Sun Jun 26: For the last several days (except yesterday, my oldest grandsons 3rd birthday party),
. . . I have been working on the sliding pop door design and construction. There was a lot if trial and error and measure 3 or 4 times and cut 5 or 6 times. This is how I ended up doing it.
I cut the door hole 12 wide X 12 ¾ high. The extra ¾ lets me install a door sill.
I then took the cut out panel and lined it up on a larger sheet of siding and cut out a 14 X 15 panel, after lining up the outside so the panel grooves would line up when the door was closed (esthetics).
I glued and nailed a 1 X 1 block to the inside top of the new door panel to stiffen it to help prevent warping, and to have a solid surface to attach the screw eye for the 3/8 rope.
I then installed the track the full length of travel, to help prevent binding. I used a 1/8 shim to give me a little room for paint and expansion. I installed the tracks with screws in case I need to remove the tracks to get to the door. I attached stop blocks to the tracks to stop the door from traveling too far down.
After the tracks were installed, I drilled a 5/8 hole in the 2 X 4 directly above the pop door screw eye, and installed another screw eye to guide the 3/8 rope.
I screwed in another eye to guide the rope to the wall holes.
Where the rope exits the wall to the outside, I attached a micro block (sailing hardware) so the rope doesnt chafe on any wood surface.
The rope then runs down to a cam cleat (also sailing hardware), that holds the rope in place when the door is open or closed.
So there you have it, door open. I dont think the chickens will bump their pointy little heads on the stop blocks, but if this does pose a problem, I can reconfigure it.
Tomorrow I will start work on the ramp.