DIY: build your own screen door

Ta-Daaaaa!!

The new screen door was installed this weekend. We are so proud of how nicely it turned out. Following is, well, the longest post ever on Cottage of Stone, but we thought we'd share with everyone the process of building our door... in case anyone ever needs to make their own!

First of all, part of the "uniqueness" of owning an old home is that you will find your doors and windows are not the "standard" size. All the screen doors they sell at Home Depot are a foot too short for our massive front door. Rather than spend $500 or more on a custom one via the internet, we (and by "we," I mean "I") decided we (and by "we," I mean "Steven") should build one.

I drew out a basic design for my door. I knew I didn't want a cross-support piece on it. I felt it would break up the door, and the glass door we have is a rectangle. I wanted the screen door to echo that. I decided on using dowels and L-brackets, as well as a double-decker door, to make sure this massive door would be sturdy enough.

A super-helpful employee at Home Depot helped me pick out the best kind of wood, as well as explained how the dowel jig set-up worked. Once we bought all the materials, Steven got to work. First, he cut the boards for the "inside" frame of the door. I wanted to use dowels, so he butt-jointed instead of mitering:
Once the pieces were cut, he used the dowel set-up to drill the holes for the dowels. Here he is using a rubber mallet and one of the "pointy" things to mark where to drill:

The "pointy" thing leaves a mark to show you where to set up the dowel jig for drilling the holes:


Here is a board with the holes drilled and ready for dowels:

A job for me! I glued the dowels in:

Steven uses a clamp to keep everything tight while the glue dries:

After the glue is set up, we chisel out where the L-brackets will go. If we had a fancy router, we'd have used that... but we don't... so we took turns hand-chiseling the wood out:

We painted the wood and attached the brackets with screws:

Once the "inside" part of the door was built, Steven cut the pieces for the "outside" part of the door. This was all made from the wood you find in the fancy millwork section of the store:

Everything tested fitted? Check! Time to attach. When in doubt, we pre-drill! I remember someone on another blog complaining that they kept splitting the trim pieces they were using and ended up just using glue. Glue is not a permanent solution. Pre-drilling will save your sanity by keeping the wood from splitting and using a clamp will keep things from slipping around:

Once everything is countersunk, a little wood filler and sanding makes everything look clean. Just add paint! That black piece you see here is what is going to keep our screen in place. I wanted to build a removable screen - in case one of the kids accidentally tore it or something:

An inner trim piece with fancy beading detail is added and painted black (still wet and shiny here):

The only annoying part of the job for Steven was assembling the screen. He had to add extension pieces to the sides since our door is so tall. Once he got the frame assembled, he used a screen tool to push the cord (and screen) into the frame:

Once the cord was all in, he trimmed the excess screen off:

He is working so hard!

Final touch-up painting:
And Steven installs the hardware. This antique (Victorian) doorknob we rescued from a house that was being demolished. A coat of flat black paint and it is gorgeous:

Steven sprayed the hinges black, too. We used spring-loaded hinges that are self-closing... so we didn't have to install one of those long springs. I worried about pinched little fingers:

Little spinny things hold the screen in place. If we need to make a repair, it pops right out:

And here it is in place! Look close inside and you can see my dining room all torn apart. I am in the middle of plaster repair:

And a shot of what it look like with the glass door closed: