Demystifying Door Construction
Constructing doors can seem intimidating. In this video I share with you how I built a custom door and demystify the process of door construction.
Watch Demystifying Door Construction
One of the ideas that I really want to impress on everybody is this: Don't be intimidated by new projects. When approaching a new project, most of the woodworking actions needed for it, you have done on other projects. By recognizing this, you create the mindset you need to build something that seems intimidating such as a door.
I hope you enjoy and find the video helpful.
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Todd A. Clippinger
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darkemer - The short answer is yes. But, I gotta tell ya, as a remodeling contractor I have seen so many wooden exterior doors, repaired and replaced them, I just have to throw it out there that a steel or fiberglass door will hold up a lot better to weather exposure. It would be better to spend your time replacing it with a whole new pre-hung unit than building a door yourself.
Take note that an interior door is 1-3/8" while an exterior door is 1-3/4". This means that if you use a 1" core, the solid wood skin starts getting thicker and the issue of wood movement really starts to become a problem. I don't like the faces to go any thicker than I did for this particular door, which is an interior door.
If you build an exterior door, I recommend going to a thicker OSB material which is rim board material, it is 1-1/4" thick (that is the outside rim of the house that all the floor joists connect to.) That means you only have to go another 1/4" each face to achieve the 1-3/4" standard thickness of an external door. But once again, the thicker the wood face, the higher the risk of wood movement.
Rim board material comes in 20' lengths, and widths of 9", 12", or 16". It is normally found at a lumber yard geared to the contractor. Locally, the 12" material costs $64 just for an idea of cost.
I once made a wooden door from reclaimed beams from an old factory on the east coast. As you can see, the building has quite a bit of exposure. It is located in Ucross, Wyoming which goes from severe dry heat in the summer, over 100°, to subzero temps in the winter, -20° to -30° is not uncommon.
The wood was sliced down and glued up about 1/4" thick on the core since it was spec'd out to be soda blasted to make it more rustic. Notice how big the crack is compared to my car keys just after 4 months, and there were several of them. At the time of this picture, at Thanksgiving, the door had still not gone through the coldest cycle of the year which hits in Jan & Feb.
While I can understand the eagerness to take on the challenge of building a door, doing the interior doors is less critical than constructing an exterior door. Interior doors just don't take the environmental beating that an entry door does. While I hate to discourage anybody, that is my recommendation as a professional.