how to stop shed door swinging open


Well, for some simple solutions, we turn now to our friends. I had the hinges and 2x4s. Since they're glued to the vertical boards that aren't moving in that direction, they'll causing warping of the whole door as they expand. how about some gas liftgate struts from a junkyard minivan hatch or hood, mounted on the inside of each door. I wood glued the long planks together and then used four straight braces across the back that I glued and screwed into the long front planks. PT lumber is always a good choice for outdoor wood work. How to seal gap around bottom of shed, between ground and planks? beautiful. Are you a trade or supplier? It expands and contracts as temperature and humidity change. And Kevin, just because this is a small problem doesnt mean it cant be really, really annoying. I did the rod with a some PVC conduit in the ground on my garage shed, it has worked quite well for me. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. Wood moves as it gets wet and dries again. Your local gate and fencing supplier will have a TOM: Exactly. Or maybe something similar to the way a weight is used to close a gate. By the DIY experts of The Family Handyman Magazine. I made a few of them when I was writing this article and so if you are interested they are available for 16.50 each. It may not display this or other websites correctly. Sliding metal shed door latch, this one is lockable. Or given what looks like very little roof overhang to protect the door, liquid water adding to the effect of humidity. @GamerGypps If the horizontal bracing is short enough to clear the frame in the heat and humidity of the summer, then it will clear when it shrinks in the winter. But you dont need to take the door down and go through the hassle of disassembling everything just to adjust the frame and learn how to stop a door wont stay open. You can also remove the hinge and shim them with cardboard at the top or the bottom, bringing the door back to plumb. Just found a pic.. I was thinking some sort of small metal pipe in the ground that sticks up high enough so that pin can fall in it or something similar up top with the top pin. If the door still wont stay open, do the same with the lower hinge. Welcome to the joys of working with a natural product! You can do this by putting a bit in your drill; putting the bit through the hole; then, while the drill is running, rocking the drill side-to-side in the hole to elongate it into a bit of an oval. a scrap of leftover softwood such as came on one shed I bought just wont be very durable. This makes the Suffolk door and 'digs in' so that the door can't close. If the door fits, it will still fit in the winter. Powered by Mai Theme. I have in mind a pipe they use for fences but with a pipe inside of it to stick out and reach the door pin. I'll get some better pics posted tomorrow.. A lot of guys carry them or a variation of them. As it absorbs and evaporates, your wood will expand and contract (far worse than mere thermal expansion) and it will eventually warp and break. I bought a 4' long 1/2" diameter pipe. You must log in or register to reply here. These are a fabricated metal bar that are fixed to the top of the door at one end and to the door lintel at the other. They are available both online and in bricks + mortar stores. It's attached loosely so that the top can move with the wood expansion without destroying the table. Bear in mind, though, that when you buy it, it's going to be pretty wet. If at all possible, buy your PT lumber ahead of time and let it dry out for a couple of months prior to starting construction. Thanks all, I've got with a door closer as in my original post - turns out you can use it on the inside of the door just by mounting it upside down. Install one horizontal board across the back at the bottom, the same as above. When not in use, you fold down the protruding metal piece that would be attached to wall. If the pipe alone is to floppy--cut the bottom out of a small bucket or pail---place that around the pipe like a collar---then pack that with your concrete---that 'collar ' should be all you need to take the flex out of the pipe. I want to use one of the pins to prop it open when I want to. Thanks for contributing an answer to Home Improvement Stack Exchange! Relocate the lower strap hinge to the bottom of the door so it goes into the bottom horizontal back brace. I also want to insulate the roof and then sheet rock everything. Is the metric tensor an intrinsic property of spacetime or is it coordinate dependent? It has pins that keeps it closed while the other door opens and closes freely. Open the door and it stays open wide, retained by the magnet. View our Privacy Policy here. This is a great forum with lots of info and wanted to give thanks ahead of time for any suggestions. These are simply a small wooden bar that is screwed through We are no longer supporting IE (Internet Explorer) as we strive to provide site experiences for browsers that support new web standards and security practices. is it possible to adjust the hinges with shims and/or tighten up the hinge pin (bending it very slightly, to give hinge more friction) to keep the door open on its own? You may want to consider using a slightly smaller bolt when attaching the hinges than was originally called for. LESLIE: (chuckling) You know, and all this time I thought the best you could do is buy a doorstop and live with the problem and, of course, pick up that really adorable black-and-white dog doorstop. One board, glued cross-grain to another board is generally OK up to a certain width. I would recommend making them out of a hardwood such as oak. Water-proofing adds oils to the pores in the wood that would absorb the