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Diagonal braced doors and gates


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It pays to look at the prototype.  The diagonal brace on wooden doors and gates etc should always go from the top outer corner back to the hinge post.  I see so many excellent models spoilt by people modelling the door with the diagonal going the opposite way.  Incidently many DIY enthusiasts also make the same mistake, but if you look at any engine shed or garage doors etc, the diagonal will always go from top outer corner back to hinge post, never the other way round.  A minor detail I know, but one I find personally irritating.

 

 

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I've been going on about this for years ever since I produced a stable block with 'upside down' doors back in the 70's - even Pendon often got the braceing wrong - go to their site and you'll see what I mean - and in the movies I don't think I've ever seen a bunkhouse door hung up the right way yet !

 

 

Cheers.

 

Allan

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My internal doors haven't got any diagonal bracing, just horizontal, and I reckon they must be 100-150 years old. They spent some of their life dumped in a shed before I rescued and refitted them too.

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Internal doors often have no bracing. But then they are much narrower than many external doors/gates and not subjected to wind etc.

 

I only found out a couple of years back that farm gates traditionally varied a great deal across the country with just about every county having its own design. So on layouts that are set pre-WW2 that should probably be taken into account as well. And we think rivet-counters are odd...............

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My internal doors haven't got any diagonal bracing, just horizontal, and I reckon they must be 100-150 years old. They spent some of their life dumped in a shed before I rescued and refitted them too.

Yes, but they will be made of rather better timber than you can obtain nowadays! 

 

J.

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While walking along the Strawberry line route I came across this gate,

I think it was an accomodation crossing, its partner was of the same style,

post-7081-0-74435600-1458399477_thumb.jpg

Gate between Cheddar and Axbridge, is this belt and braces?  15/3/2016

 

cheers

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Joseph; gates would also veried from gatemaker to gatemaker.  I used to make 5 bar gates and ours were slightly different to our competitors.  We used to have a stand at the local county show; walking around this there would be 12 + local manufactures and we all had slightly different styles.  Sadly I could tell which firm made a gate from some distance away!


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A few years ago some right know it all in our village invited me and the missus around to see his double gates he'd made - and hung upside down, naturally. 

 

On pointing this out and giving his gates a week before they needed straightening up he remarked " Rubbish. Only happens when you use cheap wood so it makes no difference how it's hung "

 

So, a week later round we go, gates dragging on the ground, won't open. "Yeah, well " he excused "Shan't be using them anyway - they're just for show "

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Yes, but they will be made of rather better timber than you can obtain nowadays! 

 

J.

They still had to paint a wood effect finish on it, as the wood obviously didn't come up to contemporary standards!

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A few years ago some right know it all in our village invited me and the missus around to see his double gates he'd made - and hung upside down, naturally. 

 

On pointing this out and giving his gates a week before they needed straightening up he remarked " Rubbish. Only happens when you use cheap wood so it makes no difference how it's hung "

 

So, a week later round we go, gates dragging on the ground, won't open. "Yeah, well " he excused "Shan't be using them anyway - they're just for show "

What an idiot! He's already shot himself in the foot if he made them himself...out of cheap wood!

Steve

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