I received a call from a client who was renovating their home in an Art Deco style. They had installed a new front door with a porthole window along with small paneled windows flanking the side. The existing wrought iron scrolled security door just didn’t look right.
They asked if we could design a more appropriate security door. The existing security door was is very good condition so I suggested modifying its design to save the expense of having to make a new door.
The first job was to have the old security door sandblasted to remove the decades of accumulated paint layers and surface rust. Next, the old wrought iron scroll work was cut from the frame leaving the central area open. The new design mirrored the porthole window in the door and also aligned with the window frames either side.
The picture on the left shows the new design laid out in the existing door frame. Care had to be taken so as not to distort the frame when welding in the new section as this could cause difficulties when reinstalling the security door back onto its original hinges.
After the new design was welded into place the whole door was given two coats of zinc rich cold gal paint. After the cold gal had dried a metal primer coat was applied in preparation for the top coat. The final two top coats were allowed a week to dry completely before installing the door back on the clients house.
The picture below shows the before and after views of the front security door. The new design is a vast improvement on the original design and integrates very well with the new front door and side windows.
A house in Marrickville had a timber security side gate to stop access down the side of the house. Being timber it was also impossible to see down the side of the house or see someone who may be wanting to get past the gate.
The owner decided she wanted a steel security gate made that had a similar design to the existing front gate of the property. It would also allow her to see who may be wanting to enter down the side of the house.
A dead lock was needed to fit into the steel support rails so the gate could not be opened without the key.
Existing steel front gate
The existing gate (shown on the left) was used as a basis to develop the full height door design as shown above.
Fitting the dead lock to the steel SHS tubing required inserting 12mm steel plates into the 1.6mm walls of the steel tube so threaded holes could be cut to secure the lock catch attaching screws.
12mm steel plate fitted to SHS steel and drilled and threaded for lock catch
Top and bottom view of 12mm steel plate before fitting to SHS tube
A recent project involved the design of Art Deco folding security panels to secure the alcoholic assets of a CBD Sydney bar. The Reagh Bar at the Castlereagh Boutique Hotel needed to leave their bar stock on the shelves behind the bar rather than having to put it all away each night and re-stock the following evening.
The Art Deco era Castlereagh Hotel opened on September 12th, 1927 and was built by the New South Wales Masonic Club. It was the first reinforced concrete building in the Sydney CBD and, at the time, was the tallest building in Sydney with 12 floors. Its construction set the precedent for future CBD buildings. It has been the base for the Masonic Club ever since and they wanted something sympathetic to the Art Deco era of the hotel for the folding security panel design.
Our PLAZA style Art Deco design was selected as the optimum style for the folding panels. The design brief was for security panels that could be easily locked and opened and not be too obtrusive. A set of six centre opening Art Deco style panels were designed that satisfied the brief while keeping the overall look light and airy. Clear polycarbonate panels were attached to the back of the folding panels to prevent access to the the bottle stock through the steel bars when the panels were locked closed.
The following photos illustrate the construction of the folding panels. To keep the visual impact of the bars to a minimum 20mm wide framing was chosen. To avoid having two adjacent 20mm vertical bars together making 40mm wide vertical sections 20x10mm solid steel verticals were used which presented a combined 20mm width overall. This made attaching the clear polycarbonate back panels difficult. Since each panel required forty screws to attach to the frames they had to be individually drilled and tapped into the solid 20x10mm sections to accommodate the fastening screws.
The geometry of the six folding panels was crucial and they had to be millimetre perfect so they would meet in the middle of the bar section and lock together.
The top and bottom sections of the frames were hollow 20x20mm SHS steel and only 1.6mm thick so 12mm thick sections had to be fitted into them so the pivots had something solid to screw into.
(Click on an image for a larger view.)
Fitting 12mm steel plates into the top and bottom frame sections to attach pivots
Vertical bar section hinges showing open/closed positions.