water. https://www.screwfix.com/p/smith-locke-series-3-overhead-door-closer-silver/399hr, How to open door with a shattered spindle follower. Enter Our Dog Days of Summer BBQ Giveaway Now! It only takes a minute to sign up. What rating point advantage does playing White equate to? county of Norfolk, this had the added sophistication of a back plate to the handle. shed door open. against the wind. Before I address your construction techniques, I've got to say that is a quite handsome looking door you've made. My plan is to just pound the metal pipe I bought into the ground with a mallet. Avoid last-minute shopping trips by having all your materials ready ahead of time. to this site, and use it for non-commercial use subject to our terms of use. a scrap of leftover softwood such as came on one shed I bought just wont be very durable. It is clear that there are cracks between the individual planks which is the leeway you will need to have for the wood to shrink'n'expand. But wood is good and more If you're building in the cold of winter, you'll want to leave a bit of gap to allow for summer expansion. Helping You to Do It Yourself! There are resources available online that will give you expected expansion amounts for different types of wood. Oak shed door turnbutton with stainless steel fixing. Post also keep someone from swinging doors open too far and damaging hinges on trim. Usually, a metal clip (though there may be a wooden clip) is slipped into a slot in the skirt board, then screwed firmly into the top. It made quite a gap between the second and third long planks when it was perfectly flat together before. The latch-bar pivots about a screw at one end and is held in line by the staple which sets limits on the amount Have the necessary tools for this how to keep a door open DIY project lined up before you startyoull save time and frustration. DoItYourself.com, founded in 1995, is the leading independent There is an accepted answer? In which European countries is illegal to publicly state an opinion that in the US would be protected by the first amendment? Questions of a Do It Yourself nature should be Come join the discussion about tools, projects, builds, styles, scales, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more! Now, consider that the kitchen table is inside the house where the temperature and humidity are reasonably stable year round, as opposed to your poor shed door that's exposed to the elements and the full extremes of temperature and humidity swings that your neighborhood experiences. We'll show you a simple fix that will keep interior doors from swinging all the way open if you leave them slightly ajar. Regardless of what you do, a regular regimen of adding it will prolong the life of your outdoor wood. Metal will heat and expand during the day and shrink back down at night, so it will move some, but it is very unlikely that it will move as much as the seasonal changes you're seeing in the wood. Also, the door is metal. Perhaps while you are working in the garden or perhaps while you are working in the shed and enjoying the fresh air. Just be sure to create slots for the screws going through the new diagonals, not holes, or you'll just shift the problem. the doors don't open all the way flat to the shed. If you have to rehang the door, it could be a lot of work but there are a few simple ways to do it. Darker colours increase Insolation, which is just fancy-talk for "gets hotter in sun." You'll note that there is no glue in sight when it comes to attaching the top to the skirt boards! The problem with that is the shed has 8' walls and that part sits about 1' above the ground. Well, doorstops aside, you can learn all about stopping those swinging doors at ThisOldHouse.com. How about the heavy magnets like you see on Sprinter van doors and the like? I put short decorative posts on each side of mine with hooks and then eyes on the door. This is perhaps the pinnacle of latch development before latches They're ranges/reasonable guesses because wood is natural and varies from tree to tree. Biscuit, dowel or simple braces for making unit top with inset lid and slim sides? Open stairs - glue and screw, or just screw? on the usual ecommerce sites you will find a range of standard hardware. submitted to our "DoItYourself.com Community Forums". Whats a Bladeless Ceiling Fan and Does It Really Work? All it takes is bending the hinge pin. Modify the holes that the screw goes through the horizontal piece from a hole to a slot. i agree i like the idea of the eye bolts also. the latch-bar can rise and fall. Fortunately, the fix MIGHT BE fairly simple and doesn't involve any additional purchases (like fancy clips): Once you've finished this process for all your horizontal boards, rehang the door. However, since they're metal, and the metal won't move as much as the wood will, they're going to have the same binding effect on the expansion of the door that the glued on horizontal boards did. But there are ways around fixing it. NEVER glue boards cross-grain. If there is a single screw running through each of those horizontal boards, over time the handle side will want to sag and the boards will be allowed to pivot around that single screw. Note that you want the slots to be horizontal when the horizontal bracing goes back on. It would also save on the purchase of new bolts, even if you do have to rebuild the entire thing. Welcome to humidity. If you attach a board on a diagonal, it will prevent this sagging. I would recommend making them out of a hardwood such as oak. To learn how to keep a door open, shim the door and knock out the upper hinge pin. The final step in shed door latch development is the Suffolk Latch. Can't you just put a simple little hook on the door and an eye on the shed. Then