What became of Crosby Doors?

Crosby Doors, now there's a name from the past. I tried to do a bit of research on Crosby Doors which was situated at the southern tip of Farnham for all those years and also employed so many people around the area.

I remember when I first met Donna, she lived in Upper Hale. I was asked by Donna's uncle, Ray Newman of the Upper Hale Recreation Committee to install some wooden posts around the recreation ground to stop illegal parking opposite the Ball and Wicket pub by the war memorial.

(Sorry I'm rambling) There was a chap who made a living by selling all of the off cuts from the Crosby Doors factory and he always had a large stack of planed wood of all sizes by his garden gate.

Oh how I wish we had something similar here. You can go down to the Brico in Villereal next to the Intermarche and pick up a chariot of wood offcuts for 7 euros but you are limited with choice.

I digress and reminisce!!

When we were rushing to get in the main house at Jean Blanc I knocked up a temporary front door out of soft wood I bought from the builders merchants in Monflanquin.

Unfortunately, the wood, being stored in the yard was both green and wet and once it was exposed to elements on the outside and the heat of the central heating on the inside it acted like a bi-metallic strip and bent like a banana. It has not been a problem through the summer as the ventilation was welcomed. It is still warm now but its safe to say within 3-4 weeks, possibly sooner the weather will cool dramatically and as we face west the wind and rain will be forced against the door.

For 5 months now I have had some 25cm x 5 cm pine sawn boards drying in the workshop and yesterday I started to prepare them so that we can install a new temporary door to shut the weather out.

It might seem silly to make another temporary, who knows it might become permanent if it does not warp, but if I am to use more expensive hardwood eventually I want to be certain I have perfected the process. After all the front door is the first thing you see of the place and if done nicely will be an investment too.

This time round I have made the door 31mm thick instead of 26mm which gives it a bit more beef. So to start with it meant planing down one side of the boards using the planer on the Kity. This allows me to take 3 millimetres off in one pass but more importantly it takes out any bends and leaves a very true surface. Using a fence set at a right angle I then squared one edge.

Now, by passing through the thicknesser you can be assured of having a very square and thicknessed piece of wood.

I then cut out the tongue and groove using the Toupie (Spindle Moulder) and I decided that to avoid any weakness I would make the tongue 14mm thick and 10 mm deep.

Then glued and clamped overnight for strength. I am trying out a polyurethane glue for exterior use and it is a bit like expanding foam. Fingers crossed it is the right thing to do.

Then the frame (the original is without frame) to help seal things better.

To finish off we will paint the door Bordeaux Red like the original. The shutters are also being painted the same red.

We really thought hard about the colour. We wanted a light and cheerful colour like an aquamarine but the Bordeaux Red is traditional for the area so for now we will keep it like that.

We are off to Blighty next Wednesday so it is hoped to have everything watertight and wind proof before we leave.

One thing also to bear in mind is security and insurance. You might be aware that insurance might be void or reduced if you do not secure shutters on the ground floor if you leave the house unattended for more than 24 hours.

We have checked with our insurance company Aviva and in our case the cover is reduced by 30% if we were to be broken in whilst we are away. If you are in doubt, check this out, especially if you have a holiday home and the house is left un attended for all of the winter.

Just one other thing. The amount of wood shavings I am producing has got to be a way of putting some pennies back in the coffers. At present, I am tipping them over the bank behind the barn but I need to find an outlet. If you buy a tiny compressed pack from Gamme Vert it costs something like 2 euros for a small pack.