I want to install cherry doors throughout the downstairs of my house. After seeing retail prices, though, I am convinced that I can make them myself at a fraction of the cost. Most all of the ones I’ve seen at retail have all been built from a core material to which cherry veneer is applied, and with cherry along each edge that is wide enough to permit shaping. I know that using a veneered core is meant to save material costs as well as to minimize the chance of warping or bowing, when compared to what would happen if solid wood were used.
That said, what material(s) would any of you recommend I use for the core of a built-up door like this?
Thanks, Mark
Replies
most sold core veneer doors are particle board. mdf would be another stable option but makes for a heavy door.
Particle Board as Core
I'm curious - how well does hardwood edging adhere to particle board? Any particular glue or joinery recommended?
most particle board veneered doors will have about an 1'' 1/2 of white wood rail and stile "framing out the particle board. this is done mostly so that hinges, latches etc are not getting screwed into particle board.
I dont think you would have that much warping with sold doors if you aclimate them properly, these will be interior doors?
most particle board veneered
Yes, these will be interior doors. As for white wood, should I be looking at a single piece for each part (i.e, rail, stile) or should I plan on laminating two pieces for stability?
install or make?
What's custom about your cherry doors? Also, why are you convinced that you can make them at a fraction of retail cost? Because you're not counting your labor or a sales markup? If that's the case, then (IMO) you'd be making them for the wrong reason.
Install or Make?
I am making these for my own home. I am not a contractor - I work in an office all day, and am considering doing this not only as a cost-saving measure, but also because I enjoy doing this sort of work to get my mind off other work. Thus, I am not counting labor costs or sales markup.
???
deadnuts wrote:
What's custom about your cherry doors? Also, why are you convinced that you can make them at a fraction of retail cost? Because you're not counting your labor or a sales markup? If that's the case, then (IMO) you'd be making them for the wrong reason.
deadnuts wrote:
What's custom about your cherry doors? Also, why are you convinced that you can make them at a fraction of retail cost? Because you're not counting your labor or a sales markup? If that's the case, then (IMO) you'd be making them for the wrong reason.
numbnuts...he isnt asking if what he is planning on doing is custom or not, isnt asking if he will be saving money...and sure as hell didnt ask what your opinion is on his reason for making his own doors.
cant imagine how good life must be for you to be such a d i ck to everyone.
my experience
This is partially in reply along the lines of Deadnuts' point:
We got a house two years ago with 32 doors of various sizes, all crappy hollow-cores. I'm renovating room-by-room and we're doing craftsman style trim, overhauling everything else, and we wanted Craftsman-style one panel )upper) over two lower, vertical panel fir doors. Went to our fine lumber supplier and they quoted about 850-975 per slab. prehung was a good 100+ in addition. Multiply by 32 doors and I got a little clammy. My wife and I thought long and hard about what we wanted and we did really want the 1 over 2 fir doors.
So instead of nearly 30 grand, I got the justification to buy the Festool Domino 700 and decided to build them myself. I had built new doors for a project a decade before, but used mortise/tenon joinery and that took a long time for 12 doors.The Festool was the only way I could do this given other commitments.
My lumber supplier (TW Perry in Maryland/DC) is an excellent source for 2x6 douglas fir D and better clear (price has varied but is aroudn 2.50 per linear foot); and I used for each panel two pieces (back to back) of 1/4" clear birch plywood ($32 per sheet).
I have worked in batches of 4-6 doors at a time. With the domino joiner, and the 14x140mm tenons, and the really stable (acclimated for 5-6 months inside the home) fir, I can mill out the wood (cut to length, rout the grooves, size the panels, cut the mortises using the domino), doing 2-3 doors in a morning. Each door then takes a few hours for assembly, glue up, and sanding of each door (thanks to the Rotex 125 sander I also justified buying). The staining/poly is the most tedious aspect of this. I pre-hang them in jambs in the shop and then bring them to the door frame and hang them.
All told, I'll have about $4k into the materials (plus a bit over 2k for the Festool). 5-6k and a couple of months of work versus 30k was an easy calculation.
But here's the catch. Everytime I walk by the 6 panel pine prehung doors at Lowes or HD, and see they're around $150 each, I kind of think "I coulda lived just fine with those, and I'd already be done wtih a ton of other projects."
It's a ton of work, and unless you're going for a very specific look or design that is prohibitively expensive to purchase, I am not convinced it's worth it to try to save a few nickels to do it yourself.
Ah, but it's a way to justify buying more tools, and that is the ultimate purpose of all home improvement projects!
yes, but
How true. I couldn't justify a new festool plunge router with this project, just to cut the grooves. My trusty Porter Cable is doing just fine.
Thanks everyone for your input, even the snarky comments.