Fitting a cat flap in a moulded upvc door

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Can i fit a cat flap in a molded upvc door? I have a single panel, molded upvc back door:

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that I'd like to fit a cat flap in. I've read the other threads about fitting cat flaps in upvc doors so I am vaguely aware that you can fit them by cutting a hole in the door using a jigsaw (following the templates that are provided). The main worry I have is the molding being in the way when trying to fit the cat flap flush to the door. I don't want to leave massive gaps and have lots of drafts coming through!

Any suggestions/advice?

Cheers,

Alex
 
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Rather than spoiling the appearance of your door, have you thought of a cat tunnel through the wall?
 
I thought of it - but I'm too scared to knock a hole in the wall! :) I'd much rather just screw the door up!

The door is in the utility room, so I'm not too worried about ruining the appearance of the door (although obviously I'd like the cat flap to be as unobtrusive as possible).
 
I have done plenty of them in upvc doors. Measure the internal size of the flat panel of the door. If the external size of the cat door is inside the panel moulding then it should fit in. Looking at your door, it should be okay. You can look up the cat door sizes on the internet or pop down to the pet shop.
 
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It’s an awful lot easier to fit the flap to the door if you can. I’ve got one in a conservatory door & I’ve also fitted one in my daughter’s utility room door; they don’t really look out of place. Takes around a couple of minutes to cut the hole with a drill & jigsaw which doesn’t say an awful lot for the security of these doors!

Unfortunately, as you’ve already spotted, your main problem is going to be the position of that moulding. The angle of your photo makes it difficult to see how much space is between the bottom of the moulding & the outer door frame but I guess it’s not enough to get the flap in below it. Fitting above would be difficult for the cat unless it's pretty big or wears a crash hat & is good a leaping! Do those moulding come off? If not a cat tunnel through the wall might well be the only solution as I think it would look really odd cut through the centre of that moulding & there may be problems with sealing. If you fit a tunnel, make sure the pipe is large enough for the cat to feel comfortable going through; standard 110mm soil pipe almost certainly wont be big enough.
 
Best to make it out of 18mm plywood box section, my cat tunnel is hiding behind the curtains ;)
 
An alternative is to buy a plain upvc panel and cut the flap into that. I don't think they are that expensive to buy.
 
Unfortunately, as you’ve already spotted, your main problem is going to be the position of that moulding. The angle of your photo makes it difficult to see how much space is between the bottom of the moulding & the outer door frame but I guess it’s not enough to get the flap in below it. Fitting above would be difficult for the cat unless it's pretty big or wears a crash hat & is good a leaping! Do those mouldings come off?

Unfortunately there isn't enough space between the bottom of the moulding and the bottom of the panel to fit the cat flap and, as you point out, if the cat flap was fitted above the moulding I'd need to get a flying cat! :)

Also the mouldings don't come off. :(

An alternative is to buy a plain upvc panel and cut the flap into that. I don't think they are that expensive to buy.

Any ideas where I'd be able to buy a new panel for the door? The door has a single panel so really what I want is exactly like the panel I've got at the moment, just without the annoying moulding at the bottom (i.e. I'd ideally like a window in the top of the panel - otherwise the room might be a bit dark).

Cheers for all the advice,

Alex
 
www.upvcwindow-doorparts.co.uk used to supply a flat panel (24 or 28mm thick) with a cat flap already fitted. You just had to remove the moulded panel, insert the new one (trim to size if necessary), and job done. If you move house, take the flat panel out and replace with the moulded one - taking the cat flap/panel with you.

Can't remember the price, but it may be worth contacting them via the website.
 
I replaced mine when we moved a year ago with another flat one. Got it from a Trade UPVc window place in Swindon. Your nearest Town should have at least one place that supplies to the Public.
 
What's the size of the flat panel?

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you - I've been massively busy over the last week!

The flat panel is approx 25cm x 25cm, but it's about 40cm off the ground so i don't think we could fit the cat flap inside it - at least not without having a flying cat! :)

I think I'm just going to sand the moulding down flat around where the edges of the cat flap are going to be and then fit it into the molding. I'll then fill al the joints with sealant to make it water tight.

If it all goes wrong we can always get a new door!

Thanks for all the help!

Alex
 
I think you will find the mouldings are hollow, so cutting/sanding will look a real "bodge" job - in my opinion. Far better to find a local UPVC supplier and get them to supply a flat panel - far less hassle.
 

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