Doors and Windows - large cabinet doors for garage shelving

OK, I built floor to ceiling shelving in my garage, which has 11' ceilings. The frame is made of 2x4s, and is divided into various heights to allow for large and small items. Here is the rub.

The first shelf opening is roughly 48" x 73", yes, 48" x 73". The others are of various hieghts, but they are all the same width (73"). These dimensions clearly pose a problem, as I will be enclosing the shelving with cabinet doors. There is too much dust and dirt getting into the shelves, especially when I run my belt sander and radial saw. And yes, my dust collection system is minimal at best. Irregardless, the cabinet doors are a good resale improvement.

Need suggestions on how and what to build the cabinet doors out of that will not result in excessively heavy doors. Specifically:
1) do I need to cover the frame with some type of facing prior to installing doors? If so, does it need to be hardwood, ripped plywood, or just plain pine? I do not plan on painting it, perhaps just a clear coat to protect it.
2) I was thinking of using 1/2" birch plywwod for the door panels. If so, any suggestions on what the rails and stiles should be made of? I am considering rails and stiles because I need the experience and if I screw them up, it will not kill me.
3) Any suggestions on what type of hinges to use, meaning a)strong enough to hold the weight of the doors and b) does not look like a barn door (not our look)
4) If 1/2" birch plywood is too heavy for the panels, any suggestions on cheap alternatives?
5) Would making the doors seamless bi-folds be too complicated? This would drastically shorten the radius of the swing, and is needed.

Note: I am still a beginner, but catch no rapidly and as of yet have not run into anything I can't handle...

ccarruth,

1/2 inch birch is still going to be a bit heavy, but yes it will work.
You might even go with 1/4 inch birch ply and use 1 x 3 framing for support. Traditional stiles and rails (joint) will be a pain for garage cabinet doors. I think I would just go with 1 x 3 framing then attach the plywood. Three 3 inch hinges per panel door should suffice. A vertical 1 x 3 attached to your framing could hold door hinges for each side(two doors). Bi-fold (wider door) may be too heavy for one set of hinges.

fred

I would go with stile and rail construction of paneled doors. It is a good skill to develop to be able to make this simple and flexible style of door. Utility not withstanding, it is nice to make attractive woodworking projects.

I would use 1/4" plywood for the panels. A quick look at the numbers for 36.5 inch wide doors shows stiles and rails ~3.5 inches wide with panels totalling ~22.5 inches wide will give the most from the panel sheet goods. 1/2" inch plywood is almost as expensive as 3/4" plywood.

This would give you a door that weighs around 18 pounds, with 4 verticals and two horizontal pieces. Using a full 1/4" panel would cut the weight to 15 pounds with an appreciable increase in costs for the 1/4" panels due to the waste involved. When you assemble the doors, caulk the panel on the inside of the door for strength. Unless you intend to buy wood planed to thickness and ripped to width, you should do it yourself. Dimensioned lumber off the rack is commonly tough to work with due to poor quality in the finished dimensions. One easy way around this if you don't have a planer is to make the stiles and rails from plywood. The thickness is more uniform, you can rip the pieces yourself to the proper dimension.

Cut the dadoes to match the sheet goods, then cut the tenons to match the dadoes.

Hope this helps. Keep us posted.

Thanks for the input guys. In terms of converting to bi-folds, whould I make each door the required width and then merely cut them down the center, or do I have to make each bi-fold seperately?

Also, if I use ripped plywood for the railes and stiles, is there any issue with the plywood tearing? I will be using a router table for the grooves and mortis, and dadoe blades on a radial for the dadoes and tenons..

I built some fairly large doors to close off some overhead storage area in my shop...they were about 3' wide by 4' tall. I used maple for the rails/stiles in a regular cope/stick cabinet pattern, making the rails/stiles about 3" wide. For a panel, I used 1/4" plywood.

Also made some others in another storeroom, and the biggest there is about 30" wide and 6' tall. Used red oak rail/stile material
2 1/4" wide, but also ran a center mullion horizontally to help reinforce it....1/4" plywood again for the panels.

Hinges on both are just regular self closing cabinet hinges, but used 3 on each door on both.

If you opt to use bi-folds, you will have to make 4 panels for each opening. With an opening that is 48" wide, I would use bi-folds. They would take up a lot less floor area