How to enclose a porch with art deco doors?

victoriacalhoun

Bunnings Community - Deck Enclosure

 

Hi Bunnings Community

Door Bonanza - Project enclose my from deck and front porch with repurposed, wood framed, glass infill, art deco doors.

 

I could't really phrase my question properly as it cut me off with too many characters. It could be a sign . But this is the advice I really would love:-

• What to use to infill top and bottom of my 4 seasons room.
• Options other than tint for privacy and UV resistance
• The one that has me thoroughly confused is what sliding system can I use for my repurposed doors that will allow for all 3 doors to enclose front porch. I’ve done heaps of Youtube & Google recon but there isn’t much on triple doors for external use and it seems that the WA door places tend to only cater to doors that they have manufactured themselves.
• Should I skirting board or quarter round the front porch or just paint to the bottom. I will be repainting the concrete floor in this awesome, metallic, black Rustoleum  concrete paint that I have used in my garage which I converted to a functional room.

 

I’ve been on a bit of a door bonanza as I can’t resist good old carpentry and taking on a new, potentially ridiculous project. I seriously need to self elect to ban myself from Facebook Marketplace like some people do with the bottle shop or betting apps. I have attached some photos and a video but I am the world’s worst at photography.  And don’t be concerned about the myriad Corona boxes they are exception for solo furniture moving. Sometme

 

Project infill the deck / 4 seasons room. Advise on what to infill the top and bottom with.

I’m currently in the process of filling in the main part of my front deck using repurposed, art deco doors that I have been hoarding. Essentially a 4 seasons room.  They were all originally rolling, internal French doors, probably to the lounge room. Not the black double doors which will be the entry point.  I will be making sure I come up with a plan to protect them from the UV once I have all the fixing done. But if anyone has any suggestions, I’d love to hear.

 

All of the doors are static / fixed other than the black double entrance doors which I have not yet finished framing out the jamb (yes, kind of doing things backwards). They have parliament hinges which is fantastic so they will fold all the way back and we can still have that inside outside living feel. Still quite a bit of work to go and infilling the top and bottom gaps. There will still be plenty of light so I’d love some suggestions as to what to use.  The bottom infill is

 

As much as louvers would be great for ventilation, I am very much on a budget and it may look too busy (says me who has already gone there). Bear in mind that my house will not always be here as it will eventually be developed as it is rated mixed commercial. So I don’t mind things not being Architectural Digest. Plus I am not concerned on everything being perfect because this good old house would be a rabbit hole. Also I am trying to use up material that I already have.

 

So, please:-

• Suggestions for infill top and bottom. I have blue board, hardiflex and marine grade plywood out the back that I could use up. Unless the consensus it will look hideous.
• Bottom I can probably use just one long strip (realistically 2) as I only need to cover (as per photo) 230 (with a slight graduation to be level) x 4310 x 70 (that’s if I in fill both sides)
• Top section. I have not properly framed it out yet, but as you can see the doors are matching pairs on each sides but doors have different heights. Suggestions to enclose? There is two more doors to go in where I  am currently using as an opening.
• Both Gables. I was thinking of putting a glass door horizontally for light and then framing around with whatever material is suggested.

 

One more piece of advise please - Tint Options for large flamingos in centre

• Alternatives to window tint / vinyl for privacy of glass doors. I have seen some on the Bunnings website, but am pretty certain I would be terrible at applying it. I was never any good at contacting my books for school and I am hopeless with glad wrap STILL!
• With UV protection.
• One way vision. From what I have read, they are not true day and night one way vision when lights are on. I am glad I didn’t learn this the hard way!Also want to highlight the etched glass from the outside.
• Would want to do the 2 large flamingos on deck. Would they be suitable for the frosted glass spray? That will highlight the flamingos and provide a bit more privacy and protection.  Duluxe and Rustoleum make aerosol cans. Doesn’t specify coverage. I am also hopeless with spray cans. But do lots of spraying with my Wagners. Or can I use a paint suitable for glass that is a block colour?

 

Part 2 of infill deck but specifically the front porch - thoroughly confused about a hanging system

My house is a war service home where they all followed the same design with double brick. I am a corner block and the porch originally had side entrance to one street, however I enclosed the original entrance with static/fixed etched glass flamingo doors years ago and knocked out the brickwork in the middle of the two pillars for access to the garden and also to add a deck.

 

I am now going to enclose the entrance as it will become partly a work space, with sliding doors that I think are absolutely magnificent and found whilst driving in a suburb that still has verge collections (street side shopping for some). So really it is only the rough opening, but will still allow access to the front door (which is not used as the main access). I was originally going to convert them to hinged doors, but I don’t need to because sliders will actually give me more room and less framing. There won't be constant traffic so I'm not concerned about people yanking on a slider.

But I am stuck!

 

Options are: (and shoot me down if there is no way I can use any of these system because I am usually converting sliders to hinged and really have no clue)

• Stacker rolling doors
• Box system (this seems pretty similar to bypass and barn doors.
• Triple bypass doors with 2 tracks, 1 fixed door on RHS of deck from main entrance (I feel like I need a triple bypass after racking my brain for door hardware that will work and then I can’t seem to find anything on Bunnings website, although there is single barn door tracks.
• Triple bypass doors with 3 tracks. I've seen an American Hardware that supplies them, but I'm not going that crazy. Plus I am not entirely sure whether the lintel / header I am going to fix the brackets to will have enough room height wise.
• I even went as far as wondering whether I could use custom wardrobe tracks. My wardrobe is 3 door floor to ceiling and the doors are 30mm thick. It was made to size years ago. Would this work? Not sure of weight rating, but the wardrobe doors are heavy and the sliders are VERY heavy (maybe 20-25 kg)
• Make my own? I’ll give most things a go, but out of my depth here.