bend the pin slightly with a firm whack. To ask a question when you say drill a slot instead am i to assume i would use a drill bit a fair bit smaller than the screws and make the slot on the horizontal/diagonal braces. I made my own and not a store bought one. If you would like Heres a list. What if I got a larger metal pipe and hammered it all the way flush to the ground and filled it with gravel until i can put the smaller pipe inside it and it sticks up high enough for the door pin to go in? By clicking Post Your Answer, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy. problems contact webmaster@doityourself.com. suggestions. In addition - when you do whatever you do, add some diagonal bracing as well, otherwise you'll have a very saggy door before too long. I just reach inside and grab a shovel to prop against one door and a rake for the other. Cheap, easy, done. When the door is opened back If you could use small bolts (where it attaches to the door), and long screws to the jamb, that would help it last longer. Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. This is commonly seen on gates and comprises three parts. Drop the bar in place and the door should not move. We welcome your comments and Wooden rising shed door latch, with wedge to secure. and the ecommerce shops a range, including much 'cheap tat' that wont last long. The size of the bar varies, the smallest are made out of cast metal while if you are making Site design / logo 2022 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. Wood moves across it's width significantly more than along its length. TOM: And for more simple solutions, be sure to tune in to Ask This Old House which is proudly sponsored by ERA. This year it started to go back to normal and the gap disappeared, but as it's got cold again recently it's re-appeared again. Reinstall the top strap hinge into the top horizontal back brace. If you look One is the regular bat insulation and the other is no bats then putting vapor barrier over the insulation. Since you've very firmly glued those horizontal braces across the back and the strap hinges across the front, the wood has no freedom to move as it shrinks, so the individual pieces start twisting and bowing. If that's too big, a simple flashing or "drip cap" will reduce the ingress of moisture to your door. from facing up to facing down. What can I do in the future to avoid this issue? You could dig a hole and set that collar at ground level after you drive the pipe into position. staple and a catch. But you know what? In addition to the accepted answer, it would help to add some weather protection. door is fully closed it drops into position. Appears, from the pics, this would work nicely.. LESLIE: Well, squeaky floors, creaky doors and all those little things that give your house what we like to call charm can sometimes be more than annoying. fairly unique. You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local. This would be the way to go if you're able to reuse the door panel after disassembly of the bracing on the back. finish rather than painted (which will quickly rust). What's happening is that as the temperature gets colder and the humidity drops during the winder, the wood is shrinking. Exterior wood doors constantly cracking and splitting. What's a reasonable environmental disaster that could be caused by a probe from Earth entering Europa's ocean? For many sheds a simple shed latch is all that is needed to stop the door from flapping in the wind while you are working Front load washers and the corroding aluminum spider flange issue. I then painted the door with standard shed type paint (Ronseal). An eyebolt on each side with a length of rope that has a loop put on the end which slips over the door knob. (Kevin chuckles) Tom Silva, Kevin OConnor, thanks so much for stopping by The Money Pit. In my house, Ive got a few doors that wont stay open or shut when theyre supposed to. A forum community dedicated to Do it yourself-ers and home improvement enthusiasts. Well done! Reinsert the pin and check the results. And if youve still got questions, you can check out our videos about fixing doors on ThisOldHouse.com. the siding into the frame of the shed. I can't reach 9' with a running start. ERA always there for you. Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search. The nail hooks into the wood on the back. You don't need pipes casting in concrete; they only fill up with dirt over time and get blocked up. I'll add a pic in a bit. As Criggie noted, covering the door would naturally limit how much water and it's exposed to, but the door will still get some water on it. option. Does that make sense? I have noted that with the advent of ecommerce that local shops are stocking better quality components I'd go with 2 piece slide-in latches like you see on enclosed trailer doors. Beyond that you're going to start asking for trouble. are the thing to use if that is what you are after. You'll want it to be snug enough not to wobble, but not so tight that you're pulling the screw head down into the wood. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. If you did a good job of gluing (and it sounds like you did), it's gonna be tough!! For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Are wood boxes sturdy enough to support a loft bed? I built this 16'x20' shed just to get some of my kids toys out of the garage and to put my tractor in. Instead, try this much simpler fix. from https://www.buildeazy.com/shed-door/. They look really nice and I like them - a lot! If you build in the winter, the wood will be near its minimum width. We recommend our users to update the browser. Use these tables to estimate the expansion you should expect and adjust your sizing accordingly.