How To: Build A Custom Door

When Tony and I bought the house, the biggest security concern was the back door to the garage.  The door had been significantly neglected.  When we first moved in, we just stacked boxes in front of the door to make it difficult to get in.  Tony and I thought it would be easy to just buy a new door.  As it turns out, it's not a standard size door because it is only 27 3/4" wide.  To have a custom door made, it was going to cost us ~$800.  That was not going to happen!

Door: Before

Last year, my parents came to visit over the 4th of July.  My dad helped with little things like replacing downspouts and bathroom fans and teaching me to use a chain saw to trim the three large maple trees in our front yard.  The biggest thing we did was build a new door.  We thought about large planks screwed together to look like a barn door but that was going to be too heavy.  We decided to go with 3/4" plywood.  I didn't take pictures throughout the process but here's what we ended up doing.

How To: Build A Custom Door
1. Determine the door size opening.  Subtract about 1/4" in each direction to allow for clearance.

2. We had Lowe's cut us the door dimensions and rip us 3" strips to frame the door.  The 3" strips allowed us to make the 1 1/2" thick to allow us to put the door on hinges.

3. We used a mider saw cut the 3" strips to length and cut the corners.

4. Glue the framing strips to the door and secure with screws.

5. Prop the door up next to the opening and mark the hinge location.

6. Remove the pin from the hinge and screw into the door jam and the door separately. 

7. Add additional screws where the hinges are screwed in to the door to provide additional support.

8. Paint the door with exterior primer and paint to protect it from the elements.

9. Hang door.

10. Add hardware such as a handle or a lock.

Door: After

Enjoy your new sturdy door!