Barn door location?

rambler · Apr 1, 2006

(
I stongly advise you to put a man door in. Make it a standard 36 inch exterior door. It only takes a minimum of wall space and if you put it in a corner, you wont wast any space. The advantages to this are huge.
)

Always enjoy your messages Eddie, you have a lot of experience & knowledge.

Sliding doors have a lot of problems, but in a southern climate I would think those would be less so. I'd rather have a sliding door than none at all for access to the shop area, tho a double-door (2 man-size doors facing each other) would be better, gives you a walk in, plus bigger access if needed.

For a 22w by 16h door on machine sheds around here, it is difficult to afford any kind of roll up or bi-fold door. One has to live within the budget. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif So, a lot of sliders around. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Anyhow, curious on the man-door location. You like them in a corner? That 'wastes' the space the door is on, plus an equal space on the other wall where the door opens onto. Never liked wasting 2x the wall space. Corners are good places for shelving, storage, tuck a welder, etc.

Even if you have the door open outward (you don't here where the snow piles up if code allows....) you still need to leave room along the other wall to walk in, so the wall space is wasted either way.

Curious how you save any space by putting the man-door in a corner? Seems to be the worst place for one, wastes 2x the space.

--->Paul

EddieWalker · Apr 1, 2006

( a double-door (2 man-size doors facing each other) would be better, gives you a walk in, plus bigger access if needed.

Anyhow, curious on the man-door location. You like them in a corner? That 'wastes' the space the door is on, plus an equal space on the other wall where the door opens onto. Never liked wasting 2x the wall space. Corners are good places for shelving, storage, tuck a welder, etc.

Curious how you save any space by putting the man-door in a corner? Seems to be the worst place for one, wastes 2x the space.
)

Hi Paul,

I agree that sliding doors have there place. Airplane hangers are an exclellent example of how efficiant they can be. For small barns and workshops, I don't like them.

They don't seal very well. They need there full size in track to open all the way, which meas the entire wall is used for opening and supporting the door.

We have lots of bugs down here. LOTS!! Any and all openings are just invetations for them to come in and build their nests or hives. Mice are always a problem, not to mention snakes that enjoy eating mice. It's just allot harder to seal up an opening with a slideing door.

By double door, do you mean something like a french door? One main one you use, and the other that you can open when you need it, but mostly it stay closed?

I've never thought about it until now, so this is kind of off the cuff. I've worked on homes with them and they are always a huge source of air leaks. It's very hard to get them to seal. For a shop, that's not as big a deal. The advantage is that you have a larger opening. Since he has a large garage door already, there is no advantage to spending $500 for a double door when a Home Depot 36 inch door only costs $150.

I think we look at corner areas differently. I see a corner as a dead space. If you build shelves into a corner, than you have to leave part of the wall space open for acces. If you wrap your shelves around the corner, than you get an area of dead space. Just like in kitchens. Most homes now have lazy susans to access corners, but ther's still allot of kitchens out there with just dead air or even worse, it's storage for things you never remember you have.

I like putting a door in the corner so the swing of the door goes in and stops at the side wall. This way you loose very little of you usable space. I even like to put coat hooks behind the door to take advantage of that wall.

I would never put an exterior door opening outward. They are not designed to seal out the elements that way. Or at least normal exterior doors are not designed that way.

The only thing that jumps out at me in the latest design is I'd move that door over to a corner and add a sink in there some place. If no water is available right now, that's fine, but run some a drain for it anyway. A sink in the shop is very, very handy.

I'd also get rid of the windows. They don't do much for ventalation and take up lots of good shelving space. But that's just me. Natural light is important to some people, so I undersand wanting it too.

Eddie

Toolguy · Apr 1, 2006

I like it. I think it will work good for you. That floor plan will alow you to maximize your available space. You're smart to go with a 10' high door. A tractor with a tall ROPS may or may not clear an 8' roll up door since the door does not go up the entire 8'. Happy building.

1948berg · Apr 2, 2006

I would like to see where the other houses on your property are. The man door should bee as close to the main building as possible, making a trip from one house to another short and stright. Having to walk halfway around the building each time you need something is boring.
In my new workshop I put in folding doors, very satisfied with them, cost a lot, but once in a lifetime...
http://www.we-ma.no/We-Ma-05/526-filer/image002.jpg
A house without windows looks "blind" to me, and some daylight is practical, and where will you put all sorts of small things if not in the window sill?

EddieWalker · Apr 2, 2006

1948berg,

Those are intersting looking doors. I've never seen or heard of them before. Are they common in Norway? I assume that becase of your weather conditions, these are insulated and air tight??? If so, I'm curious how they achieve that at the bottom in particular.

Eddie

1948berg · Apr 2, 2006

The doors are insulated and air tight, this is achived by double rubber seals and a smart lifting device(see pic) When you start to open the door, that little bolt follows the door, meet the ball bearing and lifts the door 3/4 inch so the rubber is lifted from the floor, making it easy to sving the door. There is a little guide on the floor where the doors meet(see pic) and a long divice on top that automatically makes the doors fold (pic). The doors can be made for swinging inwards or outwards when you order them. I just put a mangetic lock on the man door, I will add one more so I can have the door "locked" when it is open.

http://www.eurofoto.no/show_image.php?bid=39848221
The pics are there, but I have no young people in the house at the moment, so I dont know if it works.

newred · Apr 2, 2006

your plan looks very similar to what I built last year but I don`t have this feared dead space at back , I`d not want to loose wall space and corners as one poster mentioned. mine is 30 x 60. Depending on where house is might find man door better on end but I also wanted all doors on gable end for snow and rain reasons as well as facing road and toward house for security. I put my man door in center with a 10 wide by 9 high door in one side of front gable end. I use building for contracting business as well as tractor & equipment storage . Put bench shelving in corner & down that wall behind your 4 wheelers and mower , great for tinkering , maintenance on them . As long as I park truck back in building 6 or 7 feet , have lots of room to get tractor & tools out . Reason I put man door in center with overhead on one side , down road if expand to 2 vehicle operation , I can add another door on other side. Actually in winter I parked back a little farther and wife could diagonally slip in other side and either of us could get out first . /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

chipsndust · Apr 2, 2006

Here's our 24x28 garage. Attic trusses for storage above. If we can get it up there, and don't need it right away, that's where it goes.
Probably doesn't matter in Texas, but this is why we put the doors in the gable ends.
http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos1815/1/77/78/58/32/2/232587877106_0_ALB.jpg

I don't consider the space wasted behind the mandoor, 110A service, fire extingusher and tool storage behind the door.

http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos1815/1/77/78/59/85/9/985597877106_0_ALB.jpg

Workbench location is similar to your plan (opposite hand), we like it.

http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos1815/1/77/78/58/52/4/452587877106_0_ALB.jpg

npaden · Apr 2, 2006

Thanks,

I tried to look at the pictures but it says access denied.

chipsndust · Apr 2, 2006

Sorry. Maybe someone can help me. When I tried to post pictures, I got a message they were too large. So I pasted in a link to Kodak photo gallery. When I click on the links I posted above, the pictures come up. Maybe I have to give access to the photos at Kodak website?

What's the best way to post pics?