Attaching a “faux” stile to this door

[Stephan Mackin]

Novice woodworker with unusual request. I want to make this single lite door a two lite door, to match the windows on the old schoolhouse I’m restoring. Budget constraints are the main reason, because getting the exact door I want doubles my cost, and I can get this door cheap. To add a vertical stile over the glass, has anyone done similar? Any advice to make project more successful? Or am I pissing in the wind? Sorry about the sideways pic, it looks normal in my phone but not on this site.

[Jim Becker]

If you are leaving the glass in place, then you merely need to match the profiles of the surround to lay in the centered vertical stile. It's meticulous work, but can be done with some careful thought and hand work to form the mating profile using both hard tools, files/rasps and contoured sanding sticks. You'll need to glue the wood to wood joints (requiring you abrade the finish off in the contact area) and use, perhaps a few dabs of flexible silicone on the glass under the stile to allow it to move, but stay in place. Repeat for the backside.

That said, removing the glass and making it a true divided door is also possible, but requires more work.

[Floyd Mah]

It's a big job for you if you are really a novice. The problems include the length of the stile, which makes the new stile harder to stabilize, and the natural finish, which makes the new stile hard to conceal, and the need to match the color of the existing wood. As mentioned also, there's the need to match the contours of the existing framing. An overlay without cutting the glass isn't as strong as removing the existing glass. You also have to be clever to blend in a joint at the ends of the stile to disguise the new joint. Maybe a traditional tenon and mortise joint at the ends and a lap joint in the middle might work best. Lots of work with hand tools as Jim mentioned to get a clean result.

I have a little experience doing this because I divided a light in my casement style window to put in a plexiglas pane (to allow me to attach a movable A/C's hose to exhaust the warm air). It was a lot of work. Fortunately my window was painted a white color, so I didn't have much difficulty hiding the work.

[johnny means]

There's no real need to exactly match the existing profiles. Just machine a reasonably similar style with a good color match. Attach directly to the glass with automotive tape. This is a pretty standard trick for dressing up newer (cheaper) windows and commercial fitouts where no permanent changes can be made to glass.

[Jim Becker]

There's no real need to exactly match the existing profiles. Just machine a reasonably similar style with a good color match. Attach directly to the glass with automotive tape. This is a pretty standard trick for dressing up newer (cheaper) windows and commercial fitouts where no permanent changes can be made to glass.

I would agree that on the vertical edges, coming close is fine, but at the top and bottom where it meets the rails...it's going to look funky if the profiles don't merge cleanly.

[johnny means]

I would agree that on the vertical edges, coming close is fine, but at the top and bottom where it meets the rails...it's going to look funky if the profiles don't merge cleanly.

I was assuming that someone who is doing a job like this can cut a cope. Even just a square piece of trim could leave clean looking "joint" if coped halfway decently.

[Mel Fulks]

I've seen new factory made doors that had at least a 1/32nd gap between a rail and muntin end.

[Jim Becker]

I've seen new factory made doors that had at least a 1/32nd gap between a rail and muntin end.

Yea, but in this case, if it's applied over the glass, the "strength" connection needs to be at the jointery to the rail. An accurate cope will improve the strength of the glue joint. The OP isn't doing just a simple narrow muntin...it's a full stile based on the description provided.

Personally, if I had to do this job, I'd strip the door, remove the existing glass, create the stile and set things up so that the glass can be inserted from the "back" of the door and is held in place with molding that's just pined. In fact, I'm doing a job exactly like that for a client on some cabinet doors "as we speak", minus the stile.

[Frank Pratt]

OK, what's the cost difference in dollars between the 1 lite & 2 lite doors? $100? $150? I can see it taking 2 or 3 hours to do a good job of modifying the single lite door. What's your time worth? If it's only 1 door, you're probably better to just buy the 2 lite door. But if it's a bunch of them, then you could set up production & maybe make money by modifying them

[Jim Becker]

Frank, I think he's using a salvaged door based on context.

[Floyd Mah]

Here is a diagram on how to make the stile. I really hate glued on, fake, lites. They look cheesy and if you are going through the trouble to redo the door, you might as well do a good job instead of lousy work that passes for being acceptable by hired help. Might as well apply some fake, surface applied. stained glass treatment along with the glued on stiles. The full cheesy treatment.

On the following diagram, the side views of the new stile pieces are shown. When the two central sections are put together, you would see one piece with tenons on the ends. A solid stile like this ordinarily would be impossible to put in the opening, after the mortises are cut, but by separating the pieces and then installing the two sections separately, you get a single solid piece, once glued up. The taper at the middle ends should be gentle or can be omitted altogether. All of the strength will come from gluing the lapped surfaces. The placement of the lapped section doesn't have to be at the center of the stile, if it is less noticeable nearer one of the ends. Other fasteners like short screws (probably not needed) can be used because they will be hidden by the two thin pieces that will be applied over the stile from the front and back. You can shape the ends of the latter pieces to be "V"'s if you like to blend into the existing window frame or just use a butt joint. They are shown long, but need to be trimmed for the final fitting. It might add slightly to the strength of the union. You might want to temporarily tack the pieces together while creating the profile first on the stile, and then separate for installation.

Stile.jpg

Anyway, my suggestion for an easy, clean solution.

[Frank Pratt]

Frank, I think he's using a salvaged door based on context.

But he said that he has to buy the door, it's just that the single lite is a lot cheaper.

[Carl Beckett]

There's no real need to exactly match the existing profiles. Just machine a reasonably similar style with a good color match. Attach directly to the glass with automotive tape. This is a pretty standard trick for dressing up newer (cheaper) windows and commercial fitouts where no permanent changes can be made to glass.

The handles of my shower (glass) door are just double sticky taped on. Make the piece the way you want it to look with whatever edging you can. Match the finish. File or cope the ends to fit snug at the joint, and double tape it down.

[Mel Fulks]

Agree with Jim. You definatly want each piece to fit the existing wood moulding close enough that someone pushing the new muntin won't break the glass. By law the glass is tempered or laminated. But it can be broken, and someone would
have to pay to replace it.

[johnny means]

Agree with Jim. You definatly want each piece to fit the existing wood moulding close enough that someone pushing the new muntin won't break the glass. By law the glass is tempered or laminated. But it can be broken, and someone would
have to pay to replace it.

Who pushes on a muntin?