Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-07-06
HOUSE DOCTOR
HOUSE DOCTOR
Insist on Building
YourOwn Dutch Door?
BY HERMANN BAUM

BY HERMANN BAUM
"Is 1t practical to convert an
old door into Dutch type? If
change one between the liv-I
ing room and inclosed porch to-
this type. it will allow SUPER
vision Of the small children. yet
keep them confined as neces-
sary." Mrs. p. L. M. writes.
Answer-Sawing a woman in
half is, / am told. trick. The
magicians don't really do it.
There is no trick to saving a
door in half. 1t just requires.
some careful measuring and
workmanship, and often a lot
Of patching, SO that in some
cases it may be less taxing to-
the nervous system to buy a new
Dutch door and convert the old
one into a work bench top.
However, If you are very long
on spare time you may find it
worth while for both profit and
diversion to go ahead with the
Job.
The division in q Dutch door
should be at waist height, which
is often about AZ inches above
the floor. On a flush door or a
door with two vertical panels you
can make the cut where you
wish. But for four or six panel
door, the cut must be made on
the middle rail. To the bottom
section of the door you. will at
tach a shelf that is three-fourths
of an inch thick.
II you have a flush or two
panel door, you must also attach
q M-inch-thick reinforcing strip
across the bottom Of the top Sec
ton. Now mark out on the door
the width of the section that
must be cut out, which will be
either "a or Ia inches. But do
not cut the door yet.
Your door is mounted with
either two or three hinges. But
Q Dutch door requires four
hinges, and these should be
placed three inches from top and
bottom edges to furnish maxi
mum support. Purchase the new
hinges to match theopnes you
have and, while the door is still
In place, install the new hinges
and relocate the old ones. Be
sure that the hinges remain in
exact alignment. This is very
important.
You can now remove the loose
pins and take down the door for
cutting. A flush door is difficult
to cut because the plywood
splinters. Use a fine toothed saw.
You may also place a board
against the bottom surface of the
door and hold 1t in place with
&C" clamps so that you saw
through the door and the board
at the same time. This helps
prevent splintering.
II the door latch on q panel
door has been located on the
rail, you must remove it and re-
locate 1t lower as it should be on
the bottom section. You then
have the task of filling the holes.
Use wood plugs to fill the larger
holes and fill the cracks and
smaller holes with wood plastic
or wood putty. A dead bolt lock
Is installed in the top section to
hold the two sections together
when both are closed.
The shelf on the lower section
is placed so that it is flush on
the hinge side, otherwise, it
would strike the wall when the
door was opened. This shelf can
be any desired width but II it is
more than four inches wide,
brackets should be- placed be-
meath 1t for support.
Minimum Size Bathroom
"What is the minimum size
bathroom to containa tub, lava
tory and water closet?" N. C.
asks.
AnSwer-By the rules Of good
architecture it is 5 feet by z
feet. This allows a 5-foot tub to
be placed along one wall with
the lavatory and water closet
against the opposite wall. The
window is in the middle Of one
7-foot wall and the door is in
the center Of the other. Better
check your local building code,
too.
Kitchen Wall Painting
"Our kitchen is painted with
enamel and we want to redeco-
rate it. The prepared gloss re-
movers take too much time. Is
there an easier way?" Mrs. T. r.
wants to know.
Answer-I have always had
excellent results by washing the
walls with trisodium phosphate
before painting. This product.
available under certain trade
names. can also be bought in
bulk from paint and hardware
stores. Mix about one cupful with
q gallon Of warm water. Apply it
TO the walls with a sponge. COW