Replacing a garden gate

I suppose it’s more of a door than a gate, but, aside from that, Penrhyn Castle needs two new ones. Both are to be made from European oak. and both are 60mm thick, 2.5m tall and 1m and 1.5m wide respectively.

The old doors have patches on patches and so defy any further repair work. They were also painted which often leads to the paint holding water and moisture beneath the surface skin and rot quietly eats away undetected. Before any visible signs of decay begin to show, your finger passes through the surface skin of paint and into the punky rot beneath.

I begin all of my projects by laying everything out full-size, three-quarter  size or half-size to scale the joinery and determine my specification list for establishing my cutting list. I work from my journal drawings where I keep all of the dimensions on permanent record. That way I am sure to be able to confirm all of my measurements should there be any discrepancy. Of course all of that depends on my drawings being accurate in the first place. The old adage, “Measure twice, cut once.” has always proven good advice even though I have always done that from day one of my starting work.

I have ordered the oak from Tony Owen at Illingworth Ingham in Manchester. Tony covers North Wales for them. I first ordered materials from this company back in 1967 when I worked for Hugh Owen and Son on Shawcross street off Hillgate in Stockport , my home town. I’ll let you know the progress as we go.