Plans or technique for a simple sliding door?

eastie

I recently built a partition wall to segment a small section of our unfinished basement and now need to go about installing a sliding door to finish it off (wall mounted sliding track hardware is already in place). The problem: I don't have a door and it looks like we'll need to build one, approx 48"w x 66"h. Most of the plans I've dug up are for simple rail and stile doors, but I don't own a table saw or router table to make the necessary cuts for the grooves and don't intend on getting one just for this project.

Any advice on building a cheap, sturdy panel door using other joining techniques? The only real requirement is that the top edge of the frame be thick enough to securely attach the mounting hardware (1.5" screws mounted vertically through the top). Other options I've seen are for barn doors which would be overkill here and too heavy for what we want. The only function of this door is to keep pets on one side of the partition wall. It doesn't have to be pretty, it could be a screen door for all we care! Thanks

Just Bill

Not impossible to do with a circular saw, but you at least need a straight edge for a guide. Mortise/tenon joints are best, and were done long before power tools, just slower. Trim molding can take the place of routed edges. Raised panels, however, are hard to do without power tools, flat panel no problem.

jogr

I'd be concerned about hanging a door using screws driven vertically in the top edge. They will likely pull out fairly soon. Most sliding barn door type hangers mount with horizontal screws through a horizontal plate.

What tools do you have for this project? You might look at using beadboard paneling for the panel of the door.

eastie

Yeah, you'd think that the mounting hardware for the door would be a little more robust, but it's what the kit came with (FWIW it's this one, rated to 200 lbs). Anyway, given what I'm ending up going with I'm not worried about the weight. Going to build a simple frame out of 1x4s and attach it to a 3/16 thick hardboard panel cut to size. I went ahead and got a small pocket screw jig for the joinery which should make the finished product plenty strong. Thanks for the advice.