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Building a Custom Fire Rated Door
In this episode, I built a custom fire-rated door for my Colorado Springs client. Now, to build a custom fire-rated door would be pretty expensive because I would have a ton of hoops to jump through and get the stamp certifying it as fire-rated. So, it is not feasible to do a one-off piece. However, talking with the builder, we came up with the idea to veneer a pre-made fire-rated door to look like the rest of the doors. After a quick consultation with the building department, they approved the door as long as we didn’t cover up the certification stamp on the edge of the door and we couldn’t make any cutouts.
Summary
Woodworking Project: Fire-Rated Door and Challenges
Brian discussed his woodworking project, specifically a fire-rated door for a client’s garage. He detailed the process of shop-sawn veneers, ensuring the material was perfectly square and using a helical head in his planer to clean up the veneer face. He also shared his method of laying out the veneers and the challenges of working with large, heavy pieces. The door was veneered to match the rest of the doors in the house. The rails of the door were a quarter-inch thick and were glued onto create a door stile illusion and accommodate stainless steel thickness. Brian also shared his challenges with using a vacuum bag for epoxy application on a large door project and his plans to find a better solution for future projects.
Crafting a Fire-Rated Door to Match a Custom Set: A Woodworker’s Challenge
When a client commissioned me to build all the doors in their house, the goal was simple: ensure every door matched perfectly. That is, until I reached the garage entry. Unlike the others, this door needed to meet a 20-minute fire-rated building code requirement, adding an unexpected twist to the project.
The Solution: Veneering a Fire Door
The builder suggested veneering a fire-rated door to match the rest of the custom doors. While this sounded straightforward, the execution required precision and problem-solving at every step.
The Process: From Rough Lumber to Seamless Veneer
Like any woodworking project, this one began with milling and planing the material to rough dimensions. However, working with shop-cut veneers demanded extra attention to detail:
Precision Squaring: To prevent blade drift on the bandsaw, I ensured every piece was perfectly square before resawing.
Flattening Between Cuts: After each pass on the bandsaw, I returned to the jointer to flatten the face and maintain square edges.
Planer Tricks for Thin Veneers: Without a drum sander, I used a planer with a sled to clean up the veneer faces, minimizing chip-out. A helpful tip? Cut veneers 3-4 inches longer than needed—any blowout usually happens at the ends, so you can trim the damaged section later.
Gluing Up the Veneers
Once the veneers were prepped, I laid them out on the door, taping them together before glue-up. One advantage of shop-cut veneers? Their thickness allows for re-jointing if a seam isn’t perfectly tight.
Why Not Blue Tape?
I often get asked why I avoid blue tape for veneer work. Two reasons:
Veneer tape shrinks as it dries, helping keep joints tight.
Blue tape is stubborn to remove after vacuum pressing, whereas veneer tape can be wet-scraped or sanded off.
Creating the Illusion of Stiles
To mimic the look of traditional door stiles, I glued ¼”-thick x 4″-wide strips along the edges. This not only added visual depth but also provided space for stainless steel edging.
The Glue-Up: A Four-Part Battle
Given the door’s size, I broke the glue-up into four sessions:
Main Panel First – Clamped a stile to the edge as an alignment guide, taping off the opposite side to prevent glue interference.
Stiles Next – Ensured clean edges for subsequent glue-ups.
The Vacuum Bag Struggle
The first attempt included glue-absorbent paper, but managing it with the breather mesh was a nightmare. For later glue-ups, I skipped the paper—only to face a new challenge: epoxy foam disaster.
Lesson Learned: Never put epoxy in a vacuum bag unless you enjoy cleaning up a sticky mess.
Final Result: A Seamless Fire-Rated Door
Despite the hurdles, the finished product blended perfectly with the rest of the doors, meeting fire code without sacrificing aesthetics.
Key Takeaways for Fellow Woodworkers
Thicker shop-cut veneers allow for adjustments mid-process.
Veneer tape > blue tape for clean, tight seams.
Plan for extra length to account for planer mishaps.
Avoid epoxy in vacuum bags—trust me on this one.
This project reinforced that even code-mandated challenges can be overcome with creativity and patience. Now, the garage door looks just like the others—only with a hidden fire-resistant core.
