There comes a time when you feel you need to renovate your home and do it yourself. A sliding door would be a good starter project. It has the advantage of being neat and space saving as opposed to traditional doors which takes extra space when opening or closing. When equipped with a screen, you can enjoy the breeze without worrying about intruding insects.
You can build a sliding screen door yourself with the easy to follow steps below.
Materials and tools
* Miter saw
* Hammer and chisel
* Screw gun
* Table saw
* Brad nailer and nails
* Drill and various-sized bits
* Cedar wood, 2 pcs sized 8’ x 6” x 1” and one pc 3’ x 8” x 1”
* 6 feet screen material
* Staple gun and ¼” staples
* Two 10’ pcs of screen stop (small trim)
* 3” hinges
* Wood glue
* Screen door latch
Instructions
Step 1.
Start by building the frame of the door. Cut the wood to 5-1/2” to form the stiles (vertical) and top rail (horizontal). Cut the bottom kick rail to 8” wood to 7-1/2”.
Step 2.
Fit the table saw with the tongue and groove bit to attach the stiles and rails. Cut deep ridges in the stiles and grooves into the rails.
Step 3.
Create a space with which to attach the screen by cutting a 5/8” rabbet on the inside of each piece.
Step 4.
Fasten the frame with dowels and glue. Clap tightly and allow to dry.
Step 5.
You can choose to paint or stain the frame and the screen stop. Make sure to cover the inside of the groove. Let the paint dry.
Step 6.
Staple the screen material. Be sure to stretch the screen material tightly when installing. This will make the end result look more polished.
Step 7.
Miter cut the trim to your measurement so it fits the rabbet cut. Cover the staples. Attach the trim with the use of a brad nailer.
Step 8.
Attach the hinges and hang and install. To install the hardware, measure 6” from either end of the door’s bottom to attach the rolling casters.
Step 9.
Set 1” circle bracket at the top of the door frame. Place it at 6” from either side of the door. Mount the handle at wherever you feel is a comfortable height and secure it with screws.
Step 10.
Last thing to do is to hang the door. Having a buddy to help you will make the work easy. First is to run a galvanized pipe through the circle brackets. Hold the pipe high then measure from the bottom of the center of the galvanized pipe. This gives you the right height to attach the round base plates to the wall.
Step 11.
When one end of the pipe is threaded and secured, thread the 90-degree elbow next. Assemble the base plate to the elbow. Fix the second base plate to the wall.
Step 12.
If you plan to use a molding, cut an additional square of wood for your base plate. This will give distance between the pipe and the wall and allow the door to slide properly clear of the molding. Painting the wood the same color as the wall makes it disappear.
Sliding doors are gaining popularity. They not only give you privacy but give more beauty to your home. Using cedar wood for your sliding door gives that added natural look. Adding something beautiful and functional to your home does not have to be expensive. Building the cedar sliding screen door yourself is surprisingly inexpensive.
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