Help on my coop door construction

[KelsT]

I need help... I am lost on the construction of my coop door. I am set on having the 2x4s for the frame to be set flush with my coop so I need to have the 2x4 sideways.... I can't find screws long enough to attach the pieces together. So I saw some shelf brackets and thought man those are square maybe I can use those! but not sure if thats enough support or would even work.... Maybe I need something else. Just totally stumped on how some of you constructed your doors that way if i changed the layout of the 2x4s its easy but it looks horrible with my coop.

 

[21hens-incharge]

In this pic you can see we used angled pieces (cut pieces of 2x4) to brace the corners and keep it strong. This door opened to the inside so it is hard to see that they boards are flat like you are looking for.
This is my old coop and I needed more airflow. The frame is kind of a combo of your drawings.
I still use this door 5 years later. It is still strong and holding up well. It is now the main run door for my divided run. This means it is out in the weather now and has yet to warp.
I could not find the pics of the other 2 doors we made but they are similar. One has a solid lower section and is in use inside the coop.
I think they look good and certainly are holding up well.

Oh and the screws are 3 inches long which is a standard length. You will need to pre-drill your holes if you choose the corner pieces like I have. The wood will want to split if you don't.

 

[Bryant Redhawk]

The best method of building a door, if you don't have a router table and the special bits, is to miter the corners then drill and counter sink for the screw heads. Glue each joint before you put the screws in and you will have strong joinery. A diagonal from top to bottom, mitered in then glued and screwed will make sure the door frame remains square.

The brackets you are talking about also work fine and are much easier to work with especially if you don't have much carpentry experience or if your in a hurry.

Be sure you lay out your frame boards square (3-4-5 method) works very well for making sure you are square. again you would want to put in a diagonal but with the brackets you just lay the diagonal where it will fit then scribe from the underside for your cut lines, once that's done, drill glue and screw.

I like to use Decking screws for building doors, they are stronger than cabinet or drywall screws and not much more cost wise. They come in up to 4" lengths at half inch increments from 2" long the short ones are 1 7/8" long. I have found that having 3 1/2" and 4" makes putting together a really solid door easier. For the brackets, you can get away with using 2" or 2 1/2" screws.

Right now we have a solid door installed but at some point in the future My wife wants me to make her a Dutch double door for the coop. If we are able at that time I will put up the photos of how to do the build.