Building Doors for Shop Loft Storage Area

[RTR]

I'm about to start building some hinged doors for my little "attic" area in my shop and want them to hinge upwards to the ceiling and have a hook to hold them open, so they aren't in the way when accessing the storage area. The plan is to store empty guitar cases and larger seldom used items up there. I have some corrugated metal (tin) that I'm going to use for the doors (vertical part) and for the faux roof below it.

I really am not good at woodworking stuff so I'm looking for suggestions on how I need to make these "doors" so they will hinge properly with the tin screwed to them.

(1) I really want the tin to be as far to the top and bottom so any noticeable gap is minimized. How would I accomplish this with it being hinged? Will the tin hit the top of the ceiling and bind up??

(2) The door closest to the garage door is going to have to clear the light fixture to open effectively. How would I accomplish this? Would I simply make it with a hinge at the top, then put a hinge a little farther down so it will bend around the light? If so, how do I accomplish this to keep from having a noticeable gap?

(3) The pitch of the faux roof should be the same on both sides of the wall, however on the short side (near the office door) is shorter on the stringers so it would keep it a little higher up in the doorway. How do I sheet this corner with tin so everything matches up and doesn't look wonky?

Hope all of this makes sense. Surely the pictures will help too. An example of what I'm wanting to do is pictured first. The difference is that I'm using tin on the roof too and will have the upper flat sheeted portion hinged upwards for storage.

 

[Vito]

What you are attempting to do isn't that difficult. I suggest using a piece of cardboard as a template and figure it out from there. Doors will have to be inset in order to make the top hinges work. At the light area will need hinges on the top and side that folds to clear the light.

Hope this helps

Vito

 

[RTR]

What you are attempting to do isn't that difficult. I suggest using a piece of cardboard as a template and figure it out from there. Doors will have to be inset in order to make the top hinges work. At the light area will need hinges on the top and side that folds to clear the light.

Hope this helps

Vito

Can you elaborate? Not sure why I would put a hinge on the side. I can make a cardboard cutout to try in the different areas. The hinge type and mount is what I'm most concerned with.

 

[Vito]

Google different hinge types to see which one fits your needs. They have all different kind . Didn't you say the door had to fold to clear the light?

Vito

 

[da.bees]

Measure twice and cut once.

 

[a49deere]

I'm about to start building some hinged doors for my little "attic" area in my shop and want them to hinge upwards to the ceiling and have a hook to hold them open, so they aren't in the way when accessing the storage area. The plan is to store empty guitar cases and larger seldom used items up there. I have some corrugated metal (tin) that I'm going to use for the doors (vertical part) and for the faux roof below it.

I really am not good at woodworking stuff so I'm looking for suggestions on how I need to make these "doors" so they will hinge properly with the tin screwed to them.

(1) I really want the tin to be as far to the top and bottom so any noticeable gap is minimized. How would I accomplish this with it being hinged? Will the tin hit the top of the ceiling and bind up??

(2) The door closest to the garage door is going to have to clear the light fixture to open effectively. How would I accomplish this? Would I simply make it with a hinge at the top, then put a hinge a little farther down so it will bend around the light? If so, how do I accomplish this to keep from having a noticeable gap?

(3) The pitch of the faux roof should be the same on both sides of the wall, however on the short side (near the office door) is shorter on the stringers so it would keep it a little higher up in the doorway. How do I sheet this corner with tin so everything matches up and doesn't look wonky?

Hope all of this makes sense. Surely the pictures will help too. An example of what I'm wanting to do is pictured first. The difference is that I'm using tin on the roof too and will have the upper flat sheeted portion hinged upwards for storage.

View attachment 157481

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What the heck am i looking at?

 

[paul]

As it’s indoor and doesn’t have to deal with the weather or shedding rain and such, should be pretty easy.

This is one of those things I could do, but can’t easily explain in words.

Are you wanting it to swing outwards and upwards into the room, not back into the attic right?

The pictures make that attic area look very thin, hopefully there is more there than what the camera makes it look like.

