Small Building Construction, Part Seven

Dear Preppers and Survivalists,

The floor, four walls, window's rough openings, ten trusses, siding, six windows and now ...

Double doors have been added to the small building.

I wanted double doors, so we could use the small building for multiple purposes, such as a storage shed, chicken coop, emergency shelter, or an office.

Now, I have built doors using various methods. I built one with a frame around the outside, with the 2X4s flat; I built one with a frame on the inside, with the 2X4 on edge; but I have never built one like I did this time.

First, I measured the door's opening; it is 48 inches wide and 73 1/2 inches tall. Plus, I wanted the door to match the siding.

So,

Side View of Door
showing the plywood and siding glued together

I cut down a piece of siding to the correct dimensions (48 by 73 1/3 inches) then I laminated that piece of siding to a sheet of 3/8 inch plywood.

To laminate the two pieces of wood, I laid the plywood on a flat level surface (garage floor) then I spread glue on the piece of siding, laid the siding on the plywood, and evenly placed a lot of weight on the two pieces. I let it sit for about a week.

After the week was up, I carefully cut the laminated siding and plywood to the proper size, again Now, I also removed about a 1/4 of an inch from the outside edge, so I ended up with a single piece of wood 73 1/3 by 47 1/2 inches wide.

Both Top Inside Edges Marked with a Pencil

Next, I cut the sheet of wood in half.

I used a certain method to accomplish this. I placed two 2X6s on top of my plastic saw horses then I cut the line; I had drawn.

This protected my plastic saw horses. If I had been using wooded saw horses, I would have just cut the wood, with no protection for the saw horses.

After I cut the laminated siding and plywood in half, I made a mark, with a pencil, on the top inside corner of each piece of wood. The mark allowed me to keep track of which side/edge I was working on.

Of course, I have been agonizing over the design for the door. Should it be a "Z," or an "X," or some other design?

See the Mark

I finally settled on a very simple design. The design would be two 'bars' with a center piece of 1X4 surrounded by 1X4 trim.

To start the design, I measured a piece of 1X4 (73 1/3 inches) for the center. I glued it then I centered it on the edge, allowing the 1X4 to hang over the edge by about two inches. Next, I clamped two clamps, turned the 'door' over and screwed four 1 5/8 inch long screws through the door.

Next, I measured 12 inches from the top and bottom of the door than I measured from the door's outside edge, cut two pieces of 1X4 (about 22 inches), spread glue on it, clamped the 1X4 to the door, turned it over, and screwed four 1 5/8 inch long screws through the door into each pice of 1X4.

Double Door
right-hand side

After I did that, I mounted the hinges to the door. I kind'a followed the hinge's directions. Next, I took the door to the small building, centered the door and mounted the door. I had to use a few wedges to get the proper clearance on the door's top and bottom. Next, kind'a following the hinge's directions, I mounted the door to the building.

I kind'a followed the same process for the other side of the door, but I only glued and screwed the 'bars' to the double door's left-hand side.

The Finished Door
(Outside)

The Finished Door
(Opened)

The Finished Door
(Inside)

Now, the double door is large enough that a person needs to open only the right-hand side to enter the building. Both doors can be opened for any large objects.

Needless to say, I'm not finished, yet.

I still need to add 'stops' for the door on the top, sides, and bottom. I also need to add drip edge to the top and bottom of the door and doorway.

Why drip edge and door stops?

The drip edge will protect the door from any water dripping into the door this prevents the door from rotting. The door stops will help seal the door, preventing any drafts. Chickens don't handle drafts very well.

That's it for now. Next will be the roof.