Waterproof outer door

[NCMan]

Re: Waterproof outer door

Dave.....great job w/the door. The only suggestion I may have.....and you may have thought of this.....is to make the top and sides of the door actually fit inside the doorway, so water would not be able to seep in around it. Then make an offset for the bottom, to divert the water away. It seems that the top and to some extent the sides.....are the most susceptible points. This is offered only as a possible improvement to an already fine door you have. I am going to be doing the same thing (building an outer door) later on, when the time comes.

[cobblerdave]

G'day
Anyone that has ever dropped a firebrick in a bucket of water will find out they soak up water real fast, they are not like a house brick which are designed to resist water.
I found I needed a waterproof door to prevent wind driven rain from soaking the hearth firebrick. Any water on them and the moisture wicked straight into the insulation layer, and was always a lengthy task to dry out.
I wanted it attached well so it didn't become a wind driven missile during our summer storms. A neighbour was nearly taken out by my BBQ lid in a storm one year, so this was important.
I didn't want to have any hinge's or fasteners drilled into the front of the oven so I came up with this

[ATTACH][/ATTACH]

Has worked well and survived a couple of storms, but being only built of ply is going to have a limited life.
I'm not much of a metal worker but I think I'm capable to replace the ply with some aluminium checker plate. I'll certainly loose that brick as I'm sure to drop it on my foot one day. I'll replace it and the hardwood with a length of hardwood sleeper. They are 50mm thick and 300mm wide so that should provide some weight to the counterbalance. whilst I'm at it I will include a rubber seal as well.
If anyone has any further thoughts or ideas....I'm all ears

Regards Dave