Building your own shed doors can be a rewarding yet challenging experience. You can also save a tremendous amount of money over pre-built doors. Rest assured, it’s easier than you might think. The biggest thing is planning and preparation.
Planning is the most important factor. You want to plan ahead so you don’t waste time, and time is money. The cheapest and easiest way to build your own shed doors is to use 2×4’s and T1-11 sheathing. Plan ahead where the sheathing will go. You want the end of piece of sheathing to be where the two doors will meet. That way you are dealing with full sheets of plywood and not partial sheets. You want each door of the double door to be between 32 inches and 36 inches. This allows you to easily open the doors for a garden tractor and other larger equipment.
Once you know where your doors are going you can begin constructing them. You want the rough opening for the doors to be the total width plus 1 inch, and the total height plus ½ inch. For instance, if your actual doors are going to be 72″ wide and 68″ tall, you want the rough opening to be 73″ wide and 68-1/2″ tall.
Begin by constructing the frame. For this you will use 2×4 lumber on end. Nail the rectangular frames together using 12 penny nails. The easiest way to achieve this is to lay the pre-cut lumber flat on the floor of the shed. Make sure the frames are square using a tape measure. Next, attach the T1-11 sheathing to the frames you made making sure they are square. Use 10 penny nails for this. You now have two door slabs to work with.
Next you want to install only two pieces of molding to get the doors in the frames.. For this you can use 1×4 pine that is primed and painted. On the left door install only the left molding. For the right door install only the right side molding. You can use 10 penny finish nails for this. You can now install the doors into the rough opening.
Using your choice of shed door hinges, install the doors. You can use standard 5 inch hinges, 6 inch colonial hinges or even 13 inch strap hinges, the choice is yours. Make sure the doors are true and plumb when installing. Use doors shims if needed. Once the doors are up you can finish installing the rest of the 1×4 pine molding. The possibilities are almost endless when it comes to this. Most of the time people use a colonial style to trim out the door. Think of the as two rectangles on top of each other. The top is a simple rectangle. The bottom is a rectangle with cross trim to achieve that true country feel.
Once the door trim is up you can install all the door accessories such as a door handle and lock and barrel bolts. You can now finish painting the shed doors and enjoy years of enjoyment knowing you built the doors to your quality specifications.
