Well, I finished up with the project I was hired to do on my unpaid week off.
The old 1880s one room schoolhouse where my Mom went to school is still standing, and is used as a town hall. Since it’s a polling place it’s supposed to be handicapped accessible. But it never has been.
So we put in a new 3/0 fiberglass door with an ADA aproved sill. And built a 5′ square porch and a ramp.
Today I put the latch mechanism on the door. This was a first for me – It had to have panic hardware on the inside, and a handle and latch on the outside.
The panic hardware on the inside was no big deal. But the latch thingy on the outside was a pain. It had to have a HUGE mortice for clearance for the latch mechanism – About 1 1/2″ X 5 1/2″ or so.
Trouble is, I laid it out wrong. So now we have a rather large hole in a $650 door.
The hole was a little over an inch too close to the edge of the door. The plate under the handle covers a little bit of it, but not all. It really looks like crap.
Any suggestions on how to fix this? The only idea we came up with is to get a metal plate to put under the latch mechanism that’s quite a bit wider then the one that came with the lockset.
I thought about trying to fill in the hole with body putty and sanding it flush. But I have no idea how that would stand up to the weather.
I was working as an employee, not a contractor. So I’m not technically liable for replacing the door. But I sure do feel lousy about it, and would like to fix it as best as I can.
Any suggestions would be appreciated…
Q: What do men and sperm have in common?
A: They both have a one-in-a-million chance of becoming a human being.
Replies
The body putty with sanding and paint would work.
I might6 epoxy in a wood fill block first, then surface with bondo
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Hey Boss Hogg,
Both ideas work great. I have used both methods in the past to fix mistakes and both work fine.
One quick comment on using a metal cover plate. About two years ago I made a similar mistake as you, but mine was in a hospital. It was for a specialty piece of hardware for a bathroom door so the staff could open the door in either direction in case a patient fell or passed out inside the bathroom and their body blocked the door from swinging in to get to the patient. I ended up with your same predicament and solved it by going to a big box store and buying a "commercial" grade, stainless steal push plate like you see on the push side of a bathroom door. I cut it down and bored and drilled it, them mounted it to the door and then mounted the hardware to it. It looked great.
Only thing to remember, drill stainless steal REAL SLOW AND USE DRILLING LUBE!!! If you heat that stuff up it gets way the hell hard and discolors.
Happy New Year,
Cork in Chicago
"drill stainless steal REAL SLOW AND USE DRILLING LUBE!!! If you heat that stuff up it gets way the hell hard and discolors."
I'll keep that in mind. I have access to a drill press, so that shouldn't be a problem.
But what about cutting stainless? And cleaning up the edge?
I located a 6" X 30" plate that matches the hardware pretty close. But I need to cut it down to about 5" X 16".
I've never cut stainless before. Will a hacksaw work? Then do I just file the edges until they look O.K. ?
I also have access to an abrasive chop saw. But I figure that would heat the metal up too much and discolor it...
Common sense isn't very common.
Ya have enough scrap to play with there..try a jig saw with a metal blade ( NO orbit on the blade) .A non ferrous metal blade in a circ saw. do not, do not use an abrasive blade.I use my bandsaw with a bi-metal blade, but you probly don't have one?
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
I'll just do it>
Would a tile wet saw work? You might have to buy a new blade for your favorite tiler, but it seems reasonable.
some little voice in my head is saying, no. Real answer: I do not know.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
I'll just do it>
Especially if it's fiberglass it seems Bondo should work.
http://www.bondo-online.com/catalog_brand.asp?hdrBrand=2
"Products include kits for the repair of drywall, concrete, stucco, fiberglass and rotted wood. "
Good luck. I know how you feel.
"I will never surrender or retreat. " Col. Wm. B. Travis, The Alamo, Feb. 1835
If you want to go all the way they sell fiberglass repair kits with 2-part resin and fiberglass mesh,typically used on boats & surfboards.I typically use bondo- it works well for many applications
If you want to use filler, use Bondo Glass. It has shredded fiberglass in it. It sticks like crazy, and is waterproof unlike regular body filler. It's also a nightmare to work with because it's stringy, but it sands very well with some dificulty due to the hardness. Don't use the cheesegrater files, not that its impossible, but I find sanding to give a better result. It's usefull for a lot of other patching jobs.
Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. I talked to the boss this morning, and he said he'd think about it and let me know what he wants to do.
Q: What is the difference between men and government bonds?
A: The bonds mature.
Boss, If this is on the outside of the door, the door sees rain contact and you use an oversized plate to cover......you might want to consider putting a nice bead of silicone behind the top and side edges. I wouldn't use poly caulk for this cause you'd never get it off again, but the sili should yield with a little prying.Or maybe use some plumber's putty or maybe Mor-tight. Just a thought.Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
I used double stick carpet type tape on a kick plate for a wood door once..didnt want water getting behind and rotting the door bottom.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
I'll just do it>