I would like to make a screen door for the house. Any construction links or recommendations? Wood selection?
Not many plans out there. Probably easy enough to draw up I guess.
(We have a craftsman style house)
PS I’ll check the archives…sorry I haven’t done that yet.
Thanks
Replies
Depending on what part of the country you're in, I'd recommend Douglas Fir as the first choice. Here in the South, I made mine from clear Spruce, clear pine is OK too. I used pegged bridle joints in the corners & biscuits for the 'little pieces'. Do a drive-by with a camera & find a door the wife likes, take a picture & go to it. If the yard will let you paw through the boards, try to pick out quarter-sawn lumber, it usually doesn't twist or warp. HD & Lowe's has those cute scrollwork corner pieces if that suits your fancy, I didn't bother making my own.
The screen can be stuffed into a groove around the door, I left mine flat and used screen molding to hold it in place. (yep, I was in a hurry)
Good idea. I like the pegged bridle joints too.
What do you mean about leaving the screen molding flat? What do you wedge it in the grove with?
I didn't make a groove, just laid the screen on the door, put the molding down to hold it, then stretched it & clamped it while I put the molding down the sides and bottom, then trimmed it off at the bottom. I used fiberglass mesh screen, metal screen only lasts about a year or two in Alabama.
Go to breaktime for house type stuff. Mahogany is a good choice as well as teak.
Hi Rick
Sorry, I am new here. What is Breaktime?
thanks
There should be a link to the Breaktime forum at the top of this page in the orange block.
Charles M
Freud America, Inc.
Breaktime is the forum for Fine Homebuilding. Knots is furniture oriented. Like Charles said look up at the top of the page for the Breaktime link.
Thanks...sorry about that.
No need to feel bad. There's a certain amount of crossover between the two, and I for one am glad you posted here. It helped put the screen door thing back on my radar! We need one badly, and there's a few months of cold weather left for building time, LOL.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Here's a pair of screen doors I made out of clear cypress (I live near Orlando, FL). The joints are all mortise and tenon except for the corners which are set with biscuits. I used epoxy for glue because it's totally waterproof and seals the end grain and rails at the bottom. The design is original to go with my custom house, but it is based on the need to keep the doors from racking away from the hinges. If your wife likes the design, I'll send you more details via email.
I like that door a lot. Why don't you write out those details here, so we can all have a look?Thanks.********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
OK, but it's only a screen door and not "fine woodworking". Here goes:Screen Door Dimensions and Materials:
All material straight grain clear cypress 5/4 thick, planed to 1 1/8 final thickness and 2 1/2 wide.
All edges are rounded over with 1/8 router bit (using a table-mounted router).
Rail and stile joints are mortice and tenon and glued with epoxy (West System).
Trim pieces are biscuit jointed to rails and stiles.
Door is 78 1/4 H X 34 W (outside dimensions).
Top of center rail is 35 1/2 up from bottom of lower rail (or 33 inches up from bottom of door).
Corner trim at top is11 wide X 8 1/2 high; center is 1 inch thick.
Lower brace is 1 1/4 thick at center (grain runs corner-to-corner).
Corner fillet at bottom has 4-inch radius.
Fiberglass screen is on the outside and stapled into a 3/4 rabbet with a 1/4 -inch thick trim strip stapled over it (round over edges).
Handle is made from 1 1/4 wide cypress, rounded over 1/2 inch, mounted to door with 1-inch dowels. I don't have a CAD program or working drawings, so you'll have to look at photos. . .
Nice of you to provide the info --- thanks. Mainly, I was curious to know what kind of joinery you used.********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
Very nice! Thanks very much!
OK, thanks for the details and the photos ....I now have something else to do....besides the things I should be doing.....hahahahahaaBTW...your..." OK, but it's only a screen door and not "fine woodworking"......IS fww for me............especially those curves
Edited 3/4/2006 2:03 pm by maddog3
I forgot to add that the curves are done after the frame is made. I put a piece of cardboard behind the frame and sketched in the curved pieces including the areas where they joined the frame, then cut out the cardboard curves with a razor knife. When I was OK with the look of the curves, I used them as a template. That is, I put them on top of the workpieces and traced the shapes onto the wood (watching which way the grain oriented), then cut along the lines on my bandsaw. You could use a handheld saber saw. The final step was to roundover the edges that wouldn't be joined to the frame and marked and cut the biscuit slots. Give it a try. All you can lose is some lumber and you won't have to tell anybody if you make a mistake!
thanks again Jimma,
now all I need is some warmer weather, and I can get goin' .....I appreciate the info about making those curves, which, in my eye is what sets your doors apart from all the other stuff that is available......Tom
OK, but it's only a screen door and not "fine woodworking". Here goes:geeee... Don't sell yourself short..
'Finewoodworking' is when it looks nice and is functional.. Or YOU like it!Just me.. Nice doors by the way...
Well, I guess I COULD have used big dovetails!
Jimma, a screen door is such a mundane appendage that is necessary and we put up with it. You on the other hand have turned them in to an elegant portal you should be proud and SWMBO should be very grateful, very nice stuff.
Like Forrestgirl. you struck a nerve. I also realize that I must replace the screen door at my new digs in TN. On my first trip after closing I realized that the top of the front screen door folded neatly and precisely in half. It seems that there is a dried out finger joint exactly in the center of the head rail. I toodle off to home dummy and find four of my door's brothers( they all had the same birth mark on one or more rails or stiles). Back home, 1/4" poplar scrap cut 14" long. gorilla glue in the joint and on the poplar. pin nail the poplar apply 4 quick clamps. dress the glue and apply cedar stain in the A.M. Add screen door to post move in list item #346.
