Oak Half Door with Top Ledge

This is a door I made for another of my neighbors. They said they had an idea about having a half door made to separate their laundry room and kitchen. They also have dogs and needed to keep them out so they didn’t have to use their chairs to block the doorway. A top ledge was also needed to be used as a staging area for food when they were cooking outside.

I made this door out of 3/4 veneered oak plywood which was glued and braded together. I placed oak edge banding on the hinge and bottom sides and put a 3/4 piece of solid oak on the latch side for support and durabiliy when closing. The top is made up of 3/4 solid oak with a routed designed edge for appearance. I put a dado in the ledge so it fit snug over the door and secured it with glue and four screws for strength and support so the ledge didn’t tilt if someone was to lean on it. I then covered the screws with flat top buttons and cut and sanded them flush. The door is 35 1/4” tall and 31 1/8” wide with the ledge being 7 1/2” wide. The trim molding is made up of 5/16” oak which is routed on both sides. I have the molding secured with glue and a few brads.

To finish the door I used a Cabot country oak color stain and two coats of spar urethane. I am not good at chiseling hinges yet so I used three brass recessed type hinges and a closet knob. They absolutely loved the door. She told me that it exceeded her expectations by far and that if her husband was to do it, it would have been 2×4’s and plywood. (I got a laugh out of that.) The couldn’t believe how well it matched her kitchen color and has received numerous comments on the beauty of it. Heck, if the door does its job, maybe it will create more work for me. :) If not I’ll hire a new one. Thanks for looking!

-- "Knowledge is King! It is never too late to learn something new." - Jim