# Shed doors.



## garywayne (5 Aug 2008)

My shed is going to be insulated. Should I build the doors the same way as the walls?

The hole in the shed front wall is 5' wide, 6'6" high, (1530mm wide, 1980mm high).
How would you build two 2'6" wide doors? A picture of the design would be most helpful.

Thanks for your help.


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## mailee (5 Aug 2008)

Personall Gary I would build them like a set of gates by making a frame using fox wedged or pegged M&T's bracing with diagonals running from the hinge side upwards toward the centre of the doors. Run a rebate around the front inner edge to accomodate ply or T&G and then after adding the insulation ply line the inside. I would also recommend using stainless bearing fire door hinges as these are safer than band hinges and they will take more weight and last much longer too. HTH. :wink:


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## garywayne (6 Aug 2008)

Thanks for replying mailee.

I searched the forum for workshop doors and gates. I found a drawing by Scrit. The only problem is that he only shows the bottom of the diagonal support.

I have done a drawing of the doors.
Is this the sort of thing you mean?


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## PowerTool (6 Aug 2008)

Hi Gary - from how I read Mailees post,yes,your drawing is just what he meant - framework,bracing,cladding front and back,leaving space for insulation inbetween.

Andrew


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## DaveL (6 Aug 2008)

Gary,

I think I would put the lower end of the brace against the side of the door, not out on the centre rail. May be run the centre line of the brace in to the corner of the centre rail and the side of the door. This is to form a triangle, which is a ridged shape so cannot sag.


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## garywayne (7 Aug 2008)

Dave.

The problem with Scrit's drawing, is the fact that only the connection with the center rail and the diagonal brace was shown. He says the diagonal brace should be no less than 2" in from the stile. It is possible that the top of the brace does go into the corner.

I really need to find out how to build the door correctly, as they will be quite heavy. 

I have done a search on Google, but I have been unable to find anything.

Thanks for your comment Dave.


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## mailee (7 Aug 2008)

Yes that is just what I meant. Although Dave it correct stating that the diagonal should run to the corner joint and not the horizontal. Brace from corner to corner with each diagonal and you will be spot on with that design. Also as stated it allows you room inside for insulation. :wink:


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## Shultzy (8 Aug 2008)

Gary, if you look on my workshop build page 4, there's a picture of the shed doors unclad so you can see the construction.


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## garywayne (9 Aug 2008)

Sorry for delay. I ripped my back.

Thanks for getting back mailee and confirming the door construction, and hinges.

Shultzy. I can't see any pics on your thread. Also, your avatar is missing. I'm sorry to here it, but it's true.

Heres another question: If my shed frame is 100mm thick, and my doors are 100mm thick. How would you go about weatherproofing, and draughtproofing the gaps?


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## Lee Brubaker (10 Aug 2008)

Gary: Waaaaay back in 1959 I built a double garage at our first house & of course there was a 16 ft. wide overhead door. Money was tight in those days so I also built the door (16'W x 7'H). I reasoned that the lighter the door the better hence in all of the framing & bracing I used cedar. Nothing fancy. All angle bracing was nested directly into the framing corners of the rails & stiles & plywood sheeting carried right to the outer edges of the door frame. Insulation stuffed in between the framing & the second plywood skin applied. The plywood skins used screws instead of nails forming a rigid whole.
I happened past the old place in 2001 & that door was still in use & still looked good & I suspect that that is still the case today.
What I'm saying is keep it simple when there is no need for complexity.

Lee


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## dennis (11 Aug 2008)

Gary

If the doors open out you would be best off with a lining/frame as you will have problems hinging to featheredge cladding. If you do not want to reduce the opening width to do this, you could cut back the cladding to fix a batten round to hinge to, and also fix a batten round the inside face overhanging to form a rebate. As you intend cladding the door you will also have to have some form of wood insert to hinge to.

Dennis


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## garywayne (11 Aug 2008)

Lee.
Thanks for your input. I intend putting 18mm ply on the inside, and featheredge cladding on the outside. With the frames being built as suggested, they should be pretty darn rigid.

Dennis.
If I use the stainless bearing fire door hinges that mailee suggests, I should have no problems hanging the doors opening outwards. Thanks for your thoughts.

Any thoughts, ideas, or concerns are greatly received


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## dennis (11 Aug 2008)

Gary

If the featheredge is full width of the doors to match the walls, and you have no door frame you will be screwing the hinges into end grain, and being featheredge some screws will miss the wood unless you insert pieces to hinge to. It is not clear from your post whether the doors will have edgings, or if there will be a door frame. I hope that you understand what I am trying to point out.

Dennis


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## garywayne (12 Aug 2008)

Dennis.
Thanks for getting back to me on this.

Having read your post, I now understand what you are explaining.  

Thanks for your persistence.


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## dennis (12 Aug 2008)

Gary.

You could use parliament hinges, they have a bigger arc than normal butts, so you just need to give more leading edge to the meeting sides of the doors so that the do not clash. With the extra length you would not be screwing into the featheredge. You just need to fit with a slightly tighter gap on the top hinges to allow for the extra strain with the hinges being longer and the screws being farther from the pivot point.

Dennis


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## Scrit (13 Aug 2008)

Ah, you mean this drawing:






For doors I'd tend to go into the corner, thus:






as it looks better, although it is more work

Scrit


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## garywayne (14 Aug 2008)

That's an idea worth thinking about Dennis. Thanks.

That's the one Scrit. :wink: Regarding the other pic. How much of the diagonal is against the style, and how much on the rail? Up till now I was going to do half & half, but I think your drawing looks as if it would be stronger.

Any comments.


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## Shultzy (16 Aug 2008)

Gary, can you see my Workshop build photos yet, as my doors are 100mm thick and I have used fire door hinges.


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## dennis (16 Aug 2008)

The difference is that Gary,s are featheredge whereas yours are shiplap Shultzy. With shiplap you have a flat surface to work to, but not with featheredge.

Dennis


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## garywayne (17 Aug 2008)

Shultzy.
Yes thanks, the pics are good and clear. :wink: When I searched the net for bearing fire door hinges, there where loads, ranging from £4 - £30 odd. Have you any idea what the difference is. Would it have anything to do with the load bearing weight on the bearings? If so, how do you know which hinge for what weight? 

I've just popped out to do a bit of measuring. The featheredge planking adds an extra 35mm to the thickness of the door. So, the largest fire door hinges that I saw on the web where 4"X4", which means, one flappy bit is 2" - half a knuckle = 45mm ish. 45mm - 35mm = not big enough. That brings us back to dennis's options. Add a plank down the hinge side of each door to secure the hinges to, or use parliament hinges.
Do they do bearing parliament hinges. I'll have to Google that one.

Right, that seems to be it. Thanks guys.


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