[Tyson]

My shed out back needs some work.  There's water damage to the bottom trim that I'm getting some help fixing. 

The other thing that needs replacing is the door itself.  To me it looks like the guy that lived here before me did it himself and did a shitty job.  It needs to be replaced.  I've never built out a door but I'm willing to give it a go.  Can anyone give me some advice on how to get it done and have something that looks better than this crap?

[AllanS]

There probably won’t be any shortage of offers and opinions.  Hopefully you won’t find too much damage behind the trim.
It might help to start with ideas you have in mind for you’d like to see and how much you want to spend.
What’s the inside opening size width and height?
How wide an opening do you want to maintain?
Do you want to build your own French-ish door style like it has now or install something like a pre-hung door?
Would having a threshold to cross interfere with how you use the shed?

[Tyson]

It has to be french style because a regular door swings out too far and the shed is at the bottom of a small slope.  I think I just want to do a 1 for 1 replacement of the existing doors but just better materials. 

Re: the trim, I am planning to replace all the wood trim at the bottom of the shed with PVC trim.  Which is necessary I think, because it's at the bottom of a slope and water pools in that area.  That's what caused the damage and I assume PVC is the only thing that will hold up over time. 

[Early B.]

It has to be french style because a regular door swings out too far and the shed is at the bottom of a small slope. 

Can you replace the door with a single-panel one that swings inward? Also, is this a 2-part process that involves redirecting the water so it doesn't pool in front of the door? That seems to be a more important long-term issue to resolve than replacing the door. 

[JDoyle]

I would try to take what’s there and improve it (unless it’s really rotted like the bottom corner in your picture).
It would be easier to send you some videos. Hopefully you have an iPhone so they can be longer.
Send me a PM with your cell if interested.

Before:




After:

[js1955]

Tons of DIY build videos on YouTube.  Just search on "building a shed door".

I use YT to educate myself for any DIY stuff around the house.  Always very helpful.

[Zuman]

Wayne (WGH) is the most knowledgable woodworker/craftsman I'm aware of on this forum. He helped me a great deal with excellent advice when I was building a pair of high-end hardwood speaker cabinets. I'd ask for his input if I were you.
Look at the door he built here!
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=143592.0

[WGH]

I'm thinking about what can be made. The problem is I had a commercial woodshop and the techniques I used can't easily be done using hand tools. I'll come up with something.

[WGH]

40 years ago I came up with a simple to make plank door design that has withstood the test of time. The rustic plank door was a customer favorite and I made many variations over the years.



I used kiln dried C&Btr full rough, plain sliced Douglas fir. No lumber yard stocks this wood, it is always a special order of 500 to 1000 bd ft. Tell the supplier you want to buy a unit and they will talk to you.
Vertical grain fir doesn't look as good for a rustic door and it costs a lot more. Vertical grain fir also splits along the grain in Tucson's 5% humidity.


Construction fir works too. Make a level area to stack and sticker the wood, cover the pile with tin if outdoors and put a lot of weight on top, that way only half the boards will twist. The planks that stay straight and flat are used for the stiles. The twisted planks are cut for the panels. An alternative affordable wood is S4S Philippine mahogany. Don't use alder, it rots quickly outdoors. #2 pine will work but it is real wet when you buy it and pine moves the most during seasonal changes, french doors could change 3/8" in width between dry and wet weather.

I always used traditional mortise and tenon joinery with waterproof glue, every door I made is still working perfectly, none have ever sagged or came apart. The joinery also take a fair amount of skill and a lot of time.





The Quick and Dirty Plank Door

41 years ago I experimented making a quick and dirty plank door using construction fir. Total time to make: 4 hours.

No fancy joinery is involved, every joint is a butt joint. Once all the pieces are cut to length, put a dado blade in a table saw and cut a 1/2" wide, 1/2" deep dado on each side and the ends of every piece. The stiles get only one long dado on one edge, the top and bottom rails get three edges dadoed of course.

Cut 1/2" CDX plywood into 7/8" strips, cut to length and dry fit all the pieces together. You'll figure it out.

Now glue everything together using Titebond III and clamp for a couple of hours.

When dry, set the door on edge and drill 1/2" holes through the stile and into the rails using a 12" long drill bit. Two or three holes per rail should be sufficient. Approximate location and straightness, this is quick and dirty remember. Blow the chips out the hole.
https://www.acehardware.com/departments/tools/power-tool-accessories/drill-bits/23705

Cut 1/2" dowels about 10" long and using a hand plane, sander or rasp shave a flat on one side so the dowel looks like a modified "D". The flat area lets the glue rise up from the bottom of the hole otherwise you will never pound it in all the way.

Coat hole and dowel with polyurethane glue and pound in. Titebond dries too fast, you will never get the dowel more than halfway. I like Grizzly Glue: Grizzly One, it is the perfect consistency, strong and cheap.
Grizzly Glue is available on Amazon

Let dry overnight, trim and install.


I used Watco Exterior Wood Finish (green label) on my rustic doors. Even though the label says NATURAL there is color added. I think the color is ugly, luckily it settles to the bottom of the can. DON'T SHAKE. Pour out the finish leaving the color behind.

