Shed Building - Don't Let The Door Hit You ...

Planning for the right size and type of door is one of the most crucial steps in any shed building project. Simply put, you need to make sure that everything you plan on storing in your shed will fit through the doorway. Now that might sound a bit goofy, but I'd reckon that more than a few folks have learned the hard way.

What's that? The deck on your lawn tractor is too wide to fit through the doorway? Get out that reciprocating saw and start over.

But it's not just the size of the door ... it's the method of construction and the way that you hang it. I admit to having underbuilt the door on my shed and now I'm paying the price. After being thrashed through one too many windstorms (while left open), the door needs to be rebuilt.

Another moral of the story: If you build a swinging door, don't forget to include the means to fasten the door in the open position.

While sliding barn doors are trick, they're not appropriate for many smaller structures (and tighter budgets). Sliding barn door hardware tends to be more expensive than typical hinges and some folks might say that you need enough width to carry the load from a visual perspective.