Help!!! I need some guidence

[Glen Walker]

Hey guys,
Its been a while since I posted here, but I really need some advice. I'm in the process of finishing up the house and I really want to build my interior doors. I'm wanting to build rustic doors and am thinking of using pine for them. My question is should I use 1" boards glued or plane down 2" construction lumber (2x6)? Anybody have any advice.

[Jamie Buxton]

Construction lumber usually means stuff which is not dried at all. Or if it is kiln dried, it is only 19% EMC. In a home, wood eventually dries down to 9% or so. As it dries, wood generally warps and cups. If you build a flat door with construction lumber, it will likely not be flat in a few months.

[Glen Walker]

So sounds like I should look at going with the glued up boards

[Jerry Miner]

I would not use construction lumber to build doors. I usually buy 8/4 stock from my hardwood dealer (even though they are a "hardwood dealer" they do carry some softwoods, including pine)

Have you considered red alder in a "character" grade? Makes a nice rustic door.

[Sam Layton]

Hi Glen,

I am with the others regarding construction lumber not being used for doors. If you decide to use construction lumber if must be dry, and stable. I have built many a 2X4 wall with construction lumber, and many times the studs would warp, and twist before the electrical and dry wall could be completed.

There is a lot of work that goes into building doors. Using the proper wood along with the extensive labor will make a successful project. I like to laminate the stiles and rails to make them more stable. Plan and research your door construction, and it will be very rewarding.

Sam

[Stew Hagerty]

As a ex-general contractor turned woodworker, I adamantly agree with the others about not using standard construction grade lumber. As Jerry said, Red Alder would be a good choice. I would also suggest Hickory, in either it's rustic or more refined grades. If was going to use a softwood, I would say that Douglas Fir would probably be my first choice, followed by Eastern White Pine either of which I would still try to get from my hardwood supplier rather from the BORG.

Question... Are you planning on painting or staining? If you're staining you need to consider the grain of whatever species you choose, as well as the look & decor of the rest of your home.

[Brian Williamson]

+1 on the warnings about using construction grade lumber!

You definitely do NOT want something that's going to move. I built 18 sashes of windows and 6 jambs for both interior and exterior doors (I did not build the doors. I purchased doors from a local salvage yard.) for my house using VGDF about a year ago and so far so good. I used 2" stock planed down to final thickness. I did note some movement in the stock immediately after jointing and thicknessing, so I started doing the stock prep process over two days. I'd think laminated material should be more stable over the long haul, but only time will tell....

I also preferred to start with rough lumber as I could typically get a thicker straight board from the rough stuff versus having to go back and re-surface the S4S lumber. There were a few times where I started from S4S and couldn't get a straight, flat board at the magic 1 3/8" thickness.

One drawback with VGDF is that it is prone to chipping during machining, so one needs to be a bit careful.

[Kevin Bourque]

Absolutely don't use construction grade lumber for all the reasons already listed, but also be careful of using pine for doors.
Today's pine is wide grained and not as stable as the old timey stuff.

I work on lots of old homes ( some 250-300 years old ) and I don't see very many pine interior doors.
Most of what I see is poplar. It was easy for them to work with, had few knots or other defects, took paint well, and was more stable than pine.
A lot of barn doors were made from pine. I suspect it was because it made them lighter and therefore easier to open and close.
They didn't use poplar outdoors because it rots away so quickly.

[Sam Murdoch]

Glen - don't confuse "rustic" with crappy lumber. Build your doors with properly prepared lumber using proper techniques. Nothing more frustrating than spending valuable shop time building a project that ultimately fails due to poorly selected and/or prepared material. You'll want your doors to open and close nicely for years to come otherwise they will just laugh at you, challenge your manhood, and disparage your woodworking abilities with their total unwillingness to cooperate. So yes, I agree with what the others have written. :)

To add to their points -if you don't own a jointer and a thickness planer you won't be able to build doors successfully no matter what you use for solid lumber unless you are a skilled meander woodworker. Brian's point about starting out with thicker stock and milling it to your needs is well stated. As for using red alder or doug fir - these are great woods (actually some of my favorites) but are west coast woods and hard to get here on the east coast - available but limited.

[Prashun Patel]

I too would opt for a harder wood than pine, fir, or spruce. There's arguably no more important place for wood stability than in a large door.
Instead of relying on the wood grain for a rustic aesthetic, I would accomplish that by "rough hewing" the door, choosing the right profile and panel design, coloring, and physical abrasion to simulate weather and wear.

Other stable and economical wood choices are ash, birch, and white oak.

[glenn bradley]

Hard or soft, go to the lumber yard. I stickered some kiln dried lumber from the BORG for almost 3 months and half of it still turned to junk once milled. There is no savings in buying that sort of material for some things. The waste factor is just too large.

[Glen Walker]

Thanks guys for all the advice. I didn't realize that the moisture content was so high in construction lumber. Unfortunately in my area its difficult to find the small sawmills that have a kiln. So next question, I'm looking for something rustic to make our doors from. Any advice?

[Mike Cozad]

I'm a fan of reclaimed lumber and think timber from an old barn would be a great look for rustic doors. If western KY is anything like NW Ohio there is a pretty good supply, it just make take a bit of searching to find the right deal for you.

[Jim Matthews]

Try Woodfinder.net with your zipcode.

I would try calling Carter lumber (on a weekday, when they're not too busy).
They should be able to point you in the right direction, anyway.