You might also like: Do Your Own Garage Door Opener Repair and Troubleshooting Get the look of a traditional carriage-house garage door for a fraction of the retail price. With these DIY plans you can make your own using a standard hardboard garage door. Our Greek Revival house stood garageless for the first 150 years of its life, so I knew when it came time to add one, it had to honor the character of the oldI also knew I had a bad case of sticker shock after shopping for a carriage house–style overhead door. Wood doors of the style I was looking for started at $2,800 and climbed to three times that amount. what any self-respecting do-it-yourselfer would do: IAnd I did it using an inexpensive hardboard door, cedar boards and tongue-and-groove paneling. You can use the techniques shown to customize a new door or update an old one. Note: The design shown on the following pages isn't exactly like my door shownI changed some details, especially about the arch.

Since most “off the shelf” doors these days are metal or fiberglass, you may have to special-order your hardboard door through a home center, lumberyard or garage doorDo your homework: I had some quotes as high as $800—more than twice what I paid. I purchased cedar boards, rough sawn on one face and smooth on the other, for the rails and stiles, and 1/4-in. x 4-in. x 8-ft. cedar tongue-and-groove material—often used forfire door closer home depot interior wainscoting or closet lining—for theused external doors melbourneChoose material that's straightoutdoor fire pit grate for sale with a minimum of knots. oak fire doors with vision panels

because it's lightweight and naturally rot resistant. In some parts of the country, you may need to special-order it. Use a pneumatic finish nailer. you to work twice as fast as hand nailing, and since the nail heads leave only tiny dents, the primer and paint will fill them, saving you hours of nail setting, puttying and sanding. The nails are important, but it's the adhesive that holds the boards flat and secure for theused windows and doors kitchenerI used heavy-duty “subfloor” adhesivewrecked 4 door jeep wranglers for saleThe caulk is equally importantwindows and doors temecula since it keeps moisture from getting between the boards and the door.

silicone caulk—itself a tenacious adhesive—for that job. Some silicone caulk isn't paintable—and it's usually available in a limitedIf you can't find a silicone caulk that matches the paint color of your door, buy a “paintable” version. To ensure accurate cuts, beg, borrow or steal a power miter saw. Structural and Safety Considerations I actually built and installed my garage door 10 years ago—and haven't had a lick of troubleBefore you launch into your project, keep these factors in mind: When you modify a door, you'll most likely void the manufacturer's warranty, so take pains to create watertight seals wherever Since you're adding 3/4 in. of thickness to the door, the vertical garage door tracks will need to be set back from the opening an extra 3/4 in. You may need oversize jamb brackets for the job. Your door will be 40 to 60 lbs. heavier once the wood overlay is added. Figure out the total weight of your door

and install springs and a garage door opener rated for that weight. Make certain each of the four hardboard door panels has a heavy-duty horizontal reinforcement bar along the back installed when the door is hung. If you're working with an existing door, make certain it's in good shape. Remove any loose or flaking paint so the glue and caulk have a solid surface to Hanging a garage door is tricky—and you do what I did: Have a professionalA pro will know how to install the door, the track and the openerPlan to talk BEFORE you start your project to get additional input into the Start with a game plan and a sketch We designed our 16-ft.-wide door to resemble a pair of smaller carriage house doors, but you could come up with otherYou can increase or decrease the number of vertical stiles, install a straight top rail instead of an arched one, or install crisscross battens for a barn-door look.

Measure the height and width of each door panel, as well as the overall height and width of the assembled garage door, and sketch it out on graph paper. Draw in the rails and stiles and how they meet so you have a solid game plan. Position your four garage panels onMake sure they're in the proper order (if they're new, they'll be marked top, middle, middle, bottom) and that the edge grooves overlap properly. Temporarily secure them to one another using 1x3 cleats and drywall screws from your graph paper to the door, then snap chalk lines to indicate the edges of all the rails and stiles. I first snapped lines for the horizontal rails, then the lines for the two 1x4 outer stiles and the 1x8 center stile. between the edge stiles and the center stile to find that center point, then snapped lines for the intermediate stilesWhen I was done, the four spaces between the stiles were identical

Rail and Stile Layout Place the panels in the correct order and temporarily secure them to each other. Transfer your scaled drawing to the panels and snap lines to mark the position of the different pieces. Install the rails, stiles and slats Apply two beads of heavy-duty construction adhesive and a bead of silicone caulk to secure the bottom rail (Photo 2). Install the caulk bead so it's just “kissing” the bottom of the chalk line; caulk will smoosh out a little to help create a watertight seal along the top ofSet the bottom rail in place, rough side up, and secure it with nails Next install the edge, center and intermediate should be even with the seams betweenUse your chalk lines as guides for laying down beads of construction adhesive and caulk prior toAlso run beads of silicone caulk at the outer edges to createInstall the 1x6 rails at the top Draw the arches onto the 1x12 top rails (Photo 4) using a screw as a center point

and a tape measure as a giant compass. Cut the arch using a jigsaw and smooth the edges by hand or by power-sanding. Install the arches using construction adhesive and silicone caulk. Measure the height for the tongue-and-groove slats for panel 1. the slats to length, position it on the miter saw, then install a “bump block” so all the slats you cut for panel 1 will be identical lengths (Photo 5). Nest a dozen or so precut pieces side-by-side to create the test panel shown in Photo 6. Center it in the opening, then mark the two end slats so the slats will be centered during theRip the first piece to width as indicated by your mark, then install it with the tongue facingContinue installing the otherRip the last piece to the exact width so it butts tightly against the other stile. pieces in panel 1, then move up to theYour “starter pieces” in each section of each panel should be