Interior door build, FINALLY FINISHED

[Sam Layton]

Finally finished my bathroom door. The photo's do not make the door look as it is. The photo makes the door look very narrow. The door is 27" wide and the jamb is 3" on each side. The door is 1 3/4" thick.

I finished the door with General Finishes oil base stain, and General Finishes Arm-R-Seal.

Sam

[Brian Kent]

Sam, is that the rift-sawn oak? It looks great and should last longer than a house.

Brian

[Sam Layton]

Hi Brian,

Yes it is riff sawn red oak. The riff sawn gives the straight grain, which I like better and is more stable.

Sam

[John Keeton]

Absolutely a superior result, Sam! The color looks great with the wall color, and the overall design is a success. Did you end up going with the semi-gloss or satin on the A-R-S? Either way, the sheen is perfect - has that soft "touch me" look.

[John Thompson]

Excellent and agree the color is extremely well matched to the walls. You did a nice job of chosing the grain orientation in various places. Little details can make or break and IMO in this case "Make" as very eye pleasing.

[Eric DeSilva]

That is the door to your bathroom? Wow. Must be like a vault in there when it closes...

Beautiful job.

[Von Bickley]

Sam,
That is one beautiful door. Are you ready to go into the door building business now? :)

[Jim Kirkpatrick]

Great design and execution! I love the beading detail over side casings. I've used that many times over the years. Very classy.

[Sam Layton]

Thanks you Brian, John K, John T, Eric, Von, and Jim for your kind words. I really appreciate you taking the time to comment.

John K,
I used the satin. The flash on the camera made it look glossier than it is.

Eric,
It is very quiet when the door is closed. Before the dry wall was installed, I installed 1/2" sound board around the bathroom, as well as insulating the interior walls in the house.

Von,
I really enjoyed building the door. I am ready to go into business, how many can I put you down for???

Sam

[jim sauterer]

really came out great sam.i saw your build thread and all i can say is the final product is beautiful.you should be proud.

[Marshall Border]

Sam this is some very talented work here , love the finish.........Marshall ;)

[Bruce Page]

Sam, I'll take 10 of them!

That turned out beautifully!

[Vince Shriver]

Sam you did yourself proud. Very nice work.

[Dan Friedrichs]

That is the door to your bathroom? Wow. Must be like a vault in there when it closes...


+1. Wow! Amazing work...

[Bob Borzelleri]

Beautiful door!

Soundproofed bathroom raises more questions than I care to imagine.:D

[Sam Layton]

Jim, Marshall, Bruce, Vince, Dan, and Bob, thank you for your nice comments. I appreciate them.

Sam

[Bob Carreiro]

Nice door Sam.

[Jim Becker]

Beautiful door!! Wow.

[Rob Cunningham]

Very impressive door Sam.

[Sam Layton]

Bob, Jim, and Rob, thank you for your comments, I appreciate them.

Sam

[Jason Yeager]

Sam,

That is a beautiful door! I looked for your construction thread and noticed that you made an I-beam for gluing the lam. stiles and rails. Could you give me an idea of how you made your beam?

thanks!

[Sam Layton]

Hi Jason, thank you on the door.

I made the I-beam out of a 4' X 8' sheet of 3/4" baltic birch or apply birch (the 4 X 8 version). I cut 4 strips 8 1/2" wide, and divided the remaining plywood in half and cut it into two strips. Then I dadoed two strips and glued and screwed the two smaller strips into the dado's. Then I glued and screwed the two remaining 8 1/2" wide strips on top. I joined the finished I-beam to ensure flatness (make sure screws are countersunk). I apply water base poly and it is done.

When you glue the two smaller strips into the dado's, the spacing is not critical the further apart the better. Just make sure there is enough room to apply clamps. The I-beam works great in gluing up a lot of different things. It keeps things flat and gives a good surface to clamp to. I have a bunch of 2X2 maple blocks I use to go across my glue up.

If you have any further questions, let me know.

Sam

[Garth Keel]

as always. Your work sends me right back to the shop to practice.

[Jason Yeager]

Sam,

Thanks for your time, I appreciate the pictures and description. I know a woodworker who has a press made from steel i-beams and hydraulic jacks for gluing up rails and stiles, but the steel isn't that straight...your idea is great and ensures straight stiles.

I haven't built any doors before, but in a month or two I am about to embark on my first adventure, 22 doors....oh boy. If you have any advice that you wish you would have had before you started your first door, or any idea you feel made a significant difference in the process, I would love to hear about it.

Again, thanks for your time, your work spreaks for itself.

Jason

[Rick Potter]

I went to Sam's house today and checked out the door. Believe me....it is much better in person than the pictures show. This door is as nice as ANY I have seen in high class joints, and it will outlast us all. Unless someone slams that sucker and knocks the walls down, man is it heavy, sitting on three ball bearing hinges.

Here is the untold story...Sam has been working on this house remodel for over SEVEN YEARS. He has had a lot of paid help, but he has done as much of it as he could, including wiring the whole house over. He and his much suffering bride lived in their travel trailer for several years while working on the completely gutted house. As of today, they still don't have a kitchen, but it's coming up fast, the cabinets are next. By the way, the cabinet in the bathroom was his first, and it is as nice as the door.

All his wife asked for was to finish ONE room before doing the rest of the doors, and you are looking at it. That is why he didn't build several doors at once. It's been so long since she cooked that all she can remember how to make is reservations.

OK, Sam, I didn't tell them some of the more sordid details, you can let me down now.

Rick Potter

[Sam Layton]

Garth, Jason, and Rick, thank you all for your complements. As Rick said, I have been working on the house for a while. It is so nice to have the skill saw, hammer, and nails put away, and finally working in the shop building the things I enjoy doing. Thank you guys again.

Jason, I sent you a pm.

Rick, Rick and I have been friends for many, many years. After we both retired we would enjoy a couple 3 hour lunches a week. When the houses started that came to a screeching halt.

One thing Rick failed to mention, is that he and his wife have no kitchen, nor any heat in the kitchen area. Rick just added an east wing to his house. He is building bathroom vanities as we speak. Plus, he is doing a major remodel to the rest of his house. His remodel has been going on for years as well.

Just for the record, my wife does cook. We have a stove, frig, and a sink in the garage, works great...

Rick and I, and our wives has a nice lunch yesterday. Rick and I spend a nice day in the shop.

Sam

[keith ouellette]

All I can say is wow! Making some custom doors for my house is a dream of mine that I'm not quite ready to do (Wife says I have to put on a new roof first)

From reading the other posts I understand you had a thread about constructing the door. I looked for it but could not find it. Could you tell me what to look up so I could read it.

Beautiful work!

[Sam Layton]

Hi Keith, Thanks for the complement. Look on this section, woodworking projects, on page 6. The title is, Interior door build. The roof will keep you busy for a while.

Thanks again, Sam