Make a garage side door wider

[s p a c e m a n]

I want to make the side door into my garage wider so it's easier to get bikes into it. The garage has got a solid concrete base and a tiled roof on some lightweight concrete blocks.

The door is 68cm from the corner of the building, so Google says that I can only make it larger in the other direction because of building regulations?

The opening is currently 76cm, I plan to make it 100cm. There's enough cable that I should be able to move that fuse board and switch over.

Just planing on making a door out of ply and a load of 2x4 timber. Probably cut the blocks with a disk on a grinder from both sides and chisel anything left over.

Anyone see any glaringly obvious problems that an idiot with a hammer doesn't know about?

[miniman]

Is there any kind of lintel above the existing door?

[s p a c e m a n]

The current door frame isn't taking any weight. There's timber running along the top of the brick the entire length of the wall that the roof is sitting on.

[s p a c e m a n]

That's just a bit of trim that they've nailed on to the timber behind to hide a gap between the top of the door frame and the timber that sitting on top of the blocks

[Chumley.mouse]

Ive found that a tct blabe in a reciprocating saw cuts through lightweight/ breeze blocks easily…and makes a lot less dust/ mess than a disc cutter. Just go nice and steady, then it wont wander off.

[s p a c e m a n]

Can't ignore the chance to buy a new tool

[Belle427]

Nice, looks straightforward enough.
Shots of amputated fingers etc are welcome.

[s p a c e m a n]

I bought a cheap one that only has one speed, super fast and angry sounding, so there will probably need to be adult supervision.

Just need a half decent dry weekend, I'm going to end up doing a proper rush bodge if I'm cold and wet.

[Chumley.mouse]

Does itnot have a variable speed trigger ?

[Baldchap]

A bit of water can keep dust down...

[J6542]

I would build a frame on the inside to prop the roof up while you cut it out, then use a 2 6x2 with a piece on 18mm ply screwed together to act as a lintel and support the wall plate when you remove the props.

[s p a c e m a n]

All good projects start with a bacon sandwich, cup of coffee and YouTube. The main message in the video that I watched was that all large woodwork projects need a good flat surface like £1000 work bench to clamp things to otherwise whatever you build will be warped and useless.

Obviously I ignored that, threw a couple of pallets onto the grass and then threw together a frame. I did use a set square though and squinted at it for a bit.

I then stuck a bit of ply board on top and whacked it down with a load of screws.

Then it started raining and I'm not an idiot so I've got another cup of coffee and am pretending that I've achieved enough for today.

Now I have something to fill the hole with I need to make the hole bigger.

To be continued at some point ...

[s p a c e m a n]

Reciprocating saw was an awesome suggestion, I can't thank you enough for that. I think that I had cut the wall back in less than 10 minutes and there was hardly any dust.




Measure once, cut once, add another bit of wood and then plane it back to fit. That's how that saying goes isn't it?

I thought that I would make the door first so that I didn't have a big gaping hole in my garage overnight. I made the door and then measured the width that I needed to cut from what I thought was the blocks on the bit of wall that was staying.

They had plastered past the end of the blocks and onto the door frame so the hole that I made was an inch too wide. Teach me to measure stuff without investigating.





Bit of tidying up to do but not bad for a couple of half days of work and a couple of beers

[Landlubber]

And you made I laugh.