Chief Chippy Robin Clevett takes us through the process…
Preparing the Doors
Firstly the Bricking It trainess needed to prepare the doors for hanging. The two edges of each of the doors need to be beveled back slightly so that they don't hit against the door lining. This is done using a hand plane.
The doors used in the apartment were edged with oak, which is very hard, so the planing was difficult work. During this process the trainees learned how to dismantle the planes and sharpen the blades.
Hanging the Doors
This required some precision work from the trainees. The gap between the door and the lining should be the thickness of a 2p piece, no more or less. The bottom of the door needs to have 18mm clearance, which includes an allowance for the carpets. Zac was methodical but accurate so he was well suited to this job.
Chopping the Hinges – Greg Santos finds out the hard way
The door and the lining need to be marked in the right place for the hinges. For this we use a spiked 'marking gauge', which leaves marks on the wood where the hinges need to be attached.
Next the hinges are 'chopped in', which means a sharp chisel and a mallet are used to cut the correct amount of wood from where the hinge will be fitted flush. This has to be done perfectly, and it was a time-consuming job for the trainees, as Greg Santos discovered.
The hinges are fitted to the door, and then it is positioned for fixing to the frame. This can be tricky. Two people are needed to shift the doors, and props need to be positioned in the right places and at the right height.
Locks and Handles
Once the doors have been hung, it was time for the trainees to fit the locks. We used very sharp drill bits to cut a mortise hole into the edge of the door. Then we cut the striking plates so that the lock is completely flush, and finally bored holes for the handles.
Architraves and Skirtings
The architraves cover the gaps between the lining legs and the plaster-work. They come in pre-fabricated lengths, so we had to mitre them (at 45 degree angles) and fix them. The skirting boards were also pre-fabricated in strips, and we cut them to size and joint the corners with mitres.
