screen doors in straight line douglas fir

Chris Hughes

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Mar 15, 2008
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I've had the lumber sitting around for a while to make one of my customers a set of screen doors for their six foot wide double entry door. 

They were partial to a mission style looking door so this is what I came up with.
 
Thanks guys.  The finish I use on my screen doors is usually is spar varnish.

It seems that I discovered a little cottage industry in custom made screen doors.  I originally bought my domino to build screen doors and as it turns out, it works for so many other projects but still makes screen doors easy.
 
Great design and execution, Chris!  Douglas fir looks very good in that application.  And presumably will stay straight. 

And thanks for the rides and "beverage" when we were at the April 2010 Router school!

Dave R.
 
I wanted to show a picture of the screen doors that I built before I had to sell them again.  Upon installation of these doors I discovered a fatal flaw in the entry door set.  The bottom of the rounder transom is rooted out as well as the top of the door jamb.  When I pointed this out to my customer we decided to replace the entry door as well, but when the customer selected a new door set they went with an 8' door with a transom.  The customer asked if there was a modification available for the screens but I don't think so.

Long story short, I will help sell the screen doors I made for them and build a new set to match the new 8' tall set coming.  I will also not be rebuilding the same style "mission" doors but instead match closely the same style, a single light over two panels.  I'll post those in about a month.
 
Thanks Chris and Dave, classmates of mine.  Whanna buy a door to support my terrible habit??? 

It would stink worse if it weren't so easy to build a screen door.  Literally it takes about three hours to take rough stock to finished door and about 25 dollars to have my local yard screen the door.  The hardest part is applying the spar varnish. 

I'll be posting another door I built last week but could not post due to a failure in my internet service.
 
Between my internet being down and my wife having my work camera, I could not get my last screen door photos up.

The customer was friends and neighbors to the customer that I built the "mission style" set for.  They loved loved the other set and had to have a door for themselves.  I did not want to build anything like the mission doors, at least for the same neighborhood anyhow, and the exterior door I was going to cover with a screen was very interesting.  I took both points as design guidelines and decided to copy as much of the entry door as the rules would allow.  The entry door had a cool carving of what looks to be the Campbell crest of Scottish heraldry, an arch over as the top rail, and three panels at the bottom.

Here's what I came up with...
 
A couple of yards local to me carry it.  One of the yards in roughsawn, the other in 4/4, 5/4, and 6/5 s4s.  I'm lucky I guess, we had a bunch of very old, big furniture companies in the region.
 
Very Nice doors Chris. I've been trying to figure out what kind of screen door to make for our place. Screens like yours won't work. The dog will just plow right through. Went to an estate sale this last weekend and saw this one. Think I might make a copy.
Markus
 
That top hinge is all sorts of tweaked.

I think a 1/4" thick board over the screening groove would look real nice too.

They do look nice though, like the VG Fir as well.
 
Warner,

Yeah I'm looking for a little better hinge for this operation.  The other problem I'm running into is that the brick moulding on these installs are all wacked.  Look at all the margins around the doors.  I build the doors flat and square but sometimes I'm putting to screen doors in opening not square, straight, or at times in the same plain.

I'm looking for a hinge kind of like Anderson's exterior door hinge.  It has adjustability in three plains, sort of like a euro cup hinge.  If I could mortise in a hinge out of sight but still have the ability to move the door inside of the opening without changing the placement of the hinge I would be golden.

The current operation is to mount the hinge to the door square to the top and bottom, place the door into the opening with shims to center and make clearances, then screw the hinges to the brick moulding.  At times I have had to move hinges around to make up the clearances. 

Thanks for pointing out your observations, it helps to see through other perspectives at time.  I look at margins when I look at doors first and listen to how they shut second. 
 
I know exactley what you mean about the brick moulding, been there done that.

I had to flatten out the area on the trim so the hinge would lay flat on the few I have done.

You could also use a spring on the inside and some regular decorative wrought iron hinges then.

 
Holzhacker,

I like the doors you picked out.  The only thing I would change is the top panel to make it as clear as possible.   BTW, they make an expanded metal mesh that on my garage/service doors I place so the kids and dogs can't get at the screen, at least from one side.  I'll post a picture, I have to go to one of my customers house tomorrow that has that style door, so I'll take a photo of it.

My base door is the "service" door which is a two panel door with two separate screens.  The thought being the bottom screen with get wrecked and so replaced sooner than the top.
 
Hey Chris, if you don't mind sharing, what are you asking for a door, stick to install? Are they all quotes on T+M plus PLO, or SWAG, or are they all over the map? This would be a nice side gig for me, summer's coming! [big grin]
 
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