Post #779951 by tikitube on Fri, Sep 22, 2017 12:24 PM

Been working on other house projects for a bit, but managed to finish a few more parts of the Lanai.

First, we needed a door for the bathroom. Finding something "tiki" seemed like it would be impossible, so my first thought was to just find something older, with lots of character. The door will be on a sliding barn-door type track, so I wanted something made of solid wood. Unfortunately, people around here apparently think their old doors are very valuable. I didn't feel like spending $100 on an old door that I was going to have to refinish anyways. So...we decided to make one.

Now normally, I wouldn't dare to try building my own door. I'm on okay carpenter, but getting a homemade door to swing and close properly in a homemade jam frightens me. The only reason we even considered this option is because it will be hung on a track. :)

I decided to build the basic frame using a couple of 2x4 studs and some 2x6 scraps I had lying around. Then, I decided to fill the frame with wood from some old bed rails that I found lying in a trash heap on the curb in town.

Here are the raw materials:

Here's the frame, constructed using my pocket hole jig. If you've never used one of these before, I highly recommend them. They are pricey, but worth it, in my opinion. I used my router to make channels along the inside frame edges that the panels would sit in.

Here is the frame after some faux finishing (paint, more paint, stain, and poly):

And here it is with the panels going in. In addition to the bed rails that I cut down, I also cut up some old table extension leaves. Then, I had a small gap left so I stuck in a strip of yellow pine, just for contrast:

Here is the door hung on the sliding barn-door rails. I'm not thrilled with the horseshoe shape, but they were a good value and very heavy duty. I do have a plan to make them more "tiki" someday. :wink:

For the handle, I found this cheap little carved wooden flute on eBay:

In addition to the bathroom door, my wife worked ten hours sewing up cushions for the built-in seating. They turned out fantastic. We used 3" natural latex foam inside them, which we found marked down on eBay as "blems". I also ordered some more appropriate pillow covers. Those celtic knots will get covered up soon enough. :)

I can't wait to finish up the "bones" of the room and truly start the "decorating" phase, but at least now we have someplace comfortable to relax!

• Jeff

tikitube

[ Edited by: tikitube 2019-07-07 14:42 ]