We were called upon to quote on some timber screening in the Hillcrest, Durban area at a brand new development referred to as Cotswold Downs. There were a number of aircons, heat pumps and gas bottles that needed to be clad or screened so as to cover them from visibility.
We used balau 30 x 40 struts or cleats fixed to the walls. In some cases we applied hiltis as there was not much load on the cleat. We designed a frame by using the 30 x 40 balau after which we clad it using a traditional deck board of 19 x 68 with a 19mm gap in between. The 19mm space is standard in cladding because it gives sufficient coverage without being too tight in its appearance. A gap of 5mm, that is common in developing a pool deck, could be much too close and would give it an odd appearance.
Most of the structures we produced here were basic enough with either two or three sides as well as a removable lid so that entry might be gained to change gas bottles or service aircons. A few of them needed to have fronts that were removable together with tops to ensure that entry could be gained from above or from the front. Some were removable lids and fronts and a few were hinged. One ought to be mindful which hinges you chose as they should be stable enough and weather resistant. Solid brass hinges are pricey and with the weight of the balau may very well be problematic. Solid stainless hinges with bearings are excellent when the weight of the door is fairly large. On the smaller door we utilised aluminium hinges as the door wasn’t that heavy and the aluminium will stand up to the weather.
There were 2 doors we made which measured 2.5m high and 750mm wide. That size door in balau is quite heavy and we used three galvanised strap hinges on both side. The one difficulty utilising strap hinges is that they need to be set on the side of the door that opens, so they were visible on the outside. Some might say it adds character to the door, but at times you don’t want to see it. The only other alternative to these were to use the galvanised strap hinges that have a bent arm and slot into another piece attached tote h frame. However these would have resulted in a large gap between the frame and the door or gate. Normal butt hinges wouldn’t have been strong enough to hold the door due to the sheer weight of them in balau.
When building these types of structures it is often easier to try and build the whole thing in situ. So a frame goes up first, then you set the braces at the back to the correct length and then start adding deckboards, leaving one side long which can be cut afterwards. They are unlike a normal door in that they can’t be successfully planned to fit the frame because the end grain is on the side.
We finished them off by filling holes with epoxy, sanding flat and sealing with Timberlife Satin Wood Base 28 in a mahogany tint.
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