Day 1: Put the rustic fir doors on sawhorses and flood the wood with the Watco Exterior Oil. Keep adding oil as it soaks in, add more oil as needed for 1/2 hour. Wipe off excess and let dry overnight.
Day 2: Oil the doors again as in day 1
Day 3: Oil the door again as in day 1
Each door will absorb about 1/2 gallon, the finish will now last for years. When the finish looks dry in 5 years coat with more Watco, refinishing will take less than an hour.

Note: Rags soaked with Watco will spontaneously combust. I hung the rags on a chain link fence for a couple of weeks to dry before putting them in a dumpster. Keep the oil soaked rags far away from your garage. I have seen two wood shops burn up because of oil soaked rags, the hired help wasn't careful at all.


If you make a smooth door from S4S lumber then paint is the best finishing solution. Buy the most expensive exterior primer and paint available. Follow the directions and the paint will easily last for 20 years with zero maintenance. Dunn Edwards Paint is the best in Tucson.

[aldcoll]

I think there is a different approach.

What is the cubic ft of the shed?  How many 12 inch drivers could be installed across the front???  This will also double as a pest reduction appliance?

Or I have seen folks setup Maggies on walls with hinges or you could make a bi fold type door with the Maggies ?  I wonder if these too would be a pest abatment when you take the socks off and the flies have free range?

I"m just spit balling here, I don't see a need for the gold plated cryo hinges etc. 

Just my simple thoughts.......................

Alan

[JDoyle]

Some nice craftsmanship there WGH… impressive.

But jeez, it’s a shed.

I’d just use the plywood that’s already there and screw both pieces behind a sheet of this, cut to the opening size to make one heavier door.
Then trim out with Azek and hang from one set of strap hinges.

Some other tips I can give you if you’re interested, just pm me.

I’d also re-side the whole shed with this stuff too… it’s got a nice hard surface to it. 

[WGH]

I’d just use the plywood that’s already there and screw both pieces behind a sheet of this...

Plywood will work... for a while. The shed appears to get wet a lot and we all know what happens when plywood gets wet. Even T1-11 exterior siding does strange things when it gets wet.

Stave core lumber is popular with door makers. The material is a lot more stable than solid wood, stays flat, doesn't twist and fast to use because no milling is required, just cut and use. A local woodshop got a very nice commercial project to make 5 pair of store doors for a row of new retail shops. They made the doors out of stave core lumber, it was fast and cost effective. Unfortunately the bottoms of all the rails and stiles delaminated in less than a year, 100 degree heat and monsoon storms did them in. That is why I only used solid wood.




I attempt to explain what will go wrong, most of the time people ignore my advise. At least they know why their project failed.

Plywood and stave core lumber will work but it takes a heroic effort to seal the edges and door bottoms. Epoxy works the best, 3 coats of McCloskey Spar Varnish is good but the finish absolutely cannot be left to degrade. The engineered treated wood siding, 1x4 pine, construction adhesive, zinc plated screws and a coat of paint will get the job done.

Nobody ever hired me to make a shed door for obvious reasons.

I have made quite a few wood gates.
The panels were sealed on all sides before assembly. The top and bottom of the redwood gates are sealed with West epoxy before painting to waterproof the end grain and eliminate any future water damage.

[Tyson]

Man, this is good stuff.  Thanks everyone for their feedback.  I had a contractor out today to walk through what could be done re: fixing the water damage on the bottom of the shed.  What we'll likely end up doing is cutting away the rotted wood sections and use PVC trim to replace all the trim on the shed. 

I'm also having a painter out on Thursday to give me a quote for re-painting the non-brick parts of my house.  While he's here, I'm going to make sure that using the PVC trim is OK for painting so we can color match the shed to the rest of the house.  If that all is OK then I'll proceed with the shed first and then do the paint after that. 

WGH,
Re: the door, I agree with you about wood and standing water being problematic no matter what.  But I have an idea, let me know what you think.  What if I make the door out of something like Stave Core lumber, but only the top 4/5'ths of the door is wood, and use the PVC trim at the bottom of the door where it touches the water?

PVC like this:

[WGH]

Without a design I don't know how to attach the PVC to the stave core or solid wood.

Wooden boats are in standing water all the time. Look at the Project page on the West Epoxy website for ideas.

https://www.westsystem.com/

Go wild! No boring doors allowed!

[Tyson]

I think there is a different approach.

What is the cubic ft of the shed?  How many 12 inch drivers could be installed across the front???  This will also double as a pest reduction appliance?

Or I have seen folks setup Maggies on walls with hinges or you could make a bi fold type door with the Maggies ?  I wonder if these too would be a pest abatment when you take the socks off and the flies have free range?

I"m just spit balling here, I don't see a need for the gold plated cryo hinges etc. 

Just my simple thoughts.......................

Alan

Hmm, maybe you're right - I should turn the entire shed into a giant infinite baffle subwoofer!!!  I know for sure the neighbors will love that.