Restoring 1947 Tourette: Door Hinge Question/Insulation

[burlesot]

All,

I'm just about ready to insulate the doors on my Tourette. I'm considering a couple of issues and would like the collective wisdom of you all to help me think through a problem.

The way the Tourette was designed, the hinge sits right against the aluminum on both the door and the side.



I have been using 1" insulation panels on the rest of the teardrop and am considering how to do the doors. One way would be to glue the insulation to the door and the wall section and then bolt through the insulation to fix the door hinge. What do you think about doing this? Will the hinge be weaker than if I cut 'around' the hinge and kept the hinge placement the same as originally done?


Basically I see two ways to do it. One is bolt through it and the other is to cut around it.

What do you think?

Thank you in advance.

Todd

[wagondude]

I would dado the foam where the hinges are then put holes through the foam where the bolts are for maximum insulation. But just cutting around the hinges would work fine. The foam won't have the support you need to keep the hinges tight if you bolt through it.

[burlesot]

Had an idea; I could put plywood, the same thickness as the insulation, on the spots where the hinges are. This way I would have the same 'depth' but would have the structure of the plywood to allow for support of the hinge.

What think ye?

TB

[48Rob]

Might be easier to put insulation all the way across and then drill holes in the insulation and use spacers to make up the difference.

Rob

[wagondude]

I would leave the hinges against the door (as designed). Doing otherwise will alter the door swing geometry and require re-designing of the door seals to make it all work. This is definitely an area for the K.I.S.S. approach.

[burlesot]

I guess the good thing is that the design is fluid. I can keep it simple and live with it. Knowing I can always complicate it if I decide to later.

Thanks