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VivienB
 
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Default Kick plates for internal door

We are improving access to our downstairs toilet for my father, who
uses a wheelchair. This has included a double-swing door, so he can
push it away from him whichever direction he needs to go through. We
have found (before the painting was finished!) that this results in
marks on the door from the wheel of the wheelchair nearest the hinge
side. We have read about PVCu kickplates supplied by a firm in Leeds,
but these are rather expensive at £36 each, plus £20 carriage.

Can anyone suggest a readily-available alternative?


-
Regards, VivienB
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BigWallop
 
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"VivienB" wrote in message
...
We are improving access to our downstairs toilet for my father, who
uses a wheelchair. This has included a double-swing door, so he can
push it away from him whichever direction he needs to go through. We
have found (before the painting was finished!) that this results in
marks on the door from the wheel of the wheelchair nearest the hinge
side. We have read about PVCu kickplates supplied by a firm in Leeds,
but these are rather expensive at £36 each, plus £20 carriage.

Can anyone suggest a readily-available alternative?

Regards, VivienB


Bent and Queer (sorry B&Q) do clear acrylic sheets which are easily drilled
and screwed. It isn't too expensive for quite a large sheet either.
They'll cut it to the sizes you need for you as well, I think. If not, then
it's easy to cut with a sharp fine toothed handsaw, and the edges can be
rubbed down with fine sandpaper to smooth them off again. I've used it on
my garden shed door, and in the window (cheap double glazing for the shed),
to stop the damage I was doing dragging the lawnmower in and out.

Some food for thought? :-)


  #3   Report Post  
VivienB
 
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On Wed, 11 May 2005 15:26:00 GMT, "BigWallop"
wrote:

Bent and Queer (sorry B&Q) do clear acrylic sheets which are easily drilled
and screwed. It isn't too expensive for quite a large sheet either.
They'll cut it to the sizes you need for you as well, I think. If not, then
it's easy to cut with a sharp fine toothed handsaw, and the edges can be
rubbed down with fine sandpaper to smooth them off again. I've used it on
my garden shed door, and in the window (cheap double glazing for the shed),
to stop the damage I was doing dragging the lawnmower in and out.

Some food for thought? :-)


Indeed, thank you. I shall look in to the local 'shed' when I use
their car park on Friday.


-
Regards, VivienB
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BigWallop
 
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"VivienB" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 11 May 2005 15:26:00 GMT, "BigWallop"
wrote:

Bent and Queer (sorry B&Q) do clear acrylic sheets which are easily

drilled
and screwed. It isn't too expensive for quite a large sheet either.
They'll cut it to the sizes you need for you as well, I think. If not,

then
it's easy to cut with a sharp fine toothed handsaw, and the edges can be
rubbed down with fine sandpaper to smooth them off again. I've used it

on
my garden shed door, and in the window (cheap double glazing for the

shed),
to stop the damage I was doing dragging the lawnmower in and out.

Some food for thought? :-)


Indeed, thank you. I shall look in to the local 'shed' when I use
their car park on Friday.

Regards, VivienB


And free parking as well? You'll really get your monies worth out of them.
LOL :-)


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Lobster
 
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Default

VivienB wrote:
We are improving access to our downstairs toilet for my father, who
uses a wheelchair. This has included a double-swing door, so he can
push it away from him whichever direction he needs to go through. We
have found (before the painting was finished!) that this results in
marks on the door from the wheel of the wheelchair nearest the hinge
side. We have read about PVCu kickplates supplied by a firm in Leeds,
but these are rather expensive at £36 each, plus £20 carriage.

Can anyone suggest a readily-available alternative?


If you want PVCu, you can buy panels of the stuff from Wickes etc.
Normally intended for lining window reveals etc. I think they do one
about 6" deep (0.25" thick) which might suit?

Or what about thin sheet metal? Cheapest would be to go round to an
engineering works or steel stockholder and flutter your eyelashes a bit;
but if you don't fancy that the big B&Qs sell it in various sizes, at a
premium.

David


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VivienB
 
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On Wed, 11 May 2005 18:09:37 GMT, Lobster
wrote:

If you want PVCu, you can buy panels of the stuff from Wickes etc.
Normally intended for lining window reveals etc. I think they do one
about 6" deep (0.25" thick) which might suit?

