DIY Pallet Board Screen Door

Zest it Up
by Zest it Up
15 Materials
$12
2 Hours
Easy
Thrifty Thursdays on our blog
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I am feeling awfully happy with myself for this Thrifty Thursday. A free pallet helped me to manage a pretty darn sexy front door for just $12 total! With some basic (and I mean basic) woodworking skills, you can manage a custom screen door that will give your home some crazy fabulous curb appeal while bringing in the fresh summer night air
Photo credit: Anya McInroy


Start by making measurements ...Make sure to measure your door inset once, twice, thrice! My door had specific measurements, but every entry has slightly unique measurements (so take my measurements as a loose suggestion).


Once you disassemble a pallet, you should play around with the pieces to see what design you heart. I messed around with vertical piece, horizontal pieces, and a big old barn-style X. Ultimately, I wound up settling on horizontal lines and that is what the above measurements reflect.


Make your measurements on the pallet wood carefully, and make your cuts.


As you get ready to assemble the pieces, use a T Square or an L shaped ruler to make sure that your joints are a perfect 90* angle….you do not want a door that looks all slanty and belongs in a Tim Burton film, ya know?


I may have done this a little in reverse, but I chose to assemble my horizontal bars before I assembled the actual structure of the frame. I just felt like once I had those measured, evenly space and at right angles, then assembling the top and bottom parts of the door would be easy…and it was!


For assembling the frame, I pre-drilled holes and used these crazy long screws. That allowed me to screw in the screws below the surface of the wood…so that I wouldn’t have any screws making things tricky for fitting the door jam.


Tah dah!


Yay! All the right angles!


Finding the halfway point, I made my measurements for attaching the handle.


Can't wait to see this door makeover and total transformation!!


I picked up this adorable handle at Restore, the Habitat for Humanity thrift store, for just $2!


Last bit of design before I install…shou sugi ban! The Japanese art of burning wood for a weather resistant and pest resistant surface. All a bonus, but I just adore how it looks! Plus, I get to play with a torch 😉


With the wood burned to a beautiful crisp, and the handle in place, all that was left was attaching the screening. I simply stapled it in place and then hid the staples with gold tacks. I love the pop of bright against the charr!


Almost done...


DIY complete! Not too shabby, huh? Gotta love that the whole project cost about $12!


To hang the door, I used two door hinges and a carved a section out of the frame to make them flush with the frame…I just didn’t want in large spaces for creepers to crawl in!


What are you going to DIY this weekend?


xoxo


Chanda
Suggested materials:
  • 1 Roll of screening
  • Door Handle
  • 2 Door Hinges
See all materials
Zest it Up
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
3 of 10 questions
  • Pallet Man Pallet Man on Jun 26, 2016
    Where does one find 80 inch pallet wood ? Common pallets are 40 x 48 inches. It is rare to find pallet wood that is 80 inches long. I wonder how many 'hand into the screen' events it will take to rip the screen from the staples ? I'd fold the screen edge over a thin strip of wood and staple it to the door frame. The edge drilling of the 4 inch frame is impressive. The drill often wants to wander and follow the grain of the wood. A sharp drill bit would be important.
  • Belles Banterings Belles Banterings on Jun 26, 2016
    Love the idea-love your door! Do you remember what color n paint brand??!
  • Terri Miller Mackley Terri Miller Mackley on Jun 26, 2016
    How did you attach it? Where's the screen?
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2 of 43 comments
  • Diggin The Desert Diggin The Desert on Sep 04, 2016
    Thank you for making our gender look so good! You're awesome and this project has been saved to my TODO folder, thanks
  • Gidfung Gidfung on May 15, 2017

    please help!

    where can I go to repair my pressure washer in Napanee area [ON]

    thanks

    email: gidfung@hotmail.com

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