Squinty door problem

[Tim+]

We recently has a new exterior door and windows fitted to the front of our porch. It's all in a single plane flush with the front of the house (a full height window/door/window arrangement).

The trouble is, little about our house turns out to be square and I think the fitters have gone for the wrong compromise.

The whole window and door frame sits on a pre-existing tiled platform. The exterior walls of the house are brick for the lower 12" or so and then rendered brickwork above.

The problem is, that the door is set back to be in the same plane as the rendering, but unfortunately it is at an angle to the tiled base, the brickwork to either side of the door and to the soffit above the door. So it's "right" in one sense but "wrong" in another three. The problem seems to be due to different thicknesses of rendering on either side of the front door.

This is going to annoy me. What's the best solution? Live with it or fix it "square" to the three things I've mentioned and maybe get the rendering redone on one side?

Tim

[stuart noble]

IME you can't "live with" something that annoys you. OTOH Shelley Berman used to say you can end up worrying whether your shoelaces are the same length. No help at all, sorry.

[GB]

I suppose the key question is which is more expensive, putting the door right or getting counselling to enable you to live with the door as it is? However, the counselling has the advantage of being useful in other areas of life.

[Tricky Dicky]

The door should have been hung plumb immaterial of the straightness of any side, top or bottom of the opening. It is the only way that will not offend the eye. I do not know how easy this is going to be now that both window a nd door have been installed and presumably constructed to match the opening . If it can be repositioned any gaps resulting from getting it plumb can be concealed with readily available capping strips from your local uPVC suppl ier.

Richard

[Chris J Dixon]

Or to put it another way, if you can't face reality, change your perception. ;-)

Chris

[newshound]

I built a new panelled door to fit an existing oak frame which probably dated from the 18th century (was originally an external door). None of the boundaries were square, and some were not straight. I designed it carefully so that the windows and panels were square, and visually centred in the opening (so the top, bottom, and side rails were a funny shape). It has worked well.

[Tim+]

uPVC? Oak I'll have you know. ;-) Fortunately the joiners' boss man agreed that it could have been done better without any argument and will adjust it. As the windows and door are all built into a single frame it shouldn't be too hard.

Tim

[Brian-Gaff]

I'd get them back to put it actually square and in so it matches the brick, then redo the rendering or taper of same afterwards. Does the door open and look out of true or swing to a particular point in its travel, of if sliding, does it tend to move on its own. I've seen that sort of thing before on bodgit and run double glazing installation!

Brian

[alan_m]

Paint the render with a dazzle camouflage pattern and then you will not notice the doors 'out of true'

[Tim+]

Ha ha. I would love to get my motorhome vinyl wrapped with dazzle camouflage but my wife won't agree to it.

Tim

[alan_m]

There is currently a ship moored on London's embankment painted dazzle

[Chris J Dixon]

This one is a bit brighter:

Chris