Removing A Cat Flap

martindow

I have an interior door with a cat flap fitted .  I would like to remove this presumably by taking out the panel and replacing it with a new sheet of plywood. 

I am hoping that one can lever off the beading around the panel or would they be glued into place?  I've attached a few photos to make it clearer what I want to do.

Can anyone give advice on this please?

YellowCarBlueCar

My spoonerising mind read that as 'Removing a Flat Cap' 

I think you've got it spot on, only thing I'd add it that it would be worth at least finding a source of suitable beading, as I think you'll have a job to get it off without breaking.

martindow

Thanks.  Does it matter which side of the door you work from? 

I'll be wearing the flat cap ...

YellowCarBlueCar

I'd work from the outside, that way you know beading/glue/paint is all new and waterproof.  it will be harder to get an exactly flush fit between the new panel and old beading which has remained in situ.

There is an outside chance that the door has been constructed around the panel such that the panel is slotted into grooves in the door before the bottom of the door is added, but this less likely on a part-glazed door as the top part will have been constructed with a view to being able to re-glaze, and the bottom most likely built in the same way.  You won't know for sure without either removing the beading or being able to check the bottom of the door for grooves.

YBR

Looks like the standard Petsafe/Staywell cat flap.
Our cat-flap of that sort has 2 screws in the middle of each side covered by blanking plugs. Removing the catflap should be easy.
I don't think I'd be attempting to replace a panel in a wooden door, perhaps someone else can give you some guidance on that.

martindow

Thanks.  Yes, I can remove the plastic cat flap but it would leave a hole in the panel, so I need to deal with that as well.  It is pronbably a good idea to take the cat flap out first as it would make it easier to get to the beading.

FreeBear

If your moldings are anything like the ones on my door, you'll need to hunt around a bit. The likes of B&Q and Wickes do a selection of moldings, but it can be a bit of a crap shoot finding the right ones. The photos are not very clear, but I suspect you need to find some "glazing bead" which isn't as common as it used to be.

The original will probably be held in place with panel pins and a bit of glue. Paint will certainly have helped to stick the stuff firmly in place. So run a sharp knife along the edge before trying to lever it off with a chisel.

twopenny

Before you start levering and thumping to get a panel out I'd put plenty of masking tape across front and back of that lovely glass right on to the wood surround.

That cat flap doesn' t look very big. I'm thinking it would have come with a pattern to draw round to cut out the hole it covers. Or you could make your own just by placing a sheet of paper over it and shading along the edge then cutting it out.

Cut a piece to fit ,stick in place and fine tune the edges with wood filler and sand down.

Once painted with a couple of coats (may have to sand level after the first) of good undercoat and then gloss.

It depends on your skill and comfort level. To me easier than trying to get a solid panel out from many coats of paint. That is also going to leave the paint around chipped and flaked.

I've used wood filler to recreate missing beading, make picture rail insert flush with the original etc. My early training in sculpture and pottery came in useful for this - at last.

Could look lovely with an appropriate to age door handle.

martindow

I seem to remember a fairly ragged hole being cut  when the cat flap was fitted as there was no need to be exact.  The outer frame of the cat flap covers everything up.  I could try cutting a neat square and fitting a patch as twopenny suggests. 

The door is not external and leads out to a lobby so if I find myself out of my depth it could be left with a hole while I get a carpenter in to sort it out.

Thanks for all of your ideas and advice. 

kazwookie

I had this done when I moved in to my property.

The glaziers were here doing other work, they had a small tool thing that flicked the beading off, they had in their van an 'off cut'  which was big enough, they popped it back in and put the beading back from what I can remember £20 5 to 10 mins work

Ring your local glazier and ask them how much.

twopenny

Great idea Kazwookie.

Though it's a bit thicker than window beading but would be the first thing to try as it would save a heck of a lot of work and make the job a whole lot easier.