House door on a shed?

[Berserker]

Hi there,

My shed doors are pretty warped and don't shut properly, plus I keep banging my head on the top. I was thinking of making a door frame out of 2x4s and fitting a wood external front door instead. I'd have to trim it as a standard door would be too tall but I think it would be much more solid and secure. Any reason this would be a bad idea? I've done a fair bit of Google searching and I haven't found anyone who's done it.

Thanks,

Nigel

 

[AJB Temple]

If it is an external door it will be fine.

 

[Robin Whitfield]

I would presume that the main reason people don't do it is cost. You can buy a whole cheap small shed for the price of an external wood door!

Aesthetically it might also look a bit odd depending on your choice of door.

 

[J-G]

It will depend very much on which 'Front Door' you choose and how much you need to reduce the height by. It's a 'given' that you should remove equal amounts from top and bottom but there may be a limit as to how much you can take off before you destroy the integrity of the construction.

 

[Berserker]

Thanks chaps, a friend has a hardwood external door that I can have. It's 199cm tall and I would need to cut about 5cm off the top and bottom as my max height is about 190cm.

 

[mynamehere]

Be careful when you start cutting it shorter, once you reach the joinery it might be a recipe for failure.
I can't imagine many doors where you could cut off that much without paying a penalty...

Cheers!

Ferenc


Edit: didn't read J-G's reply now did I!

 

[Berserker]

Makes sense, I'll take a look at the door and see if it looks doable. If I decide to go for it I'll make sure I do the door before I even think about the frame!

 

[artie]

What is your shed made of?
I've seen sheds that wouldn't carry a proper door.

 

[Berserker]

What is your shed made of?
I've seen sheds that wouldn't carry a proper door.

It's a fairly standard 10' x 8' timber shed. I'd have to frame it out and make it nice and strong. It has 2 doors at the moment so it would be an entirely new section of frame to hang the door from, and I'd have to redo the shiplap on that side. You think a hardwood door would be too heavy?

 

[AndyT]

Don't get carried away now... sometimes one door on a shed is not enough!

 

[Berserker]

Haha, I've not opened the 2nd door for probably 3 years so I think I should be good!

 

[artie]

It's a fairly standard 10' x 8' timber shed. I'd have to frame it out and make it nice and strong. It has 2 doors at the moment so it would be an entirely new section of frame to hang the door from, and I'd have to redo the shiplap on that side. You think a hardwood door would be too heavy?

Around here the bog standard garden shed is 35 by 47 frame with 12mm T&G weatherboard, I wouldn't want to hang a hardwood door even on a new one, plenty are not even as robust as that.

If you're going to beef up the frame I don't see a problem, but I'm not sure how heavy you would need to go maybe 95 by 35 ?

 

[Berserker]

Yeah, that sounds similar to what I have. I've never picked up a hardwood door so no idea how heavy they are, but it sounds like it could be asking for issues. I just found the door in the link below... was thinking I could make something like that using 2x4s and t&g and I'd still be able to use proper door hinges and a decent lock like an external house door. That'd probably be a lot lighter than hardwood.

What do you think?

https://www.doorsuperstore.co.uk/pr...ne-boarded-frame-ledged-braced-shed-door.html

 

[artie]

Are you going to have a 15mm lip of T&G around the door, to overlap the frame and keep the water out?
A lot simpler than making a proper door frame.
If so T hinges would be the answer
I'd make the door from 75 by 35 and 12mm T&G you could still get a mortice lock fitted.

 

[Berserker]

Hmm, you're probably right. I was thinking of security with the hidden hinges, but T hinges probably make more sense construction wise. Thanks for your input!

 

[artie]

You could put round head bolts in the hinges. But In the real world, there's no point in putting a chub lock on a garden shed, I'm well past my prime and I could punch a hole in 12mm weatherboard.
I know nobody wants to hear it.

 

[Berserker]

Fair enough. The shed has insulation and 9mm OSB around the inside too, but it still wouldn't take too much to get in.