Building a door from scratch... Am I crazy?

linus · Post by **linus** » Wed Jun 16, 2004 12:40 pm

I read the sticky about installing doors. It was excellent. Great plans for modifying a hollow core door.

I will be using two doors on my iso booth. Am I crazy to build the doors from scratch myself?

I am thinking of using 2x4's (lying the thin way) as the perimeter with 1" 703 inside (leaving .5" of airspace) with 5/8" plywood and 5/8" MDF layers on either side. I could also add drywall if that would improve the results.

So will this work?

Of course I'll follow all the guidelines about the installation and sealing the gaps (another post on that...)

knightfly · Post by **knightfly** » Wed Jun 16, 2004 3:57 pm

Sure, it'll work if you're careful - main thing about buying a prehung door is time and fit - if you use 2x4's (1-1/2" air gap effective) and put a layer of 5/8 ply and a layer of 5/8 MDf on each side, you would end up with a door that's around STC 46-48 - however, that's not including the frame or seals, which will do everything they can to ruin it for you. If you put one more (different) layer on ONE side only, that would help the door's performance; but again, at that point you'll be more worried about good seals and not causing flanking with your hardware... Steve

dymaxian · Post by **dymaxian** » Wed Jun 16, 2004 11:47 pm

Your idea sounds great, but as Steve said, pay close attention to the seals. If you're installing anything heavier than a hollow-core door, the seals are going to be the weakest point. I've seen guys build a 2x4 frame for a door (NOT lying the thin way) and laminate each side with 3 or 4 layers of drywall- and then not worry about the seals!

Oh, well. You can't see it from my studio...

mcguin · Post by **mcguin** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 9:42 am

hi all
I just finished hanging 5 doors that I made up - started with 1 3/4 solid core exterior door (flake core), 1/8 sheet lead (Vulcan Lead) on one side and a layer of 3/4 MDF on both sides - these doors are hanging on full 5/4 hardwood jambs with the adjustable jam screws on 5 heavy-duty stainless, ball bearing hinges. Tomorrow will be installing the seals - full workup from Steve at ZERO International - all adjustable on the preimeter and including atomatic drop down seal for the bottom - HEAVY MoFo's but should do the job!! One of the doors has double glass (laminated 13/16 and 17/16).

Dan

knightfly · Post by **knightfly** » Fri Jun 18, 2004 12:34 am

Cool, Dan - let us know how they work out, OK?

(Boy, I bet that's one door you REALLY don't want to let "hit you in the ass")

Steve

z60611 · Post by **z60611** » Fri Jun 18, 2004 9:11 am

mcguin

Zero seals are often behind the door. The airgap around the door can resonate a bit. Thus the closer the door to the frame the better. If you have the room, you can glue felt around the door's edge to absorb some of the gap resonance. (I believe Eric D wrote about this somewhere.)
Alternatively some sort of overlaping cover might work too, as would V slip seals in the air gap.

Of course you may be much better at building doors than I am, and your gaps may be very tight!

(I've copied your door description to my notepad file of nifty door descriptions)

What did you use for handles, door closers ?

mcguin · Post by **mcguin** » Fri Jun 18, 2004 10:10 am

z60611

The doors have between 1/16 and 1/8 space between the door and jams - I have beveled the leading edge of the doors to help with the clearance of the long dimension of the door (the diagonal dimension when opening). The tracking/control room side of the doors is covered with auralex foam (1" pyramid) - the other side is covered with a thick velour type material that wraps around from the face over the sides, tops and bottoms and runs into the other face side of the door - on this side (the seal side) I have screwed 1 inch strips of 1/8th aluminum to cover the edge of the fabric and to make for a more positive contact with the adjustable Zero seals. I also have some brass spring strip from Zero to mount on the jam/door contact edge for additional sealing.

When this project is completly done and all of the issues dealt with, i will put together a detaled essay including costs, materials, and methods. I will gladly make this avalable to any interested parties.

later
dan

goldstar · Post by **goldstar** » Fri Jun 18, 2004 12:23 pm

I think the only way this would make sense is if you already have the material at hand and really will save lots of money. I think you'd get a better door (ie flatter and closer to square) starting with a 1 3/4" solid door slab and adding additional layers if you want it thicker. 2x4 framing lumber is not going to be stable (moisture-wise, hence it could shrink as it dries out).

Good luck if you do try it.

Frank

linus · Post by **linus** » Wed Jun 30, 2004 1:19 pm

I appreciate the feedback people have given me. I take your advice seriously, so seriously that I scrapped the idea of building doors from scratch and managed to score some real doors. One is a solid core (mdf core really) and one is a hollow core door. I'll be beefing them both up with an additional later of 3/4" plywood on one side and 3/4" mdf on the other (what I have on hand) and take care when installing them to minimize any gaps and get an airtight seal.

Thanks again.