Hole in the door..

Graces7

OK laugh! When I came here 4 years ago, there was no way for my cats to get in and out without my opening the door downstairs. Which at night and my having limited mobility was a problem. My kind landlord agreed i could put a cat flap in the back door so I got the handyman who was sorting stuff in the long empty house to do that. Grand! Taught my two to get in and out.... one night a stranger came in,, aggressive smelly feral tom. So I locked the cat flap. So he broke it to get in and I had to start blocking the thing. Now I have a new female feral who is not yet spayed ( long story and a big hole in the north facing door ( a second cat flap got wrecked..). Last night the wee feral managed to move what I had blocked the hole with..The door is a new style outside PVC door, very thick and I need advice on how to seal it permanently and safely ie so it cannot become an escape route.. Any ideas please? I have no drill or real skills but even I know that PVC is hard to work . At present the hole and the bottom of the door is blocked with an old wooden bakers tray, held tight against the panel with an old microwave, two gallon water bottles, which the cat shifted and now a spare full gas cylinder, and outside a plank held against the door with half a tree trunk.. I am sure boardsies have better ideas! No way can I cope with kittens..PS the wee feral was rescued from a man who was trying to bury her and her newborn kittems alive. A rescue refuge took her in and i gave her a home when the kittens had left to make room there for more in danger. She is a wild thing and any attempt to catch her is met with the meanest left hook I have encountered in 40 years of cats.. She is never allowed out and will be spayed when she can be handled without traumatising her.

Rancid

As a short-term solution (and until you get better suggestions) you could cut two pieces of wood such as plywood a few inches bigger than the hole you want to cover, position one on the outside and the other inside. Screw them together using nuts to hold the two pieces of wood in place, one near each corner to stop it slipping.

Temporary measure and easy enough to do until you come up with a more permanent fix, and should be cat-proof, no matter how determined that little kitten is!

DublinDilbert

Is it something similar to this door? http://www.macswarehouse.ie/900mm-x-2100mm-white-pvc/

The bottom panel can be replaced as a complete unit, just like you'd replace a pain of glass. Take out the glazing strips, fit panel and refit the glazing strips. Its very quick and the door will be like new.

I think macsalvage actually have the upvc panels from the bottom, otherwise anyone who supplies upvc doors will be able to supply a panel and fit very cheap.

Graces7

Rancid wrote: »

As a short-term solution (and until you get better suggestions) you could cut two pieces of wood such as plywood a few inches bigger than the hole you want to cover, position one on the outside and the other inside. Screw them together using nuts to hold the two pieces of wood in place, one near each corner to stop it slipping.

Temporary measure and easy enough to do until you come up with a more permanent fix, and should be cat-proof, no matter how determined that little kitten is!

Thanks You mean screw through the PVC? Would need a drill... thought of superglue but would that work or is there a glue that would bond wood to PVC? Needs to be permanent to keep the aggressive feral toms out! Would never have had the cat flap put in if I had known about the local cat population..The door is deeply inset in the thick walls here .

Rancid

Graces7 wrote: »

Thanks You mean screw through the PVC? Would need a drill... thought of superglue but would that work or is there a glue that would bond wood to PVC? Needs to be permanent to keep the aggressive feral toms out! Would never have had the cat flap put in if I had known about the local cat population..The door is deeply inset in the thick walls here .

No, you don't screw into or through the PVC.
You screw the piece of wood on the inside of the door to the piece on the outside, ideally with the screws near the 4 corners so that the wood can't slip out of place.
This is why you need the type of screws that have a nut on them. The nut on one side means you can tighten the screws sufficiently that the inner and outer pieces of wood are held tightly against each other, sandwiching the PVC in the middle, as it were.

Graces7

Rancid wrote: »

No, you don't screw into or through the PVC.
You screw the piece of wood on the inside of the door to the piece on the outside, ideally with the screws near the 4 corners so that the wood can't slip out of place.
This is why you need the type of screws that have a nut on them. The nut on one side means you can tighten the screws sufficiently that the inner and outer pieces of wood are held tightly against each other, sandwiching the PVC in the middle, as it were.

Ah I get you! Thanks. Next time I am to town....that should hold her Could not believe the day I went downstairs and she had shifted all the blockade! Such a tiny wee cat too! Now all I have to do is wait and HOPE she is not in kitten :eek:

Polo_Mint

Is your door a 2 part door like post 3?