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T W E N T Y S E C O N D E D I T I O N
T H E B U I L D I N G C O N S E R VAT I O N D I R E C T O R Y 2 0 1 5
1 1 5
3.3
STRUCTURE & FABR I C :
ME TAL ,
WOOD & GLASS
TIMBER
Missing sections should be replaced in new
timber. Normally this will be seasoned
oak, chosen to match the grain of the
original wood and pieced-in to follow
the grain. The aim should be to make an
attractive repair that is sympathetic with
the original but which, upon inspection,
can be readily understood as a repair.
With a skilled craftsperson on the team,
timber affected by splits and shakes within
individual timbers can often be consolidated
by judicious use of reversible adhesives. The
key is to repair each section of timber so that
it becomes ‘more itself’ and to retain as much
original fabric as possible. Care must be taken
in the choice of glue because a modern epoxy
resin may lack the flexibility required for
normal use of the door.
BOARDS
The most common problem to be found in
planked doors is the degradation of timbers
at the base of the doors. The end grain of
the planks is particularly vulnerable to the
harmful effects of rainwater, splashing surface
water and general damp, making it vulnerable
to decay. Rotten plank sections should be cut
back by the minimum feasible amount but
new sections of timber will have to be fixed in
place by mechanical means.
On a plank and batten door this
would mean fixing the repair timber to
(and therefore losing some material from)
the lowest batten at the very least. Some
carefully considered decisions may have
to be taken because cutting back to the
second batten to obtain a more secure
fixing might be a step too far in removing
sound and historically significant timber.
On external doors, one decision to make
here is whether or not to add or replace a
weatherboard to protect the base of the
door. This is a sacrificial board placed at
the base of the door to protect the area
most vulnerable to decay. In some cases
this board will itself be ancient, planted
over or even replacing the lower section of
the vertical boards. An assessment of its
significance will inform the decision.
If whole battens or planks are missing,
it should be relatively easy to determine
the form of the replacement but no attempt
should be made to artificially distress new
timbers to disguise the repair. The art of the
conservator is to produce a repair which is
both aesthetically pleasing and ‘honest’.
Other key decisions will include how
to make new mouldings adjacent to more
weathered, older timbers.
METALWORK
As with replacement timbers, so new
metal elements may be required. The
nails and hinges should all be within the
capability of a suitably skilled blacksmith
and finding the balance between an
honest repair and the overall visual
integrity of the door is the challenge.
Regaining the original pattern of the
clinch nails, if it can be accurately determined
and re-made, using new nails of a similar
marvellous doors have a heavy curtain fitted
to their inner faces shows that owners are
happy to find pragmatic ways of living with
this part of our shared history.
Recommended Reading
CF Innocent
, The Development of English
Building Construction
, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, 1916
L Hall,
Period House Fixtures and
Fittings 1300–1900
, Countryside Books,
Newbury, 2005
TONY BARTON
is a practising conservation-
accredited architect based in Chester, where
he is the cathedral architect. He is also the
chairman of Donald Insall Associates, a
specialist historic building consultancy and
architectural practice
(see page 18)
.
form (but perhaps not exact replicas) to the
original would go a long way to re-establishing
the historical integrity of a door and its
architectural significance.
FINISHES
There is no single answer to the question
of what, if anything, to apply to a door
once repairs have been completed. Careful
examination of the surface and interstices
will probably throw light on past finishes and
it may be worth having these analysed by a
paint specialist. It is more than likely that
doors, especially the external faces, will have
been painted at some time and analysis of any
remaining fragments might provide evidence
of earlier decorative and protective finishes.
Consideration of the overall conservation
principles will also inform the approach
to finishing the door. The exposure and
vulnerability of the door to the elements,
evidence of its found state, and whether or
not a weatherboard has been added to protect
the base will also be factors in this equation.
If the conservation of the doors is part of a
larger project, which may include remaking
protection over the door opening itself, there
may be less onus on applying a new finish.
Sound, dry seasoned oak which isn’t subject to
regular wetting in a non-marine environment
may not need a new finish.
If there is clear evidence of a painted
finish that has degraded in places, it may make
sense to repaint the whole. A clear, natural
tung oil or Danish oil might be an effective
protective treatment and there are turpentine
with beeswax recipes to research and try. The
key point perhaps is to let the door ‘tell’ you
what needs to be done.
MODERNISATION
The brief for the conservation of a door
might include a requirement to upgrade its
security, adding electronic devices such as
alarm sensors, providing new ironmongery
or a letterbox. Draughtproofing and
weatherproofing would seem to be obvious
considerations for the comfort of inhabitants
and the conservation of energy.
Each door will present its own
challenges but the overall historic and
architectural significance of the door
should determine the level of intervention.
It should be possible to find a way to meet
the needs of modern inhabitants, without
affecting the integrity of an important door.
Hopefully, imitation ‘period’ letterboxes
or other inappropriate embellishments
will be removed during conservation.
The most effective means of
draughtproofing will be to repair the door
and its frame, replacing any missing fabric, so
that the original dimensions are restored and
there is a snug fit. A new weatherboard could
be fitted at the base and, if the floor is not too
sensitive, a new metal weatherbar could be
inserted into the floor below. It may also be
possible to devise a subtle means of draught-
stripping the door and frame.
Realistically, however, these post-medieval
doors will never meet modern weather tight
standards and the fact that many of these
A plank door at Chester Cathedral showing decay to
the weatherboard, late filler repairs, additional bolts
and later replacement timbers with a varnished
finish (Photo: Donald Insall Associates)
New oak being spliced into old and a missing cover
fillet being remade (Photo: John Nethercott & Co)
Evidence of an old paint finish found after removing
a cover fillet (Photo: John Nethercott & Co)