How to Build a Shed Door | Building A Shed Door

The steps involved in how to build a shed door will depend on what type of exterior finish your shed has. 
It will also depend on whether you’re looking for a single man door or a double door.  Do you need to bring in tall and wide machinery or is this just an entrance and exit point?  Shed doors can be designed to extend into the gable for extra height and even a prefabricated roll-up door can be incorporated into your backyard shed.

For a simple man door the steps are fairly straightforward.  You’ll need to measure the inside dimensions of the door frame and decide which way you want the door to swing.  That decision effects hinge and latch placement, so once you decide and install the door it’s difficult to change.

Building a shed door to match your Board and Batten sided shed is a fast and easy project.  Once you have the measurements for width you’ll need to divide that number by the width of your siding boards.  (For example, if you’re using 8” wide boards and the door is 40” wide, you will need 5 boards to cover the width of the door – 40 / 8 = 5.)  Trim these boards to the height of your door frame.

This shed door will also need ledger boards or cross beams to hold it in place and two “Z” braces for added stability.  Use a thicker dimension for these – 2” x 6” works well.  Trim three pieces of 2” x 6” to the width of your door minus an inch or two for the jamb (40” – 2” for the above example).  Start with one door board and nail the three ledgers to it flush against the edge, one near the top of the door, one at handle height and one near the bottom.  It’s a good idea to nail them on and then add screws for a tighter, more durable fit.

Lay those pieces flat onto your bench or grass with the ledger down.  Butt the next door board against the side piece and nail it in.  Keep them tight against each other now; you will get a small gap once the wood shrinks entirely.  Follow this procedure with each door board until you’re all the way across and then flip the door over to add screws again.  You’ll end up with the ledgers sitting 2” in on one side of the door.  That’s the side with the handle or latch.

Cut out two pieces of 2” x 6” to run on a 45 degree angle between the ledgers.  This will create two “Z” patterns (one between the top and middle ledger and one between the middle and bottom ledger).  Toe nail into the ledger board or screw from the 2” x 6” side into the door boards.  Keep in mind that you don’t want too many nails heads showing on the front of the door.
In the door frame, install a jamb using a ripped 1” board.  Hang the latch catch or door hardware on this side as well.  For the hinges, ornamental wood gate hardware works well.  Install them on the outside of the door at the three ledgers (against the door boards, but screwed through and into the ledgers for strength).  Then attach to the door frame and siding.  Alternatively, you can find door hinges that fit on the inside – attach them to the edge of the ledgers.

Hang the door.

Learning how to build shed doors for other types of siding is a little more complicated.  But with the right tools, skills and steps to follow, your backyard storage shed can be completed with the perfect shed door.

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