Ledged and Braced internal Oak doors

Hello all,

I need to make quite a few (9) large sliding doors for cupboards to match (as far as possible) some very old L & B existing doors in a barn conversion. The best match I can find is good quality 20 mm T&G heavy character oak flooring boards; properly seasoned and kiln dried.

Idea is to fit an oak architrave around the inside face edge of the planked door and then glue a sheet of 9 mm WBP ply inside this (instead of the L & B). Being cupboards, the inside face will not be seen and so a flat panel would be fine. Will allow clearance twixt tongue and grove as per usual with L & B doors.

Any reason this should not work?

Many thanks in advance.

Stan

you may get movement cupping twisting as the ply is stable but the oak can expand and contract with moisture content and 9mm ply wont give much resistance

it may work fine if you get it sealed up with the correct moisture level but would expect some movement possibly to 25% off the doors but the simple answer is i dont know just an educated guess

Should be ok but will the weight be a concern if they are sliding doors? Are you using a heavy duty track?

Many thanks denso13.

I thought the weight would be OK; yes, intend using best quality SD gear (Henderson?) suited to the door weight - not yet determined.

All the best,

Stah

why don't you want to use braces?

If it's to match old barn doors, I expect a bit of movement in the timber will look quite in keeping.

Thanks John.

Yes, it would but I thought the doors would look a bit odd side-on; not much of a problem for just a two door span but several will need three doors (double track) to cover the opening.

Also, would 20 mm thickness at the top be enough for the door gear? Only ask as I have never fitted sliding doors before. I thought of using ply not just for appearance (edge on) but to also provide stability. By no means an expert, hence the post

All the best,

Stan