George Herkes & Son Joinery is rated 5.0 from 62 reviews under East Lothian Trading Standards Trusted Trader, and door work is a large part of what that record is made of.
The Short Version
- The lining is the job, and clearance is two to three millimetres at head and sides.
- The older harbour and village stock was built to imperial sizes while stock leaves are metric.
- Hinge count follows leaf weight, so a solid core or glazed leaf takes three rather than two.
- Handle heights are set out from a rod so they match through the house.
- On this coast the ironmongery corrodes before the timber, so it is specified for the air it sits in.
George Herkes & Son Joinery has worked across East Lothian since 1989, holds East Lothian Trading Standards Trusted Trader accreditation and is rated 5.0 from 62 reviews, and the same team behind bathroom designs in Cockenzie & Port Seton hangs the doors.
Send George a count of the doors and a photo of one opening and he will come and measure them.
Door Fitting Services
George Herkes & Son Joinery is rated 5.0 from 62 reviews under East Lothian Trading Standards Trusted Trader, a council backed scheme that vets traders against rogue trading. Door work is a large part of what that record is made of.
The lining is the job
A leaf is scribed to the opening as found. In stone built cottage stock the linings have been skimmed more than once, so the opening is narrower at the head than at the floor and out of square either way.
The dimensions that matter
Clearance is two to three millimetres at head and sides, with the foot set to the floor covering that is going down. Hinges are let in by hand to a depth that leaves the leaf central in the reveal. A leaf hung with no allowance for a floor covering that has not gone down yet gets trimmed later by somebody with a plane, and the bottom edge never gets sealed again.
George Herkes & Son Joinery gives free quotes on Door Fitting throughout Cockenzie & Port Seton. Ask George what your job involves.
Door Supply and Installation in Cockenzie & Port Seton
Door sizes here are not one thing, because the housing is not one thing.
Older openings
The seventeenth to nineteenth century harbour and village fabric was built to imperial sizes and stock leaves are metric. A stock leaf can sometimes be trimmed within the manufacturer’s stated allowance, which is limited and printed on the door itself.
Later stock
Post-war council housing and the private housing that expanded from the 1970s onward generally take standard metric leaves, which shortens supply considerably. Which of the two you have is established at survey rather than on delivery day, the same way it is for window fitters in Cockenzie & Port Seton.
Materials and Door Styles
Style ties new work to the age of the building, and the moulding profile does most of that work.
Matching the house
A four panel leaf suits the older stone built stock and can have its profile matched to the existing architrave, which is a workshop exercise rather than a catalogue choice. A flat slab leaf suits the later estates. Getting that wrong is the commonest reason a set of new doors makes a house look renovated rather than finished.
Cores and finishes
Engineered cores are more stable than solid timber in a house with variable heating and are worth specifying on a wide leaf. A factory finish is always flatter than one applied in a hallway. Same specification as a quote on carpentry service in Cockenzie & Port Seton.
Replacement Doors and Door Hanging
Replacing every internal door in a house is the least invasive joinery work available and changes how finished a house reads more than most decorating.
How it runs
Old leaves come off and new ones go on, usually a floor at a time. Rooms are completed one at a time so none is without a door overnight, and the waste leaves with us.
Setting out
Ironmongery is set out from a rod so handle heights match through the house. Existing linings are checked for square and packed where needed rather than replaced by default, since a sound lining is worth keeping. Same method as door fitting in Prestonpans.
Internal and External Door Types
Weight and exposure decide specification, and on this coast exposure decides more than it does inland.
Internal
A hollow core leaf takes two hinges. A solid core or glazed leaf takes three, because two will let it drop inside a year. Glazing within a defined distance of floor level has to be toughened or laminated.
External
A weather seal, a threshold that drains rather than only seals, and ironmongery rated for salt air. On an exposed elevation the ironmongery corrodes long before the timber gives up, so it is specified for the air it sits in. Same standard as a door fitting service in Tranent job.
Planning Door Fitting in Cockenzie & Port Seton? Get a free quote from George Herkes & Son Joinery and find out what it takes.
