Maybe some of you remember that I’ve mentioned before that I occasionally volunteer at a wildlife rehab center. (http://www.treehousewildlifecenter.org/) My question is about doors for their “hospital” building.
When I was down there a couple of weeks ago (Took down a flying squirrel) I noticed that the front door was in pretty bad shape. Looking closer, I realized it was a hollow core interior door. Suprisingly, it had lasted a long time. Since there was a storm door, I suppose that helped.
I offered to replace it for them, and they said yes. So I did that last weekend. I installed a simple slab exterior door.
When I got to looking around, I saw that several interior doors were in pretty bad shape. So I got to wondering – What would be the best type of doors to put in a place like that? They get heavily used, as the animals get fed daily, as well as cage cleaning and other maintenance.
The doors are also subject to a fair amount of humidity. There’s no AC, so the windows are open for 5 months or so every year. And the animals put off a fair amount of moisture themselves.
The doors that are there now are just cheap hollow core slabs. Some of them are delaminating, and some have been damaged from people banging stuff into them. (When cages get moved and such)
I don’t want to put holow core slabs back in, only to have to replace them in another 5 or 10 years. I thought about putting in exterior (metal skinned) slabs, but am not sure if it’s a good idea or not. I’ve seen doors called “colonist” style, but know virtually nothing about them. (May just be a regional term)
As it is with most volunteer places, they don’t have a lot of money. I’d buy them more doors myself, but simply don’t have the money.
So any suggestions would be appreciated.
The clock that is five minutes fast is seldom corrected at quitting time.
Replies
Metal skinned doors would be fine for your application. I have used Stanley exterior doors in a small health clinic.The doors were 6 paneled doors with a brushed aluminum push plates and pulls. I believe they ran $120.00 per door, without locksets.I recently went back and filled in a few dents from the gurneys. Bondo body putty and new paint did the trick.I believe these doors are what you refer to as "colonist style".
Just make sure your charity doesn't get you in a bad way with codes. Here, the entry would have to be a 90 min fire core door, and depending on how the building is laid out some of the interior doors might have to meet that as well. If the codes aren't an issue, the steel is a good option. You've already said wood has issues in there, and I don't think you're going to find fiberglass for any kind of economy price.
There are no (enforced) building codes in the county I live in, so that isn't a problem.
Hadn't thought about fiberglass doors. But I know virtually nothing about them. I gather they're relatively expensive, from what you said.
An exterior door sounds like it might work, as Mike suggested. But I think the threshold would have to come off. They wouldn't want to be stepping over it all the time. Is that a big deal? Never tried to take it off a pre-hung door before.............
Thanks for the input, guys.I live in a two-story house.one story is "I have a headache" and the other story is "It's that time of the month."
Boss man
Most definatly fiberglas doors. One of the reasons is what Piff stated, Pee!. First off, theyre way durable and can be sorta attractive in that enviorment, but more importantly they dont rust or corrode and can be easily washed down....not to mention they dont need paint.
Be well
Namaste'
AndyIt's not who's right, it's who's left ~ http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Taking the threshold off isn't a big deal, and if you go with someone who specializes in doors & such rather than the warehouse home improvement places, you can probably order them without and save a buck. The animal pee thing is a good consideration. I've dealt with hog sheds (hey, funny, Boss Hog and all . . ) and that stuff just eats metal. But the fiberglass is expensive. I wouldn't be surprised if a slab alone cost you four bills. So if it's a toss up between wood and metal, go metal and spend the dough on a durable industrial enamel.
Hog man....lol
Not to hijack this thread or anything but......now that I'm in my new old house I'm thinkin' bout gettin me a cpla dozen chickens. Dont think I'll do a fiberglass coup with fiberglass lattice for the pen....lol....but was wondering as long as yer the man.......uhhhhhh...I'll Email ya. No one wants to hear this chicken shirt...do they? Come to think of it Taunton Press has no rags on stuff bout rural living like that other rag.whats it called again? Mother Earth News?later
aIt's not who's right, it's who's left ~ http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Didn't you see the issue a couple months ago with the dud building a studless wall shed for a potting shed? It looked just like a chicken coup to me..
Excellence is its own reward!
Piff
Another good idea by you but I reckon thats how one gets livin' on an island like you do,and I dont mean a long one
Thanks...good idea for now......now if I only knew someone that could teach me to do a thatched roof (always wanted to do one and a chicken coop would be the perfect size to start with). Didnt I see an article in FHB about a cedar thatched roof?
Be well
Namaste
AndyIt's not who's right, it's who's left ~ http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
my first thought is the metal slabs but the thing to be checking out is whether the air is acidy from animal pee and such. That could make them rust out sooner unless well painted
Excellence is its own reward!
Good point Piffin. Before installing them you might have an auto body shop, they have some tough two part enamels and the equipment to do the job on the cheap, spray them with a few quick coats of the good stuff that will seal them from the ammonia fumes. Quick and dirty. Sags and runs are OK. Once dried and installed screw in 1/4" plywood kick and strike plates to prevent dings that would compromise the finish.
