Build Garage Doors
Garage doors are important features to your house because it is not only to park your vehicle safely but it is also to keep your do-it-yourself materials. Garage doors can add an aesthetic value to your house, be it a single door garage, one large door garage or two separate stable style garage doors. By building your own garage doors, you will definitely save on the cost of spending on pre-made garage doors, giving you the freedom and creativity to design and build your preferred style of garage doors. In this way, you will like what you do as it\’s from you.
What you need:
- Saw
- Lumber
- Overhead garage door hangers
- Bolts
- Washers
- Wood glue
- Plywood
Method:
- There are two types of doors to choose from and among them is a metal door that is made-up of a 24-gauge sheet aluminum mounted on a light steel frame. It is often found in commercial surroundings where the doors are subjected to a great deal of usage. The second one is a 5/8-inch textured finish plywood doors mounted to a wood frame and suitable for house garages and storage inside buildings with a minimal usage.
- In order to build a metal garage door, you need to measure the size of the opening for your garage door. Then, cut two lengths of 1-1/4-inch-by-1-1/4-inch-by-3/16-inch steel angle iron to 2-inch less than the opening garage\’s width. The above mentioned measurement will be the top and bottom horizontal frame pieces while the overall length should able to allow a minimal of 1-inch spacing for each side of the garage door to make way for the hinges and also ease the movement for the door.
- As for the vertical frame pieces, you need to measure its opening height and remove at least 1-inch from the measurement for allowing ½-inch of movement clearance at the top and bottom of the door. The vertical pieces needed depend on the width of the actual garage door where the vertical pieces should be installed 12-inch apart equaling to 1 per every foot door width.
- Start cutting two vertical and two horizontal pieces by laying them on a flat and open space. Then, check the frame for the square, weld the corners and make sure all of the pieces of the angle iron are installed with a flat surface onto one of the frame\’s face and this is done to allow the aluminum panel to be attached. The remaining vertical pieces need to be cut in order to fit between the tops and bottom frame. You have to weld these pieces at the top and bottom connections. Once it has cool-off, you can grind all welds smooth before you start to attach the 24-gauge aluminum onto the frame by using rivets or 1/8-inch diameter machine bolts. You should also smooth its edges using fine sandpaper.
- In order to construct a wood garage door, the same procedure for a metal door can be applied here. Use a 1-1/2-inch-by-2-inch Douglas fir lumber for the door frame. Then, cut the top and bottom pieces according to the width of the opening minus 2-inch before cutting two vertical pieces to fit between each of its end. Ensure that you remove 1-inch overall from the height of the door for these pieces and these vertical pieces will have to be 24-inch apart and attached at the top and bottom either by using glue or screws. After that, you need to assemble the frame by checking for square before attaching all pieces with either glue or 3-inch wood screws, and you have to drill a 1/16-inch pilot hole for each screw so that the frame does not fall apart.
- Finally, you need to attach the ½-inch finish plywood to the frame with construction adhesive along with 1-5/8-inch wood screws. Make sure to trim any excess at all edges before sanding it to make it smooth. Apart from that, the door can be primed and painted or stained, plus sealing it using a weather resistant sealer for an added protection.
Additional Reading:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2383286_build-garage-doors.html
http://www.doityourself.com/scat/garages
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/garage-door-building-tips
http://www.howtodothings.com/home-garden/how-to-build-garage-doors
http://www.dannylipford.com/home-improvement-video/built-in-garage-workbench/
Image Credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/birdies100/2111021523/
