Cost of Removing + Installing Vault Door

zeotomic

Hi,

I believe i have a Chatwood Milner 3.5″ frame in my vault but unfortunately the accompanying door was removed by the previous owner (bank).

I have located an identical vault door/frame for sale and was thinking about just purchasing the door and installing it on my existing frame.

Im interested to know roughly how much it would cost to remove a door and transport it to my site and install. When i say install, i simply mean lifting it onto the pre-exiting frame hinges (i appreciate that this is not as straight forward as it sounds).

I understand that usually a vault door is no use without the frame as over time the sheer weight of the door can alter the fit.

I have attached some images, the first is my vault frame and the second and third shows the door i wish to purchase.

Any advice would be welcomed.

Thanks

Paul Prescott

First the ‘new’ door is incomplete ?

Second, I would be very very surprised if any door other than the one originally fitted would work in your frame.

zeotomic

oldlock wrote
First the ‘new’ door is incomplete ?

Second, I would be very very surprised if any door other than the one originally fitted would work in your frame.

Yes it looks like the door is incomplete.

Is it difficult to find the missing (decommissioned) parts? I.e. the ‘locking wheels’ and key.

Also, will the cost of and fitting of these parts cost more than simply sourcing a door with the parts intact?

Thanks.

[unknown]

Paul Prescott

Look for a complete door and frame. As I mentioned before the chances of this door fitting on your frame are probably about nil. Then add looking for other hand made parts in the hope they fit too !?!?!

Remember these doors pre-date CNC machining by a long way, as such there would have been a lot of hand fitting = variation between examples.

zeotomic

oldlock wrote
Look for a complete door and frame. As I mentioned before the chances of this door fitting on your frame are probably about nil. Then add looking for other hand made parts in the hope they fit too !?!?!

Remember these doors pre-date CNC machining by a long way, as such there would have been a lot of hand fitting = variation between examples.

Thanks again for your help on the matter.

I have decided against the installation, largely due to the missing parts and high possibility that the door will not fit.

The door/frame is a Chatwood Milner 3.5″ Plate i believe made around the 1960s, therefore I’m sure machinery would have been used to construct the door/frame.

For future reference, what is the best way to determine if a door of the same kind will fit a frame other than testing it out - i.e. will certain measurements confirm the compatibility or serial numbers matching? Also, when a vault door ’doesn’t fit’ is this because of the ‘bolts’ not slotting into the holes cut in the frame, or that it simply doesn’t close?

I apologise for my lack of knowledge on the subject, however i have a strong interest in vault doors and appreciate the level of intricacy and time that goes into making them.

Thanks,

[unknown]

Brian Smith

Wish you were on this side of the “pond”. I have done a lot of this sort of work. It can be done. Find a decent machinist to measure things up for you and make needed modifications, then get a vault door or machinery installer to do the handling. Get the locks, handles, etc. from a locksmith supplier and have your machinist make the linkage as necessary.