Hangar Door

Having a hangar attached to our house means that we need a hangar door.  We really underestimated the implications of that.  We selected a bi-fold door from Schweiss Doors. The door is 40' wide in order to accommodate the airplane's wingspan.  The height of the door is dictated by the fact that we intend to store our motorhome inside.  We went with a 14' tall door in order to get a 12' clear opening.

The cost of purchasing the door turned out to be only the start.  The narrow, tall walls on either side of the door provide little rigidity, so an engineer specified substantial structural upgrades including two large steel posts.  We were shocked at the quotes for installing the door.  Once the door was installed, we had to figure out how to sheath it.

The steel structure of the door was delivered by truck and unloaded onto the grass of the vacant lot next door.

The door has two seven foot tall panels.  The upper panel is hinged to the house.  The lower panel is hinged to the upper panel.  The door is opened by straps that pull the bottom of the lower panel upwards.  As the bottom of the door is raised, small wheels at the outside of the lower panel roll up the steel posts.  We won't be able to test it until the electrician connects the power.

A crew was hired to hang the door.  We severely underestimated that cost.

Once the door was hung, we had to figure out how to transform it from a steel frame into a door that actually separates the outside from the inside.  Wood framing was attached to the steel framing, followed by plywood sheathing and cedar trim.

Wood framing is attached to the steel structure in preparation for attaching sheathing.  Flashing ensures that water runs to the outside.

This shows the wood framing from the inside.

After attaching the wood sheathing and cedar trim, it is starting to look like a hangar door.

This is the door controller, which must be wired to 220V service.

Insulating the door is one of the tasks I am saving as a do-it-yourself project after we move in.  Several neighbors have mentioned that they really like having windows in their hangar doors.  I am looking into that.