How to Build a Door for an Outbuilding

Board and Batten Door

• 1

  Assemble enough 1-by-5-inch boards to fill the width of your doorway. For lap joints subtract 1/2 inch from the width of each board. Add 1-by-4 or 1-by-3-inch boards to make up the difference in width if necessary; just don't use them on the ends. Trim board lengths to the height of the doorway.

• 2

  Cut 1/2-inch rabbets along the edges of each 1-by-5-inch board with a router to form the half-lap joints between the boards. Rabbet only one side of the boards that will form the sides of the door.

• 3

  Lay the boards together and trim any lap joints that do not snug together. Separate the boards and lay a thin bead of construction adhesive in the center of each joint. Push the boards together.

• 4

  Cut at least two 1-by-4-inch battens no more than 3 inches shorter than the width of your door. Attach them with exterior-grade screws, equidistant from each edge and no more than 6 inches from the top edge of the door. Add a middle brace if necessary for a large or roughly used door.

• 5

  Lay a 1-by-4-inch board on a diagonal between battens to form a “Z”-shaped brace. Mark and cut the top and bottom of the brace so it fits snugly between the two battens. Attach the braces to the boards, with the base on the jamb side, with exterior-grade screws.

Simple Framed Door

• 6

  Measure the outbuilding door opening and cut two pieces of plywood or MDF that, combined, measure as wide as, but 1/2 inch shorter than the opening. These will provide the bases for your double doors.

• 7

  Cut four stiles -- the vertical bracing for the doors -- the same length as the bases. Cut six rails -- the cross pieces of the frame -- 8 inches shorter than the width of each frame.

• 8

  Assemble framing on the plywood bases cut in step 1, one stile along each long edge and a rail along the top and bottom edges between them. Trim the rail ends if necessary so each frame fits its plywood base exactly. Trim the third rail, if necessary, and place it between the two stiles in the middle of the door. Once fitted, glue the frame pieces to the plywood bases with construction adhesive and tack them with a few staples or nails to hold them in place.

• 9

  Turn the doors over and attach the base to the frame with 1-inch galvanized screws. Place screws at each end of rail or stile and at intervals of approximately 8 inches along each framing piece.

• 10

  Sand the edges of the frame before staining or painting. Sand the corners on the top edges of the rails, too, which will encourage draining.