Building with ½” plywood, doors & galley input requested

[martha24]

For the month of March my husband is trying to clear his schedule so he can work on our tear closer to full time. There are some supplies we still need to get and if ordering some things it makes sense to place one order. With the doors, from what I’ve read, it seems to make sense to use Grant’s off set piano hinges and I want to order them now as it takes time for him to do them. That means we have to know exactly how we are going to do the doors.
We are using ½” baltic birch plywood for the sides and doors. With this, do the doors need any reinforcement or anything being only ½”? Does where the hinges go, either the wall or the door need any extra or just have the hinges made for ½” on both sides?
With the galley walls, is ½” enough or is any extra “molding” needed for extra strength? Since we’re making a 4ft. wide teardrop, I don’t want to lose any more space than necessary.
I would appreciate any input, especially from anyone who has built with ½” plywood or has a teardrop with ½” walls. If you have any extra advice with using ½” plywood I would appreciate that too.
Thanks, Martha

[doug hodder]

Martha...if you want to go with the 1/2" material on the sides and are happy with the finish you get off the Baltic Birch...I'd recommend a filler strip between Grants hinge and the portions that attact to the wall and the door. 1/2" is pretty thin to be sinking a screw into to get much grip. I laminated up my 1/2" walls for the interior with 1/4" to give it more body to attach a screw to, and a dyed/stained birch paneling or laminated sheet is a little nicer than the Baltic Birch. Baltic Birch is made for structural uses, not necessarily a pretty finish, although it can be finished off pretty nice, it won't show grain. Also, keep in mind that the thinner your walls are, the more hinge "knuckle" will be hanging out on the outside of the trailer. I think Grants off set hinges come in 3/4" and 7/8" thickness with an 1/8" offset...get the narrow ones...I've used them on 3 builds now and they are great. Stiffen up the door a lot, especially in the thinner materials...Doug

[b.bodemer]

Doug brings up a good point about the 1/2" plywood.

My sides are 1/2" also. The pic below is a good one, even with my dog is included, so you can see the way I trimmed the door both inside and out. At this point I han't put the window in yet.

The trim is 1 x 2's both in and out around the door. Makes plenty of room for hinges, stiffened the door, and worked perfect for installing a regualr door knob.



Here's the finished look of the door from this past holiday. That's 1/2" poplar that made up the rest of the door trim.


I know I used this forum a lot when it came to figuring out the doors and I'm sure you'll get a lot of other good advice from builders.
Barb

[grant whipp]

The original KITs and Ken-Skills were made with 1/2" plywood walls, and look at how many are still with us today, nearly 60 years later! Admittedly, the quality of today's plywood isn't nearly as good (except for the glues), but if you go with marine grade, then you can offset that.

I can bend my Offset Door Hinges for 1/2" walls, and as Doug stated, they stiffen the wall and door considerably. The aluminum moldings 'round the door and door opening will help stiffen those areas, and the window in the door helps, too. However, I have seen plywood doors warp (even 1" thick ones), along with some very crafty fixes for those warps.

Bottom line is, 1/2" walls will work ... personally, though, I prefer 3/4-1" wall thickness. The difference between a 46" interior width and a 47" interior width really isn't that noticable, IMHO.

Good Luck with the project! In the meantime ...

CHEERS!

Grant

[Joanne]

Sorry about the hijack...

Barb! Your tear is beautiful! I hadn't seen a photo in a while. GREAT job!

Joanne

Doug brings up a good point about the 1/2" plywood.

My sides are 1/2" also. The pic below is a good one, even with my dog is included, so you can see the way I trimmed the door both inside and out. At this point I han't put the window in yet.

The trim is 1 x 2's both in and out around the door. Makes plenty of room for hinges, stiffened the door, and worked perfect for installing a regualr door knob.



Here's the finished look of the door from this past holiday. That's 1/2" poplar that made up the rest of the door trim.


I know I used this forum a lot when it came to figuring out the doors and I'm sure you'll get a lot of other good advice from builders.
Barb

[martha24]

Thanks, Doug, Barb & Grant,
I appreciate your replies The main reason we went with ½” is that I wanted to use Baltic Birch plywood and 4’x8’ only comes in ½”, although my husband does like the idea of saving on weight.

Either laminating with a ¼” panel or adding trim would work and give a little more “body to attach a screw to”. Also then the door would be made a little thicker. A ½” door does seem a little thin and I would think more prone to warping than thicker. As soon as I figure it out, Grant you will be hearing from me.

Next step is to go out looking at materials, and say “Honey, won’t this be beautiful?”

Martha