Shut that door

We’d just got back from the market, and Brian said he wanted to go out and try to finish the cellar door off. He needed to join the two doors together and sandwich the insulation between them. I knew he would welcome some help from me, so I popped my coat on and went to see what I could do.

At first it was just a case of cutting the insulation to fit, which is a one person job, so I got on and tidied the mess this created.

He then had to cut the edges that would surround the door and connect the two sides. After helping him lift the bits into place I couldn’t help too much here either, so I went to make some mince pies to have later.

When I came back he’d finished all but one of the edges, and was cutting the last piece of wood to seal it up. The table saw is extremely noisy, but it does help do things quicker.

I was then able to help again, as the inner door piece needed screwing on. Brian drilled the holes, then I screwed the screws in. It was done in no time.

We then needed to fix the hinges in place. To be certain they were in the right place we carried the ‘now, rather heavy’ door into the cellar to check on the positioning. Back to the workshop with the hinge positions marked, and ten minutes later they were in place.

We carried it for the final time back to the cellar, and used wedges of wood to reach the height we needed it to be before fixing it to the oak door surround we had created previously. We were not sure if the screws needed to be pre-drilled, but fortunately they went in without a problem. Finally the door was in place, and swinging nicely on its hinges.

What a superb job. We were both very happy to get this done. It does need a bit of finishing, but that will happen over time, the important thing is, it’s now sealed and wine ready.