# Solid wood caraiage garage door construction methds



## Remodel69 (Jan 25, 2015)

Does anyone know of a resource that shows the construction of solid wood carriage door. I currently have doors that were built by a local cabinet maker and they are cracking so we are trying to find a resource that would show how the manufactures of solid wood doors are making them. With out center rails the way the cabinet maker built the doors he glued and screwed the front raised panels to back panels and by doing this the grain of the wood is fighting each other causing it to crack. The only rails in the design are the top and bottom rails. What holds the doors from falling apart when you don't have a top and bottom rail in the middle sections of the garage doors?


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*find your door style here*

There are images of the various types of construction and drawings:
https://images.search.yahoo.com/sea...f1-gl-gen1&va=wood+carriage+door+construction


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Can you post a picture of doors you are having trouble with. It might help us guess what the guy did wrong. Building doors of that type are a lot different than making cabinet doors.


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## Remodel69 (Jan 25, 2015)

*Pictures*



Steve Neul said:


> Can you post a picture of doors you are having trouble with. It might help us guess what the guy did wrong. Building doors of that type are a lot different than making cabinet doors.


I have a few pictures attached. I will say that the doors were great up until the cold hit. The face of the panels are raised paneled. The main problem with the design was there was no way we could figure out how to secure the tops of the middle section panels since there are no rails. They have built my interior and exterior doors and they all have a style and rail system so the panels float like a cabinet door. These doors have been great and going on 4 years now. No warpage on those doors at all and no cracking. Once the face of each panel was built they had to figure out a way to secure the raised panel on the top. The idea was to then horizonally glue and screw boards on the back side of the raised panel so to give additional strength and to keep the raised panel from falling out. I will mention that the cabinet maker is more then just a cabinet maker. He is a very talented individual and can do some amazing things. I own a remodeling business and have for 15 years and know right from wrong. The thing that is the most wrong is that there is no way to have the panel float with out a top rail and having the horizontal boards on the backside glued and screwed to the vertical raised panel doors is asking for trouble. What I need to know is how to properly construct these panels with out a top rail. I see all kinds of pictures on line of doors like these but can't find the way to build them. The doors are 2.25" thick. I hope someone can help. He has offered to remake them but wants to make sure the construction method is correct before doing so again. We are both stumped.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

The panels having the appearance of long planks from top to bottom has restricted wood movement. The rail across the back would have to have been installed with a something like a floating dovetail to allow for shrinkage. Still given the size of the door it was destine to give you trouble. If the panels were allowed the shrink eventually there would be gaps on the ends when the wood shrank. 

The only fix to those doors I see is screwing boards to the back like you mentioned and fill the gaps between the boards with expandable caulk. This would maybe buy some time until you have to replace the doors. 

To me the only way I see that working it to use plywood grooved siding for the panels. There would be a great deal less shrinkage from plywood.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Here's your problem ... I think*

You posted:
The idea was to then horizonally glue and screw boards on the back side of the raised panel so to give additional strength and to keep the raised panel from falling out

You can't glue and screw horizontal running grain to vertical running grain, because the wood will move, shrink and crack etc.

As proud as you are of your cabinetmaker friend I would think he should have know that. You essentially have to make doors that run horizontally using the stile and rail approach. Two outside rails with a center rail, an upper and lower stile.

To keep the panels secured, you can run backing vertically, then rout a tongue to fit in a groove on the rails and stiles and still have "raised" panels on the outside.

Your pictures leave me with a vague idea of what's going on, but there is not a lot of reference to go by.
It's apparently a seamless look from the outside with the verticals. I can just barely see some joints running horizontally. The interior panels should also have the grain running vertically. You can fasten the panels using a screw or mechanical fastener, but only in the center of each to allow for expansion across the width.


If you can separate one horizontal rail off just one side then slide your new panels in and reattach the stile, that would be the easiest "fix".

More photos of the details would be helpful and better lighting...not so dark. :yes:


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## Zircon (Aug 1, 2009)

This one is getting old and the OP may be long gone but I would attach the front boards to the top and bottom rails of the panel with clips that ride in a groove routed in the rails per the attached sketch. On the back side I would glue and screw plywood to the rails and stiles to make a very strong panel.


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