You might get a price break on the paint job if you ask around the body shops and emphasize the, public service, animal hugging, non-profit aspects of the job. You are doing a good thing so don't feel bad about emotional blackmail.
I think the colonist doors you might be referring to are hollow core doors made from MDF. I don't think they'd last long at all in an animal shelter. I would check the code to see if fire doors/hardware are needed. You could also see what a veteranarian or boarding place in your area use.
You can go through the hassle of replacing all of the doors, or is it just the veneer that is wearing out. Have you thought about skinning the existing doors? Find a nice finish grade of plywood to stain or some 1/4" MDF, cut a bit of a design into it and nail it on the door. I'm not saying all restaurant owners are as thrifty as the ones I've run into, but I've done the same thing on restaurant kitchen doors that only wear out at the elbows and bar doors that wear out in the heels. By adding a bit of design to the panel, and without microscopic inspection, you would swear it was a new custom door.
sometimes board sometimes knot
Hadn't thought about trying to re-skin them. Wouldn't the added thickness cause problems with the door knobs?
If a child lives with approval, he learns to live with himself.
Wouldn't the added thickness cause problems with the door knobs?
Not really Boss, standard hardware will easily fit a 2" door, so you could skin both sides of a 1 3/8" door with 3/8ply and still have the hardware work. 1/4" MDF is still incredibly strong compared to the 3/16" veneer a door is assembled with. By backsetting the panel 3/8" from the edges of the door (add a half round or chamfer to the panel edge for decoration) you save removing the door stops.
The real plus of this fix, is not having to re-hinge, rehang, recase, repaint etc.. Plus you save all the mess of ripping out all of the old frames The panels can be made up off site, painted, stained, or varnished and installed in a relatively short time with some glue and a brad nailer.
I don't know if I'd try this in a home, but these doors will take years of abuse in a commercial application.
Thanks for the response about the knobs.
I've thought about the plywood skin idea some bit since it was originally suggested, but am not convinced it would work well. It wouldn't solve the problem where the existing plywood is pulled loose from the frame. And a couple of the locksets are broken out, or the holes are enlarged from the things being loose and rattling around in there.
But I'm still thinking.................Don't be afraid to take a big step. You can't cross a chasm in two small jumps. [David Lloyd George]
B.H.
As Andy suggested, you might want to look into some damaged door slabs, possibly from a commercial supplier, or the wholesaler that sells to your local supplier. We deal quite a bit with commercial doors for schools, hospitals, etc. and quite often they save up dinged up slabs for shipping protection on large orders of doors, or give them out to contractors on big jobs for temporary entry door installations.
How many doors and what sizes are you looking for? I've got some used, solid core, formica laminated, door slabs left over from a nursing home re-hab. Not sure how many but I can check. We sold a couple hundred of them back when we did the job, probably tossed 5-600 out in dumpsters, for lack of space to store them.
Bish
DANG! That's a lotta doors.
Don't suppose you'd be anywhere near central Illinois, would ya? I'm looking at needing 9 doors, and I think they're all 30". Q: What's the difference between a golf ball and a "g-spot"?A: Men will spend 30 minutes looking for a golf ball.
BH,
I'm in Central New York State, not very close I'm afraid. I think most of the doors I've got are 36" x 84" but I'll check anyway.
Bish.
How long have these original(?) doors lasted? - - cheap, light doors have a certain desirability - as long as the frames are good, hanging new doors every 10 years is not a big deal, and you get a nice fresh look - some of the suggestions made about protecting/enhancing more expensive doors also apply to cheap ones - I know it kinda goes against the grain of FHB, but in some instances, 'disposable' is appropriate -
I honestly don't know how long the originals doors lasted. But I don't think they've been replaced for at least 10 years.
I understand what you're saying about living with some "disposability" in some situations. But in this case, I would prefer something longer lasting.
It has to do with the attitude of the volunteers. If they have to work with lousy doors, it tends to hurt their attitude a bit. If a door is in bad shape, they'll tend to abuse it more rather than trying to make it last. And I'm concerned that an attitude like that could carry over into other things at the center.
Hope that made sense.............Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition. [Howell Forgy, 12/7/41]
B.H. you might try getting slightly damaged doors for free from your suppliers and replacing the slabs most dents and holes can be fixed with bondo and fiberglass mesh and then iI would make some replaceable kick plates and push plates the same height as the carts.
ANDYSZ2
Some of the larger volume door and window suppliers (retail AND wholesale, or even the factories) get quite an inventory of "returns." Some have minor cosmetic damage, the bores are wrong, etc. Someplaces have a "bargain shed" with such items. For something like you're doing, they might even donate.
Also, there are some "second hand" or "cut rate" building supplies scattered around the country. Their prices are often pretty decent and sometimes negotiable. One near here once had a stack of steel doors that had been taken from an office building that had been demolished. They were 3-0/7-0's but were $5 each.
Good luck!!!
24341.14 in reply to 24341.13
Hadn't thought about trying to re-skin them. Wouldn't the added thickness cause problems with the door knobs?
Boss man
Check out the website for CONSTINTINES in the Bronx NY. they sell veneers for doors that you can just iron on.
Be well
Namaste
AndyIt's not who's right, it's who's left ~ http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM