Aluminium Front Door - Replacing Mid-rail Panel

I have a 20 year-old aluminium front door double glazed with a central mid-rail carrying a letter box.

The mid-rail consists of an upper and lower aluminium section holding a black formica faced panel carrying the letter box. The formica has weathered and faded to grey and as I also want to fit a different sized letter box, I want to replace the panel.

The aluminium glazing section is completely different to the adjacent window and does not have the removable bevelled surrounds. I guess the door frame has to be dis-assembled to get access to either the glass units or the central panel?

What is necessary - do I have to remove the complete door at the hinges and remove the top and bottom rails to get access?

Any help would be appreciated.

Is the mid panel wood? I had an alumin.. F door and the mid panel was also alumin.. This was welded in place and not removable.

You could jig saw a bigger hole and reface in formica?

Got to say, to jig saw a bigger hole would not be so easy and if you mess it up, well!

An update on this topic for those interested, or anyone having a similar problem.

I found a source of thin plastic sheet available in white (others are possible) Pvc Foam Sheet 2 mm thick. theonestopplasticsshop.co.uk

It was a simple job to cut two rectangles to size to fit within the existing gasket butting it up to the rubber for a good fit. No need to remove parts of the door. Stuck it in place, I then opened up the aperture for the new letter box. Months later I'm still very pleased with the result. Its suitable for interior and exterior use.

The mid-rail design was used in the adjoining glazed panel to the side of the door. However that was more straightforward as there was glazing beading that could be removed to tackle the complete panel. Anyway I now have new looking midrails that match without the faded Formica appearance.

Precrown said:

I found a source of thin plastic sheet available in white (others are possible) Pvc Foam Sheet 2 mm thick. theonestopplasticsshop.co.uk

Click to expand...

Hi Precrown, do you know the overall thickness of the foam sheet, I'm assuming there is plastic sheet > foam > plastic sheet

The Pvc foam sheet has no outer cover layers and is composed of a single material. The same process as in Fascia boards but on a far smaller scale.

The outer 'skinned' surfaces are completely smooth, the inner foamed pockets must be very small and not visible I think when cut across the thickness. It must be closed cell as it does not attract or retain water. The thickness quoted is the total thickness.