How to Build a Door With a Plexiglass Window

The design of a door is as personal a choice as the curtains over the windows or the color on the walls. Designing a door takes consideration of facts, such as where the door will hang, the security, aesthetics and the price of the materials. An oak door made with a plexiglass window is fairly cheap and sturdy enough to withstand weather and physical damage. The plexiglass appears as clear as glass without the fear of shattering.

Two 2-by-5-inch oak boards, 36 inches long
Two 2-by-5-inch oak boards, 80 inches long
Three 2-by-3 1/4-inch oak boards, 27 inches long
Three 2-by-11-inch oak boards, 27 inches long
27-by-30-inch pane of plexiglass
Planer
Tape measure
Pencil
Cordless drill
1/4-inch boring bit
Table saw
Dado blade
20 1-inch dowels
Wood glue
Long clamps
Lockset hole saw with pilot bit

Instructions

- 1
  Run two 36-inch long, 2-by-5-inch oak boards (rails), two 80-inch long, 2-by-5-inch oak boards (stiles), three 27-inch long, 2-by-3 1/4-inch oak boards (mullions) and three 27-inch long, 2-by-11-inch oak boards (panels) through a planer set at 1-3/4 inches.
- 2
  Mark two 1/4-inch diameter circles centered 1 inch apart on the ends of each rail and each mullion.
- 3
  Drill a 1/4-inch hole into each circle using a 1/4-inch boring bit and a cordless drill. These holes will house 1/2-inch dowels.
- 4
  Set the table saw dado blade to 1/2-inch depth.
- 5
  Cut matching tongue and groove joints into the oak boards. Cut a groove into one length-wise edge of the rails and stiles. Cut a tongue into each end of the two rails. The tongues will encompass the two dowel holes.
- 6
  Cut a groove into both length-wise edges of the mullions and tongues into each end of all three mullions. The tongue will surround the dowel holes.
- 7
  Cut a tongue into all four edges of each of the three panels.
- 8
  Drip wood glue into the dowel holes on the ends one of the rails. Insert dowels into the holes.
- 9
  Insert the dowels and tongue of each end of the rail into the groove in the two stiles. Set the rail flush with the bottom of the stiles. Clamp the wood together and allow to cure for 2 hours.
- 10
  Drip wood glue in the holes on the ends of all panels and mullions. Insert a dowel into each hole.
- 11
  Slide a panel into the grooves of the stiles and push the panel to the bottom of the door. Follow the panel with a mullion, then a panel, then a mullion, then a panel and last, a mullion. Clamp the boards together with the bottom rail and let the glue cure for 2 hours.
- 12
  Insert a 27-by-30-inch pane of plexiglass into the grooves of the stiles and the groove of the top mullion.
- 13
  Drip glue into the holes on the ends of the remaining rail. Insert dowels into the holes.
- 14
  Slide the rail into the grooves of the stiles and place the plexiglass into the groove of the rail. Clamp the final piece to the door and let the glue cure for 2 hours.
- 15
  Drill a hole in the stile chosen for the doorknob using a lockset hole saw with a pilot bit.

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