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Return to Table of Contents From: David Bailey Date: 09-21-06 09:18 am Subject: Building our own Door ID: 1 Message: For the cabin, I am planning fixed windows that do not open. This is for two reasons: 1. Easier to build myself 2. Easier to seal from air leaks To make up for this design, the front and back door of the cabin have been situated to take advantage of the prevailing winds that blow primarily in two directions. These specific directions are a result of sitting on a ridge top and the valleys on either side of the ridge. To increase the advantage of these directions, I wanted to make a larger door to be able to capture that air. I made the framing openning of the doors 40 inches wide. I thought that would give me more width, but once the door jam is figured in, the width will be a pretty standard 36 inches wide. The openning is 89 inches high. This will give a higher door. On top of all this, I wanted one of those doors that have a top half and bottom half that open separately. We have pets that we do not want to be wandering in and out that will not be stopped by a mere screen door. Finally, safety is a small concern. One night a neighbor stopped by unannounced after 10:00 at night while we were working on the cabin late one night. Later I found out who he was and look forward to meeting him again, but I thought that a nice HEAVY front door would make being in the cabin a bit more secure. I finished the bottom of the door last week. The edges are not even trimmed yet. I used 2x8 and 2x10s to assemble it. every piece of the outer structure of the door are planed down to 1 1/4 inches thick. That leaves a total thickness of 2 1/2 inches thick... a heavy door frame. The inset panels are nearly a full 2x thickness. There will be glass pains on the top half of the door. For additional secureity the oppening is too narrow for someone to crawl through if they break out the glass and the dead bolt will be keyed on both the inside AND the outside. Even if someone reached in through the locked door, the could not unlock it if the key is not there. The comment here would be... couldn't someone just break a window and crawl in? Working on that, too. I am designing shutters that can be closed and locked from the inside. More on that another day. Return to Table of Contents Thread: Windows and Doors - David Bailey 08-11-06 19:05 pm       Building our own Door  - David Bailey 09-21-06 09:18 am Respond to this message Here: From: Email: (optional) Subject: Add Picture (jpg only) or File (Word, Excel, PDF, Gif, PNG or text): Message:

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