mortise and tenon joints that included bottom, middle rail and stiles – the sections running vertically. The stiles were cut to a precise angle and then jointed to the original garage door leaves with long hardwood inserts fitted to each of the abutting joints. New quirk bead panels were machined from hardwood, which were then fitted from behind with screws, via a continuous groove, that was in turn covered with a timber bead finished flush with door faces. We designed and arranged for a skilled blacksmith to undertake installation of new iron pins which were fixed into the original stonework, ensuring adjustments for very irregular opening widths were carefully adhered to.