I will look for a nice design in my 1900 sears catalog reproduction that befits a farmer's cedar ranch house with a 48' porch (with swing). Keep up the beautiful work, you inspire us. Pat
Thanks for your nice words. Actually, those finger joints in screen doors (and many other things made out of wood these days) is what inspired me to make my own. It wasn't to save money or to add another project to my backlog, but, obviously, those finger jointed crappy things are expected to be painted by the run-of-the-mill contractors and foisted on poor homeowners who don't know the difference. However, just try to find an alternative and you know good ones don't exist. If I had a house with arts-and-crafts or craftsman design, I sure as hell wouldn't put a finger-jointed screen door abomination on it. Similar problems await those who want to put crown molding or base moldings down without paint -- it can't be done these days unless you make your own or get custom millwork done -- which maybe isn't all that bad if you know the difference and can't stand junk. Most people don't seem to know the difference, I'm convinced. I give up ....
Edited 3/4/2006 10:55 pm ET by Jimma
Thank goodness we know the difference and have the skills to do better. I just add this to my list of things to get done once and nevever to look to the commercial (poor) replacement again. Pat
I thought the word general meant every kind of woodworking in general besides I think all of us enjoyed the thread on screen doors. Besides if the doors are created nice enough,define fine furniture?????Could it be we're being a bit to ummm whats the word I'm looking for??????when the only two cents that we have is to point out that someone should be in a differant place. I don't want to start any controversay this is just an observasion.
Sincerely,
Jim C
White Oak is also good for screen doors as well. Although maybe a tad heavy but very durable.
J.P.
02: I've got a screen door on my list of projects and in prep for it I bought from VonMorris the neatest little miniature mortise lock set, not made specifically for screen doors but of the right, I think, proportions. Also for this project a pair of spring return hinges; does anyone know if these "bang" the door closed too hard (they are adjustable)? VonMorris' stuff is pricey but seems very well made, is there any other maker of similar quality at lower cost?
Duke
The Bill of Rights
December 15 1791
NRA Endowment Member
LEAA Life Member
CRPA Member
I have similar hinges, mine are National......and I had trouble getting the right tension..
.I like the sound of ####wooden screen door closing.....but the tension was causing the lamps in the fixture to fail every time the door slammed closed.....its a frame house ! I think I will move the fixture off of the wall...
I don't mean to massage this topic to death, but I've used one of those piston-type closures with good results. It is very adjustable and durable. You just have to be OK with seeing it up there against the wood and it takes a pretty stout jamb to hold it. Got it at Home Depot.By the way -- the curvy stuff is not really cosmetic or style only. I was looking for a way to support the frame so it wouldn't start to sag like most screen doors eventually do. Time will tell . . .As to the choice of wood for the doors, any straight grain wood will work OK, but cypress has the added benefit of durability in the south. Other choices might be fir or mahogany (?) or even other conifer species just as long as you use epoxy or, maybe, poly glue for the joints and across the bottom of the door to prevent wicking. Is it time to move on to furniture. . . ?
Edited 3/5/2006 11:18 am ET by Jimma
MD3: My old frame house also moves without much provocation, the washer spinning even with a balanced load, some one coming up the front steps. How to get the screen door to close solidly without shaking the house? Hydraulic closers: not very aesthetic, spring hinges: hard to adjust properly, what about some sort of shock absorber on the casing? I've tried little rubber stick on feet, weather stripping, small pieces of foam rubber none of which really solve the problem and look good. Is there a good solution out there? If I was a machinist I'd build some mini-shock absorber or some such thing. The new fangled back hatch door on my SUV has a gizmo that when the door is almost closed grabs the latch and pulls it in, that would work great but might be a bit hard to incorporate or expensive but hell it shows my mind is still working away, maybe.
DukeKenneth Duke Masters
The Bill of Rights
December 15 1791
NRA Endowment Member
LEAA Life Member
CRPA Member
...." I've tried little rubber stick on feet, weather stripping, small pieces of foam rubber none of which really solve the problem and look good. ......"yeah, same here...ahahahahaa
DUKE, your SUV gizmo turned on one of my old gray cells. The spring hinges adjust to SLAM or not quite closed. Set them to as much not quite closed as you can get and give them a little help with a heavy duty pair of those kitchen cabinet hinges that close the door from 3 or 4" almost closed. I might work as a screen door isn't too heavy. Just a thought, Pat
Just tripped over a thread( 34115.6) that referenced a supplier of very unique hardware, http://www.hardwarespecialty.com , some were tension closers. All the best, Pat
There are lots of variations on doors, but the construction is fairly similar among many different styles. Here's two links, one with a storm door plan, the other has a few pages on building a traditional entry door. Either could probably serve as guide for what you want to build:
Storm door:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_improvement/home_improvement/1275581.html
Entry Door:
http://www.geocities.com/PicketFence/5276/shop/page16.html
Screen door ain't a screen door unless it bangs shut! Mine's made of white oak with biscuits holding it together and has been slamming for a dozen or so years and all the joints are still tight. Going to pull off the cheap hinges and replace with some of these brass ones in the spring or summer. I also like the sound the springs make as they creak when the door opens. Lets me know someone is about to knock.http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=2&p=41259&cat=3,41241
Thanks. like the chrome hinge with the built in sping. very nice.
thanks the popular mechanics link will be helpful
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