I practiced installing the deadlocks in to some blank pieces of wood.

These I trimmed to the exact same dimensions as the back doors - for thickness, rebate width and depth.

It was just as well as I made a few mistakes (or "learning experiences").

Saturday

The trickiest step is in creating a space for the rebate kit - this is a requirement for a pair of french doors.

I use a little trimmer to route out a groove as close as possible to the edge of the timber and then chisel out the remaining wood.

My hand skills are not that great so it take me a lot of time to excavate to the required depth and to create an even surface.

Some chiselling is also needed for the corresponding striker plate.

However, in most cases, a convenient void already exists.

For the second set of doors there was no material to screw in to and I had to pack out some of the void with 2 part epoxy.

So I would say that by the end of the day I had installed 1 and 7/8 of the door locks.

Possibly an experienced carpenter would knock these over in half an hour each - but I am still learning.

Wednesday

I had hoped to finish the installation across all 4 sets of French doors but I was not as productive as I had hoped.

I expected the second door to be finished off within half an hour but it took far longer.

Also it was a lovely day with soft Autumn sunlight and I found it hard to get going.

I have cut out the rebates on the last two door sets and this is the most time consuming part of the job so hopefully I will have this all wrapped up on Saturday.