It needs to be deeper than that - 400mm or 500mm - as it seems to be
the hub of the wheel of the wheelchair that is doing the damage. I
shall try asking what the local Wickes/Jewsons can offer along these
lines.

Or what about thin sheet metal? Cheapest would be to go round to an
engineering works or steel stockholder and flutter your eyelashes a bit;
but if you don't fancy that the big B&Qs sell it in various sizes, at a
premium.


I am concerned that the door is kept as light as possible, principally
for ease of use. Also I think metal would look somewhat institutional.
OK in a public building, but not in the domestic situation.


-
Regards, VivienB
  #7   Report Post  
VivienB
 
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On Wed, 11 May 2005 16:24:48 GMT, "BigWallop"
wrote:

Indeed, thank you. I shall look in to the local 'shed' when I use
their car park on Friday.



And free parking as well? You'll really get your monies worth out of them.
LOL :-)


Well, I do take a walk round the store when I park there, but it's
hardly my fault if they don't have what I want, is it? :-)


-
Regards, VivienB
  #8   Report Post  
Stefek Zaba
 
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Default

VivienB wrote:

I am concerned that the door is kept as light as possible, principally
for ease of use. Also I think metal would look somewhat institutional.
OK in a public building, but not in the domestic situation.

The aesthetic decision can only be yours; but a thin sheet of brass is
what I fitted to a couple of doors at home, in this case to withstand
the depradations of a puppy. Still looks OK to my eyes.

As for the puppy, it's grown into a more or less well behaved dog :-)
but not before it scratched up the door surround :-( Stefek 1,
Sodnmurphy 1, Sodnmurphy win on penalties...
  #9   Report Post  
VivienB
 
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On Wed, 11 May 2005 15:26:00 GMT, "BigWallop"
wrote:

"VivienB" wrote in message
.. .
We are improving access to our downstairs toilet for my father, who
uses a wheelchair. This has included a double-swing door, so he can
push it away from him whichever direction he needs to go through. We
have found (before the painting was finished!) that this results in
marks on the door from the wheel of the wheelchair nearest the hinge
side. We have read about PVCu kickplates supplied by a firm in Leeds,
but these are rather expensive at £36 each, plus £20 carriage.

Can anyone suggest a readily-available alternative?


Bent and Queer (sorry B&Q) do clear acrylic sheets which are easily drilled
and screwed. It isn't too expensive for quite a large sheet either.
They'll cut it to the sizes you need for you as well, I think. If not, then
it's easy to cut with a sharp fine toothed handsaw, and the edges can be
rubbed down with fine sandpaper to smooth them off again. I've used it on
my garden shed door, and in the window (cheap double glazing for the shed),
to stop the damage I was doing dragging the lawnmower in and out.

Some food for thought? :-)

Having spent a chunk of the morning running round sheds, I found both
acrylic and polystyrene sheet. Then this evening I discovered we
already have a large enough clear polystyrene sheet (ICI Transpex 2)
about 3mm thick, to do the job. Has anyone used this stuff for this
sort of job?
If you have, can you tell me -

1. Does it get brittle or discolour with age?

2. Is it handled the same way as acrylic, as BigWallop suggests above?

3. The door is opened from the outside by the wheelchair being
reversed against it. Obviously we will need to fix the protector to
the door without projections which will catch against the wheelchair.
The thinking at the moment is to just screw it on - any pros or cons?

Thanks for the ideas so far,


-
Regards, VivienB
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VivienB
 
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On Thu, 12 May 2005 17:57:38 +0100, Stefek Zaba
wrote:

VivienB wrote:

I am concerned that the door is kept as light as possible, principally
for ease of use. Also I think metal would look somewhat institutional.
OK in a public building, but not in the domestic situation.

The aesthetic decision can only be yours; but a thin sheet of brass is
what I fitted to a couple of doors at home, in this case to withstand
the depradations of a puppy. Still looks OK to my eyes.


Brass is not what I had in mind - I guess it would look pretty good.

As my father already finds the unadorned door OK, but not easy, to
open by reversing his wheelchair against it, I am very concerned to
add the minimum weight with the protection. I have posted elsewhere in
the thread that I have now found some clear thin polystyrene.


