How to Build a Sliding Door

I wanted to have a sliding door for our garden shed, but the cost to buy one ran into the hundreds of dollars. Here I show a method for constructing a high-quality door for well under $100.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Hammer
• Drill
• Circular Saw
• Tape Measure
• Square
• Glue, screws and nails
• 1/4" plywood - 2 sheets
• 1x4 fir, pine or cedar
• Table saw (nice to have, not required)
• Nail gun (nice to have, not required)

1. 
   Three-foot wide example

   The overall method for making the door is to construct a "sandwich", with plywood in the middle and 1x4's on the outside. This creates a light-weight, strong door structure that is fairly simple to build.
   
   This case shows a rather complex door design - you can also make simpler doors by the same technique, as shown in the image.

2. 

   This door is 6 feet wide, so it requires two sheets of plywood. Cut the plywood the desired height and width (two equal halves), and lay them out on a flat surface. Here they are on the driveway.

3. 

   Attached a set of uprights to one of the sheets of plywood. In this case, the left side is flush with the edge and the right is set to the middle (see next step). Use glue (water-proof if it's going to be outside) and nails to attach the 1x4's.

4. 

   The second sheet of plywood is attached in the same manner...

5. 

   I now attach 1x4's across the bottom of the door between the uprights. again, glue an nail these. I used brad nails - note that these will be screwed later.

6. 

   I put a 1x4 all the way across the bottom of the door. This creates a "lap joint" with the uprights. This gets glued and tacked into place, then I put 1 5/8" galvanized deck screws through this, through the plywood and into the lower 1x4's. Stay in at least 1" from the edges to avoid splitting the wood.
   
   I put two screws in where the 1x4's lap, and every 6" along their lengths. If you need to have both sides of the door look finished, you could go with 1 1/2" finish nails instead and fill the holes.

7. 

   Here I start to build the top window section. If you don't want windows, do the top the same way as the bottom.

8. 

   Here I am putting plywood pieces in to maintain the correct thickness and structure.

9. 

   I use the same lap technique on the top: the front of the door has the pieces between the uprights, and the back has then all the way across.

10. 

    Now I put the small upright pieces in to divide the windows. I put thinner support pieces behind these, which leave room to attach the glass.

11. 

    Here is the door with the structure complete.

12. 

    Now I put the decorative pattern on the door. Since this doesn't provide structure, you can do whatever you like. I choose a "spoke" design.

13. 

    Here is the door, ready to paint.
    
    I primed it with exterior latex, painted the whole thing the base color, then did the trim. I also added a piece of flashing to the top of the door to protect it from water.

14. 

    Once the door was complete, I mounted it on a box-rail so it would easily slide back and forth. You can buy the hardware at a farm & ranch store.

Tips & Warnings

• An air-nailer, even a small one, really speeds this process up.
• Don't skimp on the glue - it's really what holds it all together.
• I caulked all the joints for a more finished look, and better water resistance.
• Use you head with power tools: be safe, wear eye protection, and be careful about the safety of kids in the area.

Resources

• My remodeling blog