Friday, June 26, 2015

Ummm, OK, Doors part 1

How things change from day to day.  Including your mind.

I got up this morning and was having my coffee and reading through the forums I subscribe to and chatting with Sally.  A normal morning.  I was describing the big storage cabinet I was going to build today, and she was of a mind that it wasn't needed and the shop could be straightened up enough to get going as is.  She even volunteered to help organise it.

So out we went and in a couple of hours had things looking somewhat organised and functional.  There is still a lot of stuff sitting on the floor that needs shelves......shelves......We have a couple of pine storage shelves in our en-suite bathroom that we have had for years.  Sally has wanted them out of there to make it look nicer.  Actually, she wants the whole thing re done as it was a quick fix up job when we moved in, and then a repair when we had the old roof leak, but has never been really done to our satisfaction.  Yeah, I'll get to it someday.

So, she wants the shelves gone.  She goes on the internet and finds a wardrobe that is inexpensive at the gigantic retail outlet that everyone loves to hate (starts with a "W" and ends in "almart").  After some phone tag and messing about (I hate pressing buttons on the phone going through menus) I call up our nearest one and yes, they have 2 of them in stock.  So, I tell them to hold them for me and we jump in the car and take the 40 minute drive to town and got really nice service and help from the kind folks that work there.  These things are big.  They weigh 200 lbs each.  Good thing the HHR has fold down seats, they slide in and fit with no problem.  We have a quick lunch while we are in town and home we go.  I open the box in the car and unload them a few pieces at a time, and while Sally starts playing with them I take a run to Rona and pick up a few things I need to make the doors.

I buy an inexpensive passage set, 6 - 1 x 4's and a sheet of isocyanurite insulation (cut in half lengthwise so it will fit in the car (the front seat is still down).  At home it is time to get started.  So I set up my work area in the shop for the first time.


The roller stand in the background to catch the wood looks more like a music stand.  I put a tilting table top on it years ago because the roller always seem to want to pull the piece one way or the other. It works well now though.  I start by changing in the 60 tooth blade and ripping 2 pieces of 1/2" plywood (the same stuff I used in the lintels over the windows and doorway framing) to 30".


Then the same to 7/16 OSB


and I have the first real project sawdust on my floor.


Then I set up the mitre saw and cut 4 pieces of 1 x 4 to 30".  These are for the top and bottom of the door.


I then took those 4 boards to the table saw and cut out a section on each end for the side pieces to fit in.


Working kind of out of sequence, I went back to the sheet goods and cut them all to 80" length with the skill saw.


Then it was just a matter of clamping the top and bottom rails in place and measure for the side rails.


Once the side rails were cut I fit them together and clamped it to the OSB and pre drilles 2 holes for 3 1/2" deck screws,


With plenty of glue on the joint, I screwed them together.  Probably overkill as the sheet good will act as a gusset on the joint.

I then put plenty of glue on the frame and attached it to the OSB with about a thousand 1" brads in a zig zag pattern.....OK, maybe not a whole thousand....



Once I had that done I added another piece to the inside of one door where the handle mechanism will go through.


It is about 33" from the bottom of the door.  I made sure I marked the edge of the door so I could keep track of which door had the extra piece, and where.


I did the same with the other door, except without the extra piece.  Then I cut the insulation to fit the cavity of the door and fit it in.


The only thing left is to put the plywood on the other side and fasten it with a few thousand more brads, then some galvanised screws just to make sure.


By this time it is getting pretty late, and it's been a long day, so I clean up the shop and call it a day.  Let the glue dry overnight and do some minor trimming on the edges, but for all intents and purposes, those are doors.  They are heavy too!  Tomorrow, weather permitting (after the doors are in I won't have to worry too much about "weather permitting" will I?) I will do a bit of trimming, make the frame and hopefully get them hung and installed.  It was a busy day, and I just did not have time to take any video.

Thanks for dropping in!




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