DIY timber garage doors..

Tongue and groove for the doors ( verticals ) something like 3/4" or 7/8" thick (-ish ), 7"-ish wide. Two doors, one each side. Each door having three reinforcing timbers on the inside, running horizontally ( 3/4"-ish thick again ), maybe 6-7" deep. Place one halfway up, the other two where you'd like the T-hinges ( probably one width i.e. 6" down from the top /up from the bottom ). Diagonal reinforcing braces ( two) on each door, again the same timber as the horizontal reinforcing timbers. Have them run the width of the door between the mid and upper horizontal, andthe mid and lower horizontal. They must be at their lowest at the hinge side, sloping up to the horizontals at the centre. Nail together liberally( galvanised lost head perhaps ), treat with antirot treatment etc. Just a garbled overview of how my garage doors are constructed. Door frame use 3"x5"ish screwed to brickwork with frame screws etc.

Andy.

Reply to
andrewpreece
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I didn't build it, it is the original 1938 garage door. If I understand your question right, you are assuming there is an outer frame to the garage door ( aside from the door frame that is screwed to the garage. Well, there is no outer frame to the actual door itself, the tongue-and-groove forms the door edges, with the strengthening timbers as described on the inside. As the other poster implied, end-grain wood rots more easily than other cuts, so it may be an idea to screw a timber across the bottom of the doors, but you'll have to play that off against a tendency for the resulting joint to collect water and so promote rot. Since the original door has lasted 65 years, it can't be that bad a design, the exception being that the lowest parts of the t+g had rotted due to rainwater splashes, so like I said, take care of that part of the door. Seal the end grain somehow, and keep it painted regularly even though it is out of sight. In fact, dip the lower end of your T+G's overnight in anti-rot treament as an initial treatment. Having said all that, you can build your door any way that works for you, but I reckon my description of the build is a very standard, tried and tested method.

Andy.

Reply to
andrewpreece

hi all, can anyone point me to a site that will give me some idea of how to build some new garage doors? i have an up and over grp type now, but since i now have a car lift i cant open the doors...so i need two leaf timber doors that open outwards. the measurements are 78inches by125inches. either that or buy some ready made...they are need asap so any sugestions? i am happy to make them but need some idea how to knock up the frame etc.

tar!

steve

Reply to
r.p.mcmurphy

Autolycus gives good advice on the more detailed aspects of ledged and braced door design - I agree with what he has said. What your timber merchant has described is a ledged, braced and battened door - the battens are the two vertical timbers, one on each side of the door. Also with this type of door, the top and bottom ledges are at the extreme top and bottom of the door, forming the frame you describe. On a ledged and braced door, the top and bottom ledges are typically one ledge width in from the top and bottom of the door.

As Autolycus said, on a simple ledged and braced door it is best to 'let' the braces into shallow notches in the ledges to prevent them moving when the door is hung. On the ledged, braced and battened door, the braces are constrained from moving ( aside from all the nails that is ) by being jammed in between the ledge(s) and the batten(s). Depending on the dimensions of your door, the braces could take up a variety of angles, but it is better that they are at or above 45 degrees from horizontal, rather than below that ( its not critical ). A superior version of these doors would use tenon-joints or dowelling rather than nails. Remember that the T-hinges will need to be at the level of the ledges, so they will be nearer the top and bottom of the door if you go for the ledged/braced/battened option.

My door uses V-groove T&G which I think looks nice, but I can't see that v-groove is necessary. Finally, 2" seems quite thick for ledges, but I can't see that it can do any harm, and will certainly give the nails something to bite into. Certainly my initial estimate of 7/8" is too low, Autolycus' figure of 1.5" seems more like it. The braces should be a tight fit - they resist the weight of the door 'lozenging' it ( I don't think the nails are to be relied upon in this aspect ), so butt the braces tight up against the ledges.

NB; I painted mine in Sadolin Exterior Woodstain which gave a nice warm glow to the door, remember to paint the door before putting the hinges on - behind the hinges is another water entrapment area that people can't see!

Andy.

Reply to
andrewpreece

I've just finished a set of doors. Very similar to the ones andy made. I used 2" thick door frame timber around the outside and then put 3/4" T&G timber in the center. I also added on the back some diagonal strenghtners in the exact same way as andy did. The bottom edges won't be grain down to the ground as in the case of the other door, so you should'nt see rot for quite a while.

Reply to
Paul Kenny

I'd wander down to the local door shop, and look at how they make doors that are similar to what you want, I'd look at sizes of timber, joints etc, and then run out the shop and write it all down in a notepad.

I would them make my doors in a similar way, I'd maybe use 3 times as many screws, and 2 times as many strengthners, and make them of thicker wood.

Rick

Reply to
Rick Dipper

ah excellent! sorry to have kept you up so late though! what steps did you take making it? ie build the outer frame, screwwing it together, then nailing the t&g to it?

steve

Reply to
r.p.mcmurphy

by frame i meant a iner frame to which the t&g is nailed to, i plan to have a plain face with t&g right down to the floor(bar half an inch) the door is not heavily exposed and will be looked after so im not too worried about rot. the frame will not be morticed and tenoned...i know that would be best...but i dont have the time or equipment so im having to nail or screw it together tightly then nail the t&g to the face. is there any other way to do it?

steve

Reply to
r.p.mcmurphy

What's been suggested to you is a "ledged & braced" door, so there isn't a full frame as such. The t&g boards are nailed or screwed to three cross pieces on the inside, and the two diagonals stop the whole thing lozenging. Doors made like this are less torsionally stiff than if they had a full frame, but easier to make. I think the suggestion of 7" t&g might make life difficult - I'd go for standard floorboarding, or, to make it look a bit less slab-like, vee'd t&g - like the stuff people used to clad their kitchens with, but thicker. I'd make the ledges and braces 6" x 1 1/2" nominal - 1" nominal is a bit thin as it usually finishes up little more than 3/4" thick. The proportions aren't ideal for diagonal bracing - it will be much too flat an angle if you take it right across the gaps between the ledges, so I'd consider starting the brace say 6" in from each end, and cutting them into the ledges by 1/2" or so.

Traditionally, over-long nails were used and clenched over. Prime the edges of the boards before assembly with a primer of similar colour to your eventual finish, then when the boards shrink in summer the tongues won't show up as bare wood.

I'd use heavy-duty tee hinges - toolstation are cheaper than screwfix, at £4.40/pr for 15" or £6.03 for 18", though a determined burglar could unscrew them unless you substitute a few coachbolts for some of the screws.

Or get the opening down to 8ft, and get B&Q to saw a couple of pieces of

19mm ply to the right length.
Reply to
Autolycus

when i spoke to the local timber merchant, they took the measurements and recomended the ledged and braced but with two uprights spanning from top to bottom too..is this called a frame? im getting confused! so now ive got 6 be 2 inch for the ledging ect... and as you said, standard floorboard but unfortunatly not vee'd. so its gonna be a big slab...i may route some grooves in at some point...depends if i dislike the slab like apperance. i have got 2inch oval nails for it. also so some damn expensive but nice wought iron hinges. im trying to make the door look old! the braces........should they be a very tight fit? or even slightly over size to help prevent against drooping?

steve

Reply to
r.p.mcmurphy

You can just run a plane along the outside edges of the T&G a couple of times to get the vee profile. Leave the inside plain.

Reply to
Rob Morley

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