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External doors are made in several standard sizes to meet most domestic needs and modern homes tend to use standard-size joinery, the Standard Metric being 2000mm x 807 mm. External doors come in two thickness 40 and 44 millimetres, they are usually much heavier than internal doors because of their thickness and construction.
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| Unhappy with animal skins draped over entrance ways, our ancestors looked to a better material for filling the gap, something more substantial. Timber seemed an ideal choice considering that it grew everywhere in abundance as well as being a workable material. However, there was a problem, the chances of successfully producing a practical door from a single tree would have been quite a task, not to mention finding a tree that grew to a width that resembled a door every time one was required. It's only by using modern machinery and certain timbers, such as mahogany, that a single solid panel, suitable for producing a 'single panel door' can be produced, but this would obviously be framed. However, as a result of modern sheet materials and veneering, this is no longer such a problem and where solid timbers are used for paneling, the wider panels are more likely to be produced by using two or three pieces and carefully jointing them together. Therefore, before framing designs and sheet materials were introduced, the only way to cover an area in those early days was by binding small tree trunks or branches together. |
As things progressed, trees were cut into uniform pieces such as planks, which, when put together formed a flat surface. Collectively, these planks formed a timber structure which was wide enough to be used as a door. By nailing horizontal cross pieces known as 'ledges' onto them, proved to be a good way of joining them all together, as well as providing rigidity at the same time. This principle design of a door was very popular and widely used. It is known as the Ledged and Battened door, with the only advancement in design in more recent years being that the timbers are machined and planed to a smooth uniform size, and the verticals pieces are tongue and grooved together.
This is the simplest form of a modern door and was |
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| still widely used in houses and cottages up to the 1920/30. As for today, Ledged and Battened doors would only be used for narrow openings where the appearance is not important, such as sheds, gates and various outbuildings. |
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When used as doors for the home or outbuildings where the appearance was of an importance, the vertical t& g boards have the edges chamfered so as to produce what is known as 'matchboarding'. Chamfering the edges of the boards produces a 'V' shape when the two edges are brought together, which makes a feature of an otherwise unattractive joint and serves to hide unsightly gaps that appear when the timbers shrink.
The Ledges are also bevelled when used externally, so by preventing water from lodging on them. |
Most Popular Standard Size External Doors Used |
| Height |
Width |
| 6' - 6" 1981mm |
2' - 6" 762mm |
| 6' - 6" 1981mm |
2' - 9" 838mm |
| 6' - 8" 2032mm |
2' - 8" 813mm |
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