Building Doors & Gates

I bought this book and it came in. I heard the reviews but decided to buy it anyway. This book is wonderful. I have built a barn door before and I wanted to build a Medieval style door. This book not only showed me how to do the basic construction for it, but gave me all types of ideas on how to decorate it any way I wanted. Of course you have to have some building skills. What are you doing even trying to build a door if you have never did a construction job. Hey I am a woman and I have plenty of female in me. I have been married 38 years with four adult children, but I love making stuff. This book is super helpful. You will see all sorts of doors and how they are put together. The book tells you what joints have to be put in. It gives you basic door construction that you can then move to more fancy style doors when you are ready. I just loved this book. The authors were clear with descriptions and good lay out plans. You get lots of ideas including gates of all types. Everything I wanted in a book was here. So if you want good ideas and you have some prior skills with wood, you should be able to do the simple doors easily. Buy this book and do not listen to wood working wanna be's.

Despite some of the poor reviews, I purchased this book and I'm glad I did! I'm an experienced woodworker, not an expert by any description, and this book covers both design ideas and construction details for a fantastic number of doors and gates. I'm in the process of building 5 doors and 3 gates.. I doubt any will be copies of something in this book, but my designs have already been influenced by this book. Most of the designs and details are of historical doors and gates.. that is doors and gates are presented from buildings and fields that have been around for years and years. that's important to me because I want the ones I build to have the same durability. If you don't know basic joinery already, you'll need to get that training somewhere else. If you can cut a mortise and tenon joint and want to build durable, different and beautiful doors and gates.. buy this book and have fun.

This is an excellent book if you are an experience woodworker and would like to design doors and gates. This book isn't a guidebook to build doors but it contains very descriptive joinery and bracing to ensure your doors and gates stay squares for many years. Most of the joints described are mortise and tenon joints, which they should be. The section of door provides an extensive set of profile drawing of different types of entry doors with respect to the design period. The section on gates is especially useful since you don't often see this information presented anywhere. With some simple joinery, these gates when properly built will last for decades.This is a must have book for all woodworkers.

If you are a woodworking book collector, like I, buy this book. It has some great ideas with historical data that is very interesting. I've had it for a month or so and it has yet to be shelved. I've used it for a few designs already and will do so for a long time. It's the little things you gain in its detail that are of value. It's well produced drawings show off the internal components of historically crafted doors. I'd buy this book again but if you are seeking a guide to building doors, pass this book by. It is strictly an idea/data guide. Find it cheap, buy it.

I have to agree with most of the other reviews stating this is a beginners book. It is. But for the price, it's still worth buying just for the reading experience.If you want to learn some real door building techniques with step by step instructions, check out fine woodworking dot com for some great plans. Here's one:[...]

Anyone with any real woodworking experience will find this book to be a joke. If you are just beginning, do not use this book for direction for anything basic; including how they say to cut mortises.I threw it away on day 2.

Interesting reading, and some great possibilities for designing a new backyard gate.The building techniques are doable, but possibly beyond the casual builder!

I have been looking for a source for quite some time for directions for building "board and batten" doors and was glad to finally find this book. Not only did I find the particular door I was looking for but there were lots of illustrations for many different types of doors many of which are historical reproductions.I highly recommend this book.Stephanie Lish

I bought it for woodworking, namely making doors and gates, but it would also appeal to anyone interested in architecture, or the history of buildings, etc.From simple to ornate, and complex, broken down into how they're made.Got my copy used, but apart from the cover being slightly curled in the corner, it's mint. Recommended.

I purchased this book for my husband who had been trying to design some very large wooden doors for our new workshop. He flipped when he saw it and has now solved all the problems he had initially. Ok the doors are not finished yet but he rates this book very highly - as does my father who is now planning to make his own windows !

This is a well written and highly informative book. I used the four panel door plan and converted it to join some paneled french doors for the house, this book was invaluable.

This is a good reference for any joinery shop, useful to show clients options too.

Bit out of date but gives you the principals so as a novice now confident to design my own gates and doors so pleased.