BUILDING A DOOR -by Unicoi Ludd

Building a Door- Most buildings around the farm are going to need a door of some kind. I've been making one today for a utility building so I thought I'd outline some basic steps that I hope will make it go easier for your next project. One mistake people make is framing up their building and then trying to make a door to fit the opening. It's much better to measure the opening and then build what is called a "pre-hung" door & frame. By building this on a flat surface you will not struggle with trying to fit a door into an out of square space and trying to attach hinges etc. Measure the rough opening in the framing and make your door frame 3/4 inch less in width and 1/2 inch less in height than the opening, this will leave room to set the frame in and square it in the opening with shims before screwing it to the frame. I built this frame from PT pine 2x6's. For this project I wanted the classic farm look of a plank & cleat door but I also wanted it insulated. I have a leftover sheet of 2 in. Solid foam insulation so I next built a frame 2 1/8 in. Thick to mount the planks to and fill with insulation. In the corners are triangular braces which are crucial to keep the frame square and rigid. Now I laid out the 1x6 planks and determined that with 7 planks there would still be a 3 in gap. You could divide the desired width by 8 and rip all the planks to an equal width or, as I did, simply rip 1 plank to 3 in. The important thing to remember in this situation is not to place that narrow plank on the outer edges or centered because the eye will pick that up. Put the narrow plank off center in the field and it will disappear. Now I laid out the cleats across the door and a diagonal brace to prevent racking or sagging. I also added a piece for the latch hardware in the center. Secured all to frame with galvanized ring shank nails.the door is 3/4 in narrower and shorter than the frame to allow for swing and swelling. Next remove the door from frame and instal a stop molding to prevent door from closing too far and seal the edges from drafts. Lay the door back in the frame and instal the hinges, latches etc. with this procedure I can simply place the entire assemble in the opening, square the frame in place and secure to the framing. And all I'll have to do then is put trim around the interior side.