To keep the overall look light and airy the clear panels needed to screw directly to the back of the 10mm wide vertical bar sections. This required drilling and threading for 240 screws. To simplify construction the panel operation geometry was done before the design was welded into them.
Drilling and tapping holes for attaching clear polycarbonate panels to frame
Checking the geometry of the folding panels before fitting the design
Once the panel folding geometry had been confirmed the PLAZA design was jigged into place in the frames and welded in position.
Laying out the design in a jig before welding everything together
Completed side with design in test frame to double check geometry
The clear polycarbonate panels were attached after all the welding was completed. To accurately drill the screw holes in the panels dummy screws with sharpened heads were fitted into the screw positions and the polycarbonate was hit lightly with a hammer over each screw point to indicate where the holes should be drilled. Preliminary testing of the panel operation is shown in the video below.
Fitting polycarbonate sheets to back of frames
All polycarbonate panels fitted and fitted to test frame to check alignment
The folding panels are supported and slide inside tracking sections at the top and bottom. The bottom tracking can be removed when the panels are stowed open on each side. When closed the panels are secured together with a pivoting drop bolt. The operation of the panels is shown in the video at the end of the post.
A client wanted custom side gates built for their Art Deco home that would match the style of the original front gates on their property.
The side of the house where the side gates were required was a little wider than normal which would make a single gate too large. Centre opening double side gates were suggested which would have a more pleasing aesthetic. The fence on the side of the house was too flimsy to support a gate so a 100mm square steel pillar needed to be installed to support one side.
Using the original front gates (which we had just restored) as a guide, a suitable design for the side gates was developed which captured the look we were after.
One gate half jigged out ready for welding
Side path before gate installation
Completed gates with a cold gal coating and primed
Back view of gates
The installation was very straight forward but the house was cement rendered and there was no way of knowing if you were drilling into bricks or mortar so dynabolts would be a bit dicey. Instead it was decided to use Chemset studs which provided a much more secure anchor without putting undue stress on the brickwork.
The installation of the custom side gates has made a nice addition to the overall look of the property.
Many older style homes and units have outward opening bathroom windows which makes it difficult to install suitable security bars. The solution we offered a client was to install them on the inside of the bathroom windows.
Interior security bar installations present their own set of difficulties not least of which is being able to open and close the windows which are now behind the bars.
These particular windows have a long arm which needed to be able to swing up from the locked position and then pivot out to push the window open. This was achieved by using a cross motif in the design which allows the opening arm to be manipulated through the open areas of the bars.
A client wanted some Art Deco style removable security bars for her bathroom windows. Because it was a block of flats she wanted the removable bars mounted on the inside of the windows so that the outside appearance of the building wasn’t affected.
The security bars use a simple ODEON Art Deco design which is mirrored in the opposite window to achieve a more balanced look.
The removable bars are held in position by brackets fixed into the bottom of the window frames and locked in position by two standard window locks attached to the top section of the security bar frames. The bars can be removed by removing the two pins in the locks and pivoting them forward and out of the bottom brackets.
The pictures below illustrate how the removable bars are fitted/removed.
Bathroom windows before security bar installation
Bottom brackets to hold security bars in position
Detailed view of a bottom bracket which secures the base
Fitting the security bars into the bottom brackets
Locking the bars in position with the top securing pin
ODEON style Art Deco security doors on an Inner city semi.
These ODEON style Art Deco security doors make an attractive additional to this turn of the century Sydney Semi.
The double doors stand three metres tall and mirror the arched entry to the verandah. The high centre opening doors create an impressive and expansive entrance to the house.
The top and bottom drop bolts used to secure the left hand side door have been fitted inside the door frame and operate in a similar manner to a rifle bolt with the operate knobs fitted near the centre of the door. With the right hand side door locked the drop bolts are also locked as they can only operate with the right hand door open.
The all steel framework is painted a metallic grey and fitted with plain dead lock. The ODEON is one of several designs unique to DecoWorks.
Another view of the ODEON style Art Deco security doors
The silhouette of the ODEON from the hallway of the house
