Basement door, how would you build it?

[Butch(OH)]

The basement at our old farm house is a step above the old dirt floor old root cellar but a far piece from finished living space. We have an inside entrance plus the old type outside entrance with steel double doors that lay almost flat with steps. At the bottom of the outside entrance is an door that is like a barn door and it needs to come out and be replaced with something more weather tight as we keep some heat down there. The issue is the opening is very wide and short, a bit less than 6 foot. I Can't find a door wide enough that can be cut that short. Wife doesn't want the opening framed narrower either so it looks like I will be building it from scratch. I can build barn doors but not sure how do make this one? Thanks for any advise. I have wood working tools but not much experience using them.

 

[Butch(OH)]

Guess I should have added that this is a swinging door.

 

[Tom Massachusetts]

I build a frame out of 1x4 then put a piece of 1/4 plywood on 1 side then glue 1" foam on the inside then cover the outside with 1/4 ply. the foam glued to the center give a sturdy door and insulated. I have made many of them.

 

[D beatty]

Why not put in a double door if your wife wants opening left alone. That way you only use one door and if you need it the other can be opened. The outside doors that slope are called bilco doors.

 

[Stephen Newell]

The door wouldn't be mich more difficult than a cabinet door. You could make it out of common 2x stock. If it gets wet occasioanny you might use pressure treated but allow it to dry for a month or so first. Either glue together or use a 2x12 for the bottom rail. Then use 2x6's for the lock and top rails. Cut the rails 1 1/2" longer than you want the space between the stiles and put 1/2" thick by 3/4" long tenons on both ends. Then run a 1/2" wide dado slightly more than 3/4" deep down the edge of the stiles, the top of the bottom rail, the bottom of the top rail and both edges of the lock rail. Layout the spacing where the lock rail is centered about 3' from the bottom of the door and dry fit the door parts. From there measure the width and height of the openings and cut some 1/2" plywood 1 7/16" both width and height larger than the measurements you have. The plywood go ahead and sand it and prep it for finishing before you use it as it will be a lot harder after the door is put together.

While you have it dry fitted together mark lines on the rails where dowels are to be put on the rails and stiles so they will be in perfect alignment. Then use a doweling jig with a 1/2" bit and drill holes 2" deep into the rails and stiles. If you have a brad point drill bit that would work better. Then cut some 4" dowels and the door is ready to assemble. Use an exterior glue such as titebond III but don't use something like gorilla glue. That will make a mess of everything. Once the door is dry it should be ready to finish. If you want a nicer look you could put molding around the parameter of the panels. The shaker look seems to be what is in style now though.

If you have a router and a template guide you might make a jig for mortising the hinges. Cut a piece of plywood long enough to layout all three hinges on one template. It's easy to get one hinge a little this way and another a little the other way but if you make a router template for all of them it would be more accurate.

 

[4wdtom]

Make a door or doors to fit. Use plywood for an inner and outer panel spaced apart 1 1/2" or 2" with spacers you cut and fill door with insulation board. Find weather stripping to seal whatever you build. Latches and hinges can be whatever you want, gate or barn/shed hardware. A door made this way can be made to fit any opening size you have and will be stable and strong. Plywood thickness is up to you but unless you are looking for extra strength it could be as thin as 1/4 or 3/8 in. Rip the spacers out of 2 by stock to whatever thickness you decide on. Depending on the latches and hinges you may want an extra "filler" piece in the door where they will screw or bolt on.

 

[Mike M]

If you make from wood start off with treated wood and treated plywood. Maybe it will last a few years this way ?

 

[Roger Tomfohrde]

X 2

 

[Adirondack case guy]

I have built several sets of odd dimension cellar doors for myself and customers when I was contracting. I build a 2x4 frame with mitered corners and 3/4x3/4" rabbits cut into the inside of the frames. to fit the opening, either one single swing door or 2 double swing doors as in pics. I glue and nail in 1x6 tongue and grove boards into the rabbits. In between the inside and outside layers of of T&G I glue in 2" rigid Styrofoam. You can use your choice of hinges. and locking hardware. In the double doors I use a sliding dead bolt on top and bottom of one door, and a twist handle barn door latch for the side that I frequently walk thru. The doors have wood flanges fastened to the inside with weatherstripping to seal them. Add windows of your liking if you want.

I can make you a quick sketch if you don't follow my description. Loren

 

[flembo]

I built this door for the sugar house I am building, the door is 36" wide and 80" high. you could build 2 like this to fill your space. I built it out of rough cut Hemlock to match the sugar house.

 

[flembo]

I meant to post both sides of the door this is the front side the first picture is the back side that will be inside the building and swing out..

 

[Mule Meat]

[b:a0f9d216ac]Adirondack case guy[/b:a0f9d216ac].. If you take your door and install it at a 25 to 45 angle. Will it be weather proof? Will rain water or snow melt flow down to the threshold and run under the door or rot it out?


Think the OP will have a hard time finding a weather proof door suited for a living space that will meet code and do what his wife wants.

A Bilco door like [b:a0f9d216ac]D Beatty[/b:a0f9d216ac] shows may come close. The question is. Will it meet code for a living space without installing a standard door at the bottom and can door knobs and deadbolts be used on them?

 

[M-MAN]

I built my basement doors from 2x4's with the grooved exterior plywood sheeting inside and out. So far they have been there 40 years with nothing applied to either side. They are light grey now.

 

[sms]

Besides building your own, exterior door companies will make doors for your needs. I have ordered short basement doors for customers.

 

[C.Amick]

I would use three layers the AdvanTech flooring screwed together with tar paper in between. If you don't like the look of it on the exterior, substitute a layer of pressure treated tongue and groove 1-inch pine lumber.
AdvanTech Flooring

 

[David G]

I would buy a pre made poly one.

 

[Adirondack case guy]

I guess I am not following your post. These doors are the entrance for my walk-in in cellar. I have 4
tractors that live in half of the cellar and the other half is a wood working shop.

When bilco doors and steps are needed to enter a cellar, a door as I described will work nicely to seal
off the outside from the inside.
PS there is a gutter drain just outside my doors.-----Loren

 

[Butch(OH)]

Thanks for all the great suggestions, I will post an update when I get it built.

I see that I confused some with my wording. The outside double door unit is fine, this is for the door the bottom of the steps.

 

[Dick L]

I would also build the door in panels. You can cut off the insulated poly doors both top and bottom. When Dixie wanted a matching door to the storage room in her she shed I found ow to at youtube. It can be done in minutes. I figured out a way to use a full sized door that matched the front door. When I was looking at poly doors I could cut both top and bottom I found different shapes of fake panels that would look good cut at both ends and look better than the one in the video.
Here