Of course, the new door was going to need a new doorway.
The old doorway was in a mess. It had come away from the wall and needed removing in order to repair the damage, anyway.*
So, once I had removed the door, the doorframe was removed.

I then cleaned out all the rot,

replaced with new wood,

and strengthened the floor.

A steel plate was fitted to the underside and 6” bolts fitted. The bolts are long enough to incorporate an extendable step to be fitted at a later stage.
A new section was then fitted to the new doorstep.

I finished off with a bit of flashing to protect it from wearing.

I cut,

sanded,

stained

and fitted the interior door posts.


It was at this point that I discovered something odd; the roof height wasn’t level. For whatever reason, the left-hand (bedroom) side was higher than the right-hand (kitchen) side. By a surprising amount, too.
As I was removing the kitchen,** I was able to adjust the positioning of that post.
I then made a shelf to go above the door.



It’s not a particularly good picture, but here is the completed internal doorway.

The external doorframe was more challenging.
First, I made and fitted a lintel. Daniel gave me a hand by holding the lintel in position.


The left door post was next. It was fairly straightforward. I only needed to cut out a couple of notches where the post overlapped the flash that runs at top of window height and the running board. I shaped the bottom end so that the line flowed into the shape of the bottom edge of the caravan body line.

The right post was much more complicated. In addition to the running board, I had to cut out the shape of the window frame of the bedroom window alongside the door so that it blended in.

Here is the finished article.

What do you think? Good, innit.
*see entry Stable door - lower section, part 1
** see entry A new kitchen, part 1
Hi Jeremy, Thank you for your lovely words. I don’t know about ‘craftsman’, but I am having a go, and in all fairness, I think it’s not a bad job. As I have often said, I’ve never attempted anything like this before. A lot of what I’m doing is structural, but anything that will be seen needs to at least look good. It’s the little details that make the difference. The cat flap is an example of that. It is designed, a, for the cats’ ease and, b, for my peace. i.e. The cats can get in, even at speed from any approachable point due to the size of the aperture and the flowing lines of the entrance (they are good sized…
Hi Steve, The doorframe is looking terrific, you are obviously a natural craftsman. I especially like all the organic waves in the cat flap etc, it makes it so much more unique and far more interesting than straight lines. You’re doing a great job so next time you feel yourself getting angry remember that you’ve got the support of all of us that are reading about your journey. I should imagine that I’ll have caught up to date with your blogs over the next week and will then be looking forward to seeing the emails letting me know that you’ve added another post. All the best wishes, Jeremy
Hi Terri, Thanks. That’s my aim😉. It’s been a journey. And there’s so much more to do. Wiz
Hi, Thanks for your lovely comments. And, yes, you’re quite right; I’m looking forward to seeing and using the finished article. Trailer sounds great. Come and say hello if you see me on the road. I love seeing other people’s work/home/burner. Every one is individual. It fits. I checked! Bless you. Wiz
Great job!! The doorway looks beautiful and I'm sure you'll enjoy it for a long time to come. I've been enjoying watching your repairs.