Craftsman front door build

[David Boardman]

I am wanting to build a new front door for our house. I have never made a door and want it to be done right. So far my game plan is to use white oak or maybe Hickory, the joinery will be Dominos (14 mm). With that said is it okay to build a door from solid 8/4 material or does it need to be done with laminated 4/4 stock? I have seen it done both ways in videos I just don't know what the difference would be, I am guessing stability of the stock?

Any door builders have any tips? I might stain, if I do I'll be going with a deep brown maybe a shade or two darker than white oak naturally. When buying the stock is there a cut I should look for i.e. Rift, quarter, plane sawn?

Will I encounter any issues with using loose mortise and tenons? I was thinking of just making my own out of white oak instead of using beech just to keep it consistent.

Thanks!

[John TenEyck]

I've only built a few exterior doors, but have had the benefit of learning from someone who has built many hundreds. Of course you can use solid stock for a door, but a much more stable construction is to use stave core. The ones I built were made from LVL beam material, with solid wood edges, and then veneered with 3/16" shop sawn veneer using Plastic Resin Glue. I used large loose tenons for joinery, but dowels work just as well. I used epoxy to glue up the frame. Here's a photo showing the basic stave core construction.



This door was a frame panel, but the same process works for a solid door. If yours is going to have panels, too, you add any muntins using the same construction process.



I used back to back 3/4" solid wood panels so they could expand/contract independently with the seasons. They are held in the frame by moldings. Most times those moldings would have a rabbet to fit over the edge of the door frame, but these are inset. The moldings are glued in with epoxy, too.



There are a lot of details required to make sure the door fits properly in the frame and sill and is weather tight. Too much for one post but we can discuss that, too, if you'd like.

I'm sure others have a different take on it and will share their wisdom, too. A door is not that hard to build, but they certainly are a challenge. There is a lot going on and the tolerances are surprisingly small.

John

[John TenEyck]

Here's a door in a sort of Craftsman style made by my mentor. This one is hickory on the outside, IIRC. Not a good choice, actually, unless it's really well protected by a porch, as this one is. White oak would be a better choice, mahogany infinitely better still. Anyway, if you look closely you'll see that his moldings have rabbets and fit over the edge of the frame openings, which adds another detail to the appearance as well as potentially better weather resistance. It's also easier to install.




The one I showed above sits directly against the weather and is made from Sapele, and looks like this:




John

[David Boardman]

When doing the glass is it better to do 2 panes with an air gap or just a thicker single pane? I have it drawn up in sketch up and it seems pretty straight forward. I am going with 3 glass panes at the top with dentil molding underneath that follow by two raised panels. I like the idea of doing 4 raised panels out of 4/4 to float. I will likely do that.

[Davis Young]

I've done the double pane but I have my glass guy make up the units. He has different thickness spacers for the double panes so that gives me flexibility on the retaining strips I can use.

[John TenEyck]

You know that any glass you use in a passage door MUST be tempered, correct? My advise is to find a commercial door that you like the glass panels in, then order replacement panels. They will be double pane and tempered, and much cheaper than custom made units.

John

[lowell holmes]

John, those are two fine looking doors.

I appreciate door making, I made the front and back doors for our house. I had a three vertical panel front door that rotted and did not want to loose the leaded glass, so I made a replacement door.

I then decided I needed a half glass back door. I used tempered glass to meet local requirements. My back door is designed to withstand hurricane force winds.
We live in Galveston County, Texas. Storm codes require the tempered glass. The door probably weighs 140 pounds.

[David Boardman]

I actually do know that, only because I just had to replace the front panel of a commercial property I bought because the panel was not tempered. It was also 50 years old. That said I have never had to order glass in the way I will have to do it for this project. I don't mind paying for custom cuts, this will be the last door I make for my home so I'm not too worried about budget. Also the 60 bdft of white oak plus the glass will not set me back nearly as bad as it would to buy one at Home Depot or something.

[jack forsberg]

this is how i like to build doors who mouldings that are not cope and stick and can not be kicked in

[John TenEyck]

Jack, I'm having trouble understanding the details of how the panel is held. Do you have a cross sectional drawing of how it all fits together, or some still shots? The video is moving too quickly and even when I stop it I still can't see the details. I'm very interested in learning how you do this, because security is one of the things I am most concerned about with large panel doors like the one I showed above. Thanks.

ohn

[jack forsberg]

Jack, I'm having trouble understanding the details of how the panel is held. Do you have a cross sectional drawing of how it all fits together, or some still shots? The video is moving too quickly and even when I stop it I still can't see the details. I'm very interested in learning how you do this, because security is one of the things I am most concerned about with large panel doors like the one I showed above. Thanks.

ohn

all i have is this

[John TenEyck]

Thanks very much for the follow-up Jack. I still have to draw it out to figure out how it works, but I've got a much better grasp of your method now.

John

[Mel Fulks]

Used to do something similar to that ,but mainly for wood panels. Door made with all square edges. Each opening had slot run all round center of perimeter. Spline put in slot is same thickness as panel tongue. Apply the wide moulding to one side. Turn door over ,drop in panel, install moulding. Many times panels were same thickness as door and made with two "back to back" panels.

[jack forsberg]

Jack, I'm having trouble understanding the details of how the panel is held. Do you have a cross sectional drawing of how it all fits together, or some still shots? The video is moving too quickly and even when I stop it I still can't see the details. I'm very interested in learning how you do this, because security is one of the things I am most concerned about with large panel doors like the one I showed above. Thanks.

ohn

not a believer in IG glass ether .

[Andrew Hughes]

You guys sure go through a lot just to make a door. It must be because of your climate.Ive made several doors with clear Vg Fir. My doors have stayed flat square straight and true.I did have one that weeped pitch.I guess living here in So Cal has its advantages.