So I made this huge steel door.

The last major piece of 'the reno I didn't want to start'. I've been a bit distracted - tax season and other stuff.

http://somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=99425

This building in my backyard was a garage. It had a driveway apron into it. In the 12 years I have lived there, I never contemplated putting a car in there. So I filled in the driveway bit.

But I wanted to keep the opening - it gets direct sun through there in the winter. And I wanted something interesting. And I wanted something that matched the three steel windows in the building. And I didn't want to pay much given it's just a building in the backyard.

The opening wasn't square, so I had to make it in situ. For the DIY guys, it has an angle on the bottom and 75 x 40mm channel for both sides and the top. So not much steel. Then there is the T section infill and some 30mm angle around the whole perimeter for glazing.

 

Solid level brickwork for it's age,looks good..

 

The problem with welding in-situ was that the final weld, unbeknownst to me, pulled the whole frame out of square. That meant I had to prevail on the bloke I buy steel from to let me take the door to his factory and square it up - oxy heating all corners and wrangling it into shape. Then the galvaniser came and picked it up and returned it.

Of course, getting it to and from the factory was a challenge given it's 3400 x 2400. I had to get a removalist. He only charged me $100. (And another $100 to get it home once it came back from the galvaniser.)

 

Yes, it's a really well built building. Double brick all the way around with a great slab and now a new roof. And door.

 

I,m not that good with words, but just a tip with welding always on frames like that weld one corner then weld the diagonal then the same on the other corner because I know from welding the heat from one diagonal pulls the other into square,but that's a solid door and will add class to that classic brickwork,,.

 

Yeah, I did that but must have done the last corner too quickly. Of course, when we corrected it in the factory we over corrected so it's still out of square. But it's not a big deal. I'm just relieved it slides. The total weight so far is 109kg. I'm not sure how much weight 6mm glass will add, but the wheels are rated for 250kg.

 

Depreciator probably wishes he knew that before he started welding never mind all good experience!

 

Sorry posted above when you posted. Looks good tho, are you glazing yourself?

 

No. I'll get a few quotes. It's going to be expensive in 6mm Low E glass - and it's not square. I had a guy glaze the three windows after I cleaned them up, but he did a lazy job on the putty and I had to reface all the putty. I'll get him to quote, but show him how I want the putty to look.

 

If you are skilled enough to reface all the putty why not just do it yourself. Easy enough to get glass cut to size even if it is not square.

 

I've thought about it but I think I would rather somebody else took the risk of breaking that glass - and getting the wrong size. A template would be the best shot I reckon. It's possibly going to be tricky, too. They won't be able to use clips and will probably need to silicon it in and clamp it and then come back to putty.

 

Fair enough Low E is fairly expensive so understand your concern about not getting it right or heaven forbid...dropping it! There looks to be one quite substantial pane on the right so maybe best to let the pro do it.

 

Yes, one of those panes is pretty big - probably not ideal on the roof racks.

 

Great work! looks fantastic! Instead of putty have you considered silicone with a nice thick (thumb size) caulk after the glass is fitted?

I have been working in the steel window/door industry now for 4 or so years and we have trialed numerous different methods. 1 of the more popular methods is using a 'picture frame' steel bead (typically 12x5mm flat) which is fitted using double sided tape to glass after its installed then caulked to finish it off.

When fitting small/medium panels of glass we apply numerous tabs of double side tape (3mm thick) to the glazing stops, fit glass ontop of rubber packers at for clearance then finish with a large caulk or a picture frame steel bead. For larger panels like yours we would consider grub screws to hold glass in position after fitting glass, this acts as a safety buffer which silicone sets.

Hope that makes a little sense?

Happy to chat further if I can be of assistance! Cheers

 

Considered sticking with the retro theme and get a big peace symbol laser cut and glass infills?
Smaller glass to manage!

 

Too late for any design changes now, Bob.

Dan, I like the idea of the 12mm flat taped to the glass. That will make it much easier to get a nice line with the putty. I reckon 12 x 3 would work best for me. I'm intrigued about the caulking option. What sort of caulking?

The glazier is going to silicon the glass in and clamp it and then come back the next day to putty it.

Installed cost for the glass is $2,300.

Scott

 

Sorry I just realized that was a mistake. You are correct it is actually the 12x3mm flat which we use as standard. we have also in the past used a solid 10x30mm (I think?) which we drill and tapped to the glazing pocket in fabrication then refitted after glass went in via the counter sunk holes onsite. I wasn't a huge fan of the look but that's what the architect specified!

In regards to silicone type I can't recall the exact brand which he uses for the large caulk.. I will chat with him and get some details though. I'll also get a picture for you of a job which we used the larger caulk. Effectively it is a very similar look to the putty but will not dry and crack over time. To apply the large caulk he actually uses a squished piece of conduit on the end of his silicon gun which I found fairly amusing . Works a treat though!

Otherwise the price which you've been quoted seems ok for considering its Low-E. Standard 6.38mm lam would be considerably cheaper.

Check out some of our work if your interested! will link you below. All the best with the slider! Awesome work!

www.steelwindowdesign.com.au

 

Nice work, Dan.
I'm definitely going to do the 12 x 3 flat taped to the glass. I'll get it this week and paint it.
The company in Sydney that does steel windows has long cornered the market. I remember using them in the 90s for a flash reno I did. They were expensive then and really expensive now. It's a great look, though.
http://www.steelwindowsanddoors.com.au/
They need some competition up here. I heard they bring in their own T section steel and nobody else in Sydney has it.
They're a bit hard to deal with - up themselves. I need three of their push catches:
http://www.steelwindowsanddoors.com.au/gallery/custom-hardware/window-hardware/
They said they get them from someone else and weren't keen to tell me who.

Scott

 

Steel Window Fittings in UK. They will hopefully have what your after.

http://www.steelwindowfittings.com

Shoot an email through to James and let him know SWD recommended you. Hopefully he will look after you.

There are a few difficult company's to deal with in the steel door/window game as we so often hear!

Feel free to shoot me a PM and I'll forward my number if you need any other details. Looking forward to seeing the completion pics!

Cheers

 

Thanks Dan. I will email that bloke. I picked up the steel flats this morning and will get them ready on the weekend. Any special sort of tape you use?