building carriage doors

[tech]

well it time for me to build the doors fro my 2-bay. i have 2 9x8 openings that i want to put carriage doors with no windows into. i'm going to need to insulate them really well because i live in nh. i'm thinking i will build the frame from steel and then cover the front with hardiboard t-111, and then trim the edges with pine.

does anyone have any pics or advice before i get into this project?

 

[PAToyota]

Ron in SC is having some built for his project. Search for his posts the past couple months for details.

 

[Kong]

Why carriage doors? just curious.

Kong

 

[howlingmad]

I built some about the same size that swing open a few years ago and hate them. Here in Mass, we get enough snow that I have to shovel out a 12x5 area before I can open them.

 

[birdmayon]

Hey Tech, I know this is off topic but I just noticed you're from Keene. I grew up in chesterfield and went to KHS, my folks still live in the area. Small world.

 

[tech]

birdmayon- i'm young. i graduated khs in 2003. when were you there?


howlingmad-how did you frame yours? other than the snow thing, how do you like the doors?

 

[howlingmad]

Tech,
I replaced an aging 8x7 them to fit my 1ton inside an aging barn. It was meant to be a short term fix anyway, but it's lasted a while. The overall design is more aircraft style with a small frame and tight skin. The frame is 2x3 with a beadboard plywood and luan inside. I didn't have a lot of wall to work with so I built extra supports near the hinges to stabilize the short walls with the adjacent walls. There are four hinges per side, the biggest size hinge I could find.
The first picture is the doors being built.

 

[howlingmad]

Here is a detail of the inside of the doors before insulation and the locking mechanism. It's aluminum rod with a modified cam offset stolen from some other project. Can't remember what these were originally for.

 

[howlingmad]

Here is the finished inside view. I really like the transom window. Also, you can see the inner supports here.

 

[howlingmad]

To answer your question on how I like them, there are several things I would do differently:
-Do or Don't. In between *****. I should have dug up the 4"x6" PT foundation of the door and poured a concrete footing an apron. The frost pinches the doors so badly that you have to push them hard it starts to twist the doors.
-The offset closure strips work very well to seal the door, but it's a bit of a pain and takes two hands to close.
-Windows are well worth it for the light.
-I should have built a small roof above the doors to keep the weather out. The T111 drains water on top of the doors and when it's windy it drips inside. A small roof would have fixed this.

Overall it was a lot of work for a barn I knew I was going to stuff in a dumpster, but I didn't have much choice at the time and they've worked well.

I would still prefer an overhead door, but hate the look of most of them and it wasn't an option for me due to height. Also, in my new barn, I have sliding doors and I'm not entirely happy with how the frost effects the apron pinching these doors as well.

More than you wanted to know I'm sure.

Good luck.

 

[tech]

very nice work almost looks to nice for a temp. fix. i love the door latch setup, i may steal that. are the metal "pipes" on the inside of the doors for holding them open? if your foundation was good, do you think that the wood framing would stand up over time? what did you use to insulate them?

 

[howlingmad]

Yes on the pipes (conduit), simple but effective since it's dirt outside. I planted a couple of small PVC pipes in the ground to receive them.

If the barn was solid, I would keep the design, but still hate the snow part. The idea was not overbuild the frame, but rather use a tight skin on both sides. It's held up well considering what it's been through.

It's still lipstick on a pig though.

I think I remember that the offset cams came from a garage door lock. The type that spans the door.

 

[birdmayon]

birdmayon- i'm young. i graduated khs in 2003. when were you there?

Tech, I graduated in 94. Seems so long ago. I'm amazed everytime I come back to Keene, there is alwasy something changing.

Good luck with your doors!

 

[NH Mini Driver]

I graduated KHS in 92....small world.