Last fall I built barn doors for my barn. The doors are approximately 16 feet tall and 12 feet wide each. They are hung from a track and slide open.
I used 1×8 pine planks to attach to the “frame” . The frame is really just 4 1x6s at the top, bottom and middle which the planks are screwed to.
The problem is that by winter, the doors had bowed out several inches in the middle. Looking back on it, I should have left a gap between the boards to allow for expansion. Now that it is all done, would cutting a 1/8″ gap every 3rd or 4th board help fixt the bow?
Replies
The door panels should have been built with something like 6 inch wide shiplap siding with an 1/8 inch or so of expansion room at each joint unless the wood was very wet when the door was built. The rule of thumb is that a foot wide board should have at least a 1/4 inch of expansion room. Also the shiplap would have to be attached to the frame pieces only along one long edge so the wood could move freely.
The bowing could have other causes, without seeing the doors it is hard to know what caused the problem.
I built barn doors for my shop, not as large as yours. With a lumber frame and they also warped so that I could barely close them at times. I rebuilt them with a frame made from timberstrand rim board which is 1 1/8". Dry and perfectly straight.
Then sheathed with wood on the outside. Still perfect two years later.
Your doors are so large they might be very heavy using that method. Maybe a welded tube steel frame would be better.
John
Unfortunately, I have a fixed clearance for the door. I only have a total of 1.5" for frame and planks. What did you use for the wood sheathing on the outside though? Was it tongue and groved or spaced?
What threw me was that the old doors appeared to be built just like I made these. I think the difference was that they were (once) tongue and grooved boards and they were nailed so they moved more than mine that are screwed tight.
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