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Figure 1 shows the construction of a ledge and brace door, which is also sometimes known as a Cottage door. This type of door is ideal for workshop doors, shed doors, barn doors or for other types of buildings. The diagram below is what you will see from the inside of the building. From the outside all you will see is the clean lines of the Oak or Pine Boards running vertically. If the door is to be fitted to a Framed Wooded building you will need to make provision to allow part of the frame to be used as door jambs (NB. this is not to be confused with a frame and ledge door - also known as a Suffolk door). However if the door is to be inserted into a hole in a brick wall then you will need to construct a frame to fit the door in In both cases construction of the actual doors are the same. In figure 1. Letter A & B are the vertical parts of the door frame. These are attached to C & D which are the door sills If for example the door width is 2′3″ and you will be using 3 vertical boards (K, L & M) These Boards will extend from top to bottom and should be at least 6′6″ (Standard Door height in the UK). Nowadays these boards are usually Tongue and Grooved together to provide a long lasting wood match between the boards. Push all the vertical boards together so that there is only a small gap between them (this is for the wood to move later on). Now attach the two braces. The Two Ledges (N & O) should be attached using screws (so the the wood can move). Older designs traditionally used Clasp Nails to hold it all together.
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If you are using Pine as the main wood material you may be able to get away with using only 2 ledges, however if you are using Oak and you also have a large door then it is much safer to use 3 ledges on your door.
One idea to further strengthen the door is to use a shallow cutout in the Ledges (N & O) so that the brace / braces (R) fit straight in and the screws take less stress. However due to manufacturing costs this method is rarely used and mostly there is no need for this either.
Now that the door is complete you may wish to use a set of T-Hinges, also sometimes called cross-garnets must be attached to the door jambs and the Ledges.
You may also wish to use a normal set of door hinges. To do this safely the wood on the vertical boards should be AT LEAST 20mm thick to avoid splitting the wood.
We are not currently supplying these kits to build your own Oak Barn, Ledge and Brace doors, why would we? When we can usually supply the complete oak door for a similar price but already built.
Get the Ledge and Brace door look the easy way. Our pre-made Cottage doors and Framed ledged and braced doors start from £199 with a range of traditional solid oak ledge and brace doors all around the £125 mark.
