Jim'll Fix It! Eastbourne Handyman Extraordinaire!
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Restorative carpentry Sash Windows Wooden Doors repair and renovation, Shelving and Flat pack installed, Plumbing, Electrical, Plastering, Painting and decorating, DIY rescues!Computer help given. Software problems solved! Deleted files recovered, lost photos music and documents found, Personal and business websites set up. Home and business networks setup and administered, Computer lessons given for newbies. Covering Eastbourne Bexhill Hailsham
Tuesday, 27 February 2007
Swinging the other way
Had to go back to the restaurant today. I'd noticed a problem with their front door - it was sticking and getting worse. It's no good having a restaurant and being open if the customers can't get in! The door was one of those great old fashioned shop front doors. All brass and glass!
The door had to come off, and so it did.
This is where the apprenticeships of old came to light. In my day... (No! I promised myself I would never say that. Let's try again.) Old hinge screws can be incredibly difficult to get out - but not if the carpenter had enough time to dip the screw tips in petroleum jelly (Vaseline). If that's been done, then 90 years later the screws just glide out. The carpenter who'd hung this door had done that. (Oh for the days when craftsmen weren't under the time pressures of today.)
As the door was off anyway, it seemed like a good idea to rehang it to open outwards. And so after some minor alterations it now swings the other way. It doesn't stick, and there's a sense of more space in the room. It's amazing how little changes make such big differences.
The door had to come off, and so it did.
This is where the apprenticeships of old came to light. In my day... (No! I promised myself I would never say that. Let's try again.) Old hinge screws can be incredibly difficult to get out - but not if the carpenter had enough time to dip the screw tips in petroleum jelly (Vaseline). If that's been done, then 90 years later the screws just glide out. The carpenter who'd hung this door had done that. (Oh for the days when craftsmen weren't under the time pressures of today.)
As the door was off anyway, it seemed like a good idea to rehang it to open outwards. And so after some minor alterations it now swings the other way. It doesn't stick, and there's a sense of more space in the room. It's amazing how little changes make such big differences.
Labels: Carpentry
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