mini-passageway door

[Scott Welty]

I have a request to build a small passageway door (~30"x30") that leads into a small attic area off a child's bedroom. They use this area for play. The client would like it to look like the general passageway doors in the house which are about 1-3/8-1-3/4 thick raised panel doors. I've built plenty of raised panel cabinet doors but not passageway doors. Should I even try this? I don't have any dedicated router bits for this size stock. How thick should the panel(s) be?

Talk me out of it?

Scott

[Sam Murdoch]

I have a request to build a small passageway door (~30"x30") that leads into a small attic area off a child's bedroom. They use this area for play. The client would like it to look like the general passageway doors in the house which are about 1-3/8-1-3/4 thick raised panel doors. I've built plenty of raised panel cabinet doors but not passageway doors. Should I even try this? I don't have any dedicated router bits for this size stock. How thick should the panel(s) be?

Talk me out of it?

Scott

DON'T DO IT - The Alligators will get you!!!

On the other hand - Just build it as a 1-3/8" thick "cabinet door". Rather than making the face raised panel thicker, use the cutters you generally use and then add a flat panel on the back side that is positioned properly relative to the back face of the frame. The back side panel would also be set into dados in the frame. You could set a piece of foam board or piece of bubble wrap between the 2 panels to support the panels and eliminate any hollow sound.

Alternatively, you could simply make up a back panel that sits within the frame with an 1/16" to 1/8" margin free of the frame and glue the back panel directly to the front panel. Wood movement would not be restricted and the door panel would be sufficiently rugged to stand the long term use by kids. The exact detail of the back of the finished product might not exactly match the room doors of the house but I wonder if anyone will notice or care. This is much more work than simply using the correct cutter but it's only one door. Unless you REALLY don't want to do the job - this method could provide a workable solution. Otherwise - just say no thanks.

[Tim Bueler]

Interesting I was just thinking about this yesterday. What if you make 2 cabinet doors and glue them back to back? Would give the raised panel look on both sides and end up with a 1-1/2"ish thick door. Laminating the 2 would make them pretty stable. Make sure to show the homeowner what your raised panels will look like ahead of time in case they don't match existing perfectly.

[Scott Welty]

Tim - I like this idea. I think I could do without the raised panel on the inside. Just flat panel and some 'stuffing' if needed between the panels. Still thinking . . .
Scott

[Mel Fulks]

I think that making it look like a real passage door would be more effective than matching the style of existing doors. Make the rectangle closer to standard and put a real door knob on it. Maybe keep a small of boots by it. Board and batten doors are often seen in children's books .

[Joe Kieve]

A friend of mine did exactly what you're talking about. He bought an interior door, pre-hung unit and cut it down to the size he needed. Had to fill the hollow space where he cut it off at the bottom but it looks great and matches the rest of the doors in the house.

[Steve Peterson]

A friend of mine did exactly what you're talking about. He bought an interior door, pre-hung unit and cut it down to the size he needed. Had to fill the hollow space where he cut it off at the bottom but it looks great and matches the rest of the doors in the house.

That's what I would do for a quick job. Pre-made doors are fairly cheap even if you throw half of it away. You may also need to reinforce the area where the handle sits.

Steve