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By Benham Design ConceptsIn this episode, I built a custom fire-rated door for my Colorado Springs client. Now, to build a custom fire-rated door would be pretty expensive because I would have a ton of hoops to jump through and get the stamp certifying it as fire-rated. So, it is not feasible to do a one-off piece. However, talking with the builder, we came up with the idea to veneer a pre-made fire-rated door to look like the rest of the doors. After a quick consultation with the building department, they approved the door as long as we didn’t cover up the certification stamp on the edge of the door and we couldn’t make any cutouts.
Summary
Woodworking Project: Fire-Rated Door and Challenges
Brian discussed his woodworking project, specifically a fire-rated door for a client’s garage. He detailed the process of shop-sawn veneers, ensuring the material was perfectly square and using a helical head in his planer to clean up the veneer face. He also shared his method of laying out the veneers and the challenges of working with large, heavy pieces. The door was veneered to match the rest of the doors in the house. The rails of the door were a quarter-inch thick and were glued onto create a door stile illusion and accommodate stainless steel thickness. Brian also shared his challenges with using a vacuum bag for epoxy application on a large door project and his plans to find a better solution for future projects.
Crafting a Fire-Rated Door to Match a Custom Set: A Woodworker’s Challenge
When a client commissioned me to build all the doors in their house, the goal was simple: ensure every door matched perfectly. That is, until I reached the garage entry. Unlike the others, this door needed to meet a 20-minute fire-rated building code requirement, adding an unexpected twist to the project.
The Solution: Veneering a Fire Door
The builder suggested veneering a fire-rated door to match the rest of the custom doors. While this sounded straightforward, the execution required precision and problem-solving at every step.
The Process: From Rough Lumber to Seamless Veneer
Like any woodworking project, this one began with milling and planing the material to rough dimensions. However, working with shop-cut veneers demanded extra attention to detail:
Precision Squaring: To prevent blade drift on the bandsaw, I ensured every piece was perfectly square before resawing.
Flattening Between Cuts: After each pass on the bandsaw, I returned to the jointer to flatten the face and maintain square edges.
Planer Tricks for Thin Veneers: Without a drum sander, I used a planer with a sled to clean up the veneer faces, minimizing chip-out. A helpful tip? Cut veneers 3-4 inches longer than needed—any blowout usually happens at the ends, so you can trim the damaged section later.
Gluing Up the Veneers
Once the veneers were prepped, I laid them out on the door, taping them together before glue-up. One advantage of shop-cut veneers? Their thickness allows for re-jointing if a seam isn’t perfectly tight.
Why Not Blue Tape?
I often get asked why I avoid blue tape for veneer work. Two reasons:
Veneer tape shrinks as it dries, helping keep joints tight.
Blue tape is stubborn to remove after vacuum pressing, whereas veneer tape can be wet-scraped or sanded off.
Creating the Illusion of Stiles
To mimic the look of traditional door stiles, I glued ¼”-thick x 4″-wide strips along the edges. This not only added visual depth but also provided space for stainless steel edging.
The Glue-Up: A Four-Part Battle
Given the door’s size, I broke the glue-up into four sessions:
Main Panel First – Clamped a stile to the edge as an alignment guide, taping off the opposite side to prevent glue interference.
Stiles Next – Ensured clean edges for subsequent glue-ups.
The Vacuum Bag Struggle
The first attempt included glue-absorbent paper, but managing it with the breather mesh was a nightmare. For later glue-ups, I skipped the paper—only to face a new challenge: epoxy foam disaster.
Lesson Learned: Never put epoxy in a vacuum bag unless you enjoy cleaning up a sticky mess.
Final Result: A Seamless Fire-Rated Door
Despite the hurdles, the finished product blended perfectly with the rest of the doors, meeting fire code without sacrificing aesthetics.
Key Takeaways for Fellow Woodworkers
Thicker shop-cut veneers allow for adjustments mid-process.
Veneer tape > blue tape for clean, tight seams.
Plan for extra length to account for planer mishaps.
Avoid epoxy in vacuum bags—trust me on this one.
This project reinforced that even code-mandated challenges can be overcome with creativity and patience. Now, the garage door looks just like the others—only with a hidden fire-resistant core.