Paul

 

[RTR]

Google different hinge types to see which one fits your needs. They have all different kind . Didn't you say the door had to fold to clear the light?

Vito

Yes, if not it would be pointed downward when opened thus not allowing anything to slide in and out of storage. I want to open them upwards towards the ceiling and hook them open to stay in place.

 

[RTR]

As it’s indoor and doesn’t have to deal with the weather or shedding rain and such, should be pretty easy.

This is one of those things I could do, but can’t easily explain in words.

Are you wanting it to swing outwards and upwards into the room, not back into the attic right?

The pictures make that attic area look very thin, hopefully there is more there than what the camera makes it look like.

Paul

There isn't a ton of room in the attic but enough to store 6-8 guitar cases plugs some other stuff. That room that is below the attic extends on out past the interior wall of the shop. Yes, you are correct in the direction I want them to swing out and open.

 

[joeysmith]

Build your wood frame an put the hinges on the outside an the tin on the inside

 

[RTR]

Build your wood frame an put the hinges on the outside an the tin on the inside

I see what you mean but when the tin is screwed to the frame and extends past the frame to cover to the ceiling, won't the tin keep it from opening? I don't want a 2 inch (or so) gap between those doors and the cieling.

 

[RTR]

What the heck am i looking at?

My shop. The room with the wood paneling is my office/hang out (the outside of it).

 

[MM-TX]

I know you have a picture in your mind's eye but with tin and old barn wood there is a lot of leeway with fit and finish and still look good and many ways to do what you want.

This is a window my grandad had on his shop that I kept when I rebuilt his shop. The shop has 3/4 plywood & tar paper under the exterior boards. I didn't have enough of his original shop so I used what I had. The plywood let me use split and damaged boards often shorter than optimum.

The boards are 1`x8 shiplap from the shop, old weathered 1x6 fence I cut with a shiplap profile so they would lap nice, some old 1x12 porch floorboards and old deckboards for the trim.

The frame for the window is just flat 1x4s. He used a piece of tin to join the corners on the backside of the frame and the tin holds the corner together on the front.

The hinges hanging the window are just door hinges. The drawing just shows a couple of ways to use them.

In your case since you have that light to clear a 1x4 or 1x6 would give the door clearance to pull up close to the ceiling out of the way. If you don't want barnwood showing above the doors just clad it with tin. You aren't going to be able to open the doors and have them touch the celing with hinges you can buy.

On the old shop many places granpa just bent tin along the corrugation to make corners and ridge cap.

On your inside roof I would have continued the purlins so they died into each other. Cut your tin making a hip. With the different length roof they are not going to meet at a` point. Just cover the hip splice with ridge cap or homemade ridge cap like grandpa did and give it a little round or 45 where it meets the short roof.

 

[joeysmith]

I see what you mean but when the tin is screwed to the frame and extends past the frame to cover to the ceiling, won't the tin keep it from opening? I don't want a 2 inch (or so) gap between those doors and the cieling.

In my mind the frame would cover to the ceiling

The tin would be on the backside as you looked at it when the door is down.

Hinges would screw to the frame an the ceiling so would be exposed when the door is closed/down

 

[RTR]

In my mind the frame would cover to the ceiling

The tin would be on the backside as you looked at it when the door is down.

Hinges would screw to the frame an the ceiling so would be exposed when the door is closed/down

Correct me if I am wrong, but wouldn't you see the door frame if the tin was on the backside? More like a tin insert? I'm wanting it to appear like a tin wall but have it hinge upwards to open and reveal storage.

 

[joeysmith]

Correct me if I am wrong, but wouldn't you see the door frame if the tin was on the backside? More like a tin insert? I'm wanting it to appear like a tin wall but have it hinge upwards to open and reveal storage.

Yea the frame would be seen

 

[lodoc]

Suggest keep the doors as lightweight as possible. You're going to need to be able to lift and hook them - maybe standing on a ladder. 'Mouse trap' doors like this are the most dangerous. Consider a pulley / counterweight system rather than lifting and hooking