Build a Shed Door That Will Not Fall Down

The shed door rarely gets as much attention as would the roof and the foundation get, most of the time people would just purchase a pre fabricated door, measure it and install it and think that the job is done. But since the shed door is the single part of the shed that gets the most action, it’s highly likely that it would be the first one to give in. And with storage sheds, the door can vary a whole lot in terms of size and the way it opens. Depending on what you plan to keep inside your shed, you may either need a small sized door or one where a small garden tractor can pass through.


Most storage sheds though are used for keeping large tools like a wheel barrow or a grass cutter, so it is inevitable that one day it may either break off its hinges or develop a big hole because of the occasional banging and hitting of your equipment. So it is advisable to have a sizeable shed door where you can easily bring in or take out your equipment. And to ensure that your door will be able to handle wear and tear you have two options when building it, the ledged door and the ledged embraced door.

The first thing that you need to do is to ensure that you have all the tools that you will need. The tape measure is your best friend. It is important that your door fits like a glove on its frame. Take into account the small space that your hinges will occupy. You don’t want a shed door that is not leveled. The top half may either be hitting the frame and there’s a gap on the lower half, or vice versa. Not only will you not be able close your door and lock it properly, but you can also cause damage to your door frame.

When choosing lumber to use for building your door, you can either use a rough cut or a finish cut. But what is important is that the lumber is already completely dry; if not, there can be shrinkage in the future when the wood loses its moisture. Usually, lumber that is 1 inch thick is used.

After doing your measurements, you can now use your saw to cut your boards. After cutting, lay down all your boards, put them together and make your final measurement. You should now cut the lumber you will use for your braces. Typically a door brace would need three pieces of lumber, one goes across the top side of the door, one on the bottom side and one longer piece to go across diagonally the length of the door making a Z-shape. Nail or glue them all together.

Now you can measure the hinges on your door jamb and to your shed door. You can now just screw in the hinges and your door is done. If you want to put a handle or a gate latch, you can do so before attaching the door to its frame.