-
Regards, VivienB


  #11   Report Post  
BigWallop
 
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"VivienB" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 11 May 2005 15:26:00 GMT, "BigWallop"
wrote:

snipped
3. The door is opened from the outside by the wheelchair being
reversed against it. Obviously we will need to fix the protector to
the door without projections which will catch against the wheelchair.
The thinking at the moment is to just screw it on - any pros or cons?

Thanks for the ideas so far,

Regards, VivienB


If it's the clear rigid Poly' stuff, then you can cut and drill it just the
same. The only thing I think you will find is that it will be soft and will
melt easy with if handled roughly. Try not to use a jigsaw to cut it as it
will probably just bond itself back together at the back of the blade. A
fine toothed handsaw, or a copying saw, are the ideal tool for this job.

It shouldn't discolour quickly, but like anything else of this nature, it
will become dull and scratched over time. The surface of polystyrene is
also not as robust as true laminate acrylic, so it might get scratched a bit
easier. It'll still do the job you want though.

Fixing to the door is one thing I need more info' on to make sure comments.
What is the door made of, and is it a hollow egg-box structure. Most
internal doors in modern flats are made of a frame covered with on both
sides with a thin sheet of plywood. They have a cardboard web of honeycomb
shapes in between to make the surfaces of the door a bit more rigid to the
touch. They aren't as solid as an old oak door. :-)

To fix anything properly to this type of door, you need to take self-tapping
screws with counter-sunk heads. Quite large heads to give a good secure
fixing. Drill the holes through the poly' sheet slightly smaller than the
screw. So a 5 mm screw nail would need a 3 mm hole in the sheet. You then
counter-sink the hole on one side, with a proper counter-sink drill bit, to
a depth that is just enough to hide the screw nail head below the surface of
the poly' sheet. And I mean "just below the surface of the sheet". Feel
your way with a little counter-sinking and keep checking with the head of
the screw nail. Once you do one, you should then get an idea of how deep
the others need to be.

Present the poly' sheet to the door, and with a good screwdriver, start
turning the first screw in. This is where self tapping screws come into
play. A self tapper screw will make its own hole, and this is the ideal
solution for a hollow door. Make sure you get the sheet level, not in line
with the edges of the door, but level with a bubble level. If the door has
been shaped to fit the hole, then the kick plate will also look skew wiff if
you fallow the edges of the door.

Once you get the first screw to bite in to the door surface, stop screwing.
Don't tighten it in fully until you get the sheet level enough. The loose
screw will allow the sheet to move around a bit for the placing procedure.
Try to fix the next screw nail diagonally opposite the first one. This is a
great way of making the sheet firm enough to put the other two screw nails
in. Don't fully tighten any of the screws in until all are placed exactly
where you want them to be. When you're happy with the level and the look,
then tighten the screw nails in until they grip tightly, but not over
tightened.

The same method can also be used on other type of door structure without any
changes.

You should now have a polystyrene sheet fixed to the door. The screw nail
heads should be quite well hidden so they don't catch on things, and it
should all look pretty. If that's the way it looks and feels, then go put
the kettle on and make a nice cuppa' tea.

Good luck with it.


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Lobster
 
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VivienB wrote:
On Thu, 12 May 2005 17:57:38 +0100, Stefek Zaba
wrote:

VivienB wrote:

I am concerned that the door is kept as light as possible, principally
for ease of use. Also I think metal would look somewhat institutional.
OK in a public building, but not in the domestic situation.


The aesthetic decision can only be yours; but a thin sheet of brass is
what I fitted to a couple of doors at home, in this case to withstand
the depradations of a puppy. Still looks OK to my eyes.


Brass is not what I had in mind - I guess it would look pretty good.

As my father already finds the unadorned door OK, but not easy, to
open by reversing his wheelchair against it, I am very concerned to
add the minimum weight with the protection. I have posted elsewhere in
the thread that I have now found some clear thin polystyrene.


Appreciate you might not go for the appearance; that's personal opinion;
but the weight of a thin bit of metal sheet, brass or steel, will not
make one jot of difference to the weight of the door, in terms of how
easy it is to open. It won't weigh much at all on its own, let alone
when screwed to a hinged door.

Davod
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VivienB
 
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On Thu, 12 May 2005 21:41:29 GMT, "BigWallop"
wrote:

Snipped admirably clear info. on how to do the job

Good luck with it.



Many thanks. The door is modern (as this house goes) as it was fitted
only about 40 years ago!


-
Regards, VivienB
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