 

Rough opening dimensions

4910 x 2030 x  2250 (doesn’t account for the moulding that will have to come off) 2110 to bottom of lintel and top of columns.

See my very fancy plans for other dimensions and to give perspective of scale.

 

Doors

• Each door is 860 w x 2030 x 35 (total span 2580). 860 is unusually wide for the old school sliding doors. But that is good for my project & the thickness of the glass seems to be 4-5mm so to code. Either way it would be pretty unlucky to walk through the butterflies and etching. So the opening is 2030 which means the doors are too wide by 150 and I don’t fancy cutting them down, although there is plenty of solid timber (100mm on each side) if I did choose to do that.
• There is no locking mechanism, as they were internal doors originally. I am not going to key lock is as main entrance to deck will be key locked, but do want some kind of fix at bottom to stop movement and reduce debris. Even though will be well protected from elements. What are the options? Doesn’t need to be for security. Padbolts drilling into the concrete top and bottom? Won’t be a continuous use as will remain open when not using it as a work space.
• Were top hung as were all old roller French doors, rolling hardware has been removed.

 

The I need help plan

Where I really became thoroughly confused as it’s virtually impossible to find specifics such as how thick are the channels, is there a threshold if fixing to bottom, what overlap do I need etc.

 

• Originally I was going to hang them flush with the entrance where the current pillars are and use a pelmet, but then I would have to frame the whole lot out to make it a functional room, won’t I?
• Rough opening is 2030 and doors are total width of 2580 (+150mm). I REALLY don’t want to cut them down, but mounting to the lintel is the only way I can see possible without me having to make a frame on the outside.
• I’ve read conflicting info about what dimensions the rough opening needs to be in relation to the door width but I am really hoping I can mount them to the lintel and fit all the hardware in.
• The Lintel is Lintel - 4910 x 190 (notched to rake) x 70. Therefore not wide enough. Sits flush to the entrance of the columns. So add to lintel immediately behind to seat on column / pillars which are total height 2115 x 380 x 240 (each column has an opening of 1330 x 375 x 240 but if I extend the added lintel secured to the original it will have end bearing so the openings won’t be an issue?)
• Do I have enough room for the brackets as the Lintel is 190 h.?
• What system should I go for? I have Googled so much I actually think I am friends with Google AI. Plus spoken to Cowdroy and Brio, but they both were very vague about technical specifications. I understand of course, this is not a standard project.
• I am thinking having an overlap of minimum 50 of each door. Will this then fit? It is bang on 2030.
• I image I will have to get something custom built unless Bunnings has an adjustable kit or something I could cut down? I spoke to Cowdroy this morning and the guy semi indicated that I could cut something down. His words “hack a bit off”.

 

Finally (thank goodness I hear you say) should I finish off the front porch with skirtings?

• Years ago I came across an absolute bargain at Bunnings and got innumerable lengths of Tasmanian Oak moulded skirting. So I went on a skirting board fiesta. Painted them all and skirting boarded the porch, the front side of the deck and the wrap around side. The garage. & even framed a few painting with them. Little did I know about termites love of Tasmanian Oak. & you have to give them credit because the skirtings look great from the outside, until I moved furniture on the front porch and they had set up house. I did a special order of Finpronil from Bunnings and went on a murder spree with injection method.
• So, should I skirting board or quarter round the front porch or just paint to the bottom. If yes, what should I use? I have jarrah throughout the house and a few lengths in my “salvage yard” but not enough and it’s just too expensive to purchase for what I need it for.

 

There is about 500 other questions I have, but I am already feeling needy. But I would really appreciate anyone’s knowledge.PLEASE point me in the right direction.

 

Photos attached and as I said, don’t worry about the Corona boxes, I snaffle them off a friend because they are brilliant for moving heavy furniture solo and last forever.

Thank you very much. Victoria

    

  

  

MitchellMc

Hi @victoriacalhoun,

For the top and bottom infill sections of your four-seasons room, using materials you already have like blue board, Hardiflex or marine ply can definitely work, especially given you're not going for high-end architectural finishes. Just keep in mind that if you go with blue board or marine ply, you'll want to seal and paint them well to protect against moisture and UV. Hardiflex would be my pick if you want a cleaner, more uniform finish – it takes paint beautifully and is quite resilient. You could use one or two long strips across the bottom as you've suggested, just be sure to account for any expansion or movement if you're spanning long distances. For the top infill, since the doors vary in height, you could frame out around them and use either clear or frosted polycarbonate sheeting or even more of your Hardiflex, depending on whether light is a priority. Using a spare door horizontally for the gables is a clever idea – it would maintain consistency with your design and let in light while using up materials.

In terms of privacy and UV protection for the glass, you’re spot on about the limits of one-way films – they don’t work when it’s darker outside. If applying tint or vinyl yourself feels daunting, the frosted glass spray might be a better fit. Just tape off the flamingo shapes to keep them clear if you want to highlight them, then spray around them. Rust-Oleum’s frosted glass spray is fairly forgiving, especially if applied in light, even coats. However, I applied tinting for the first time the other day, and it's really quite simple.

Now for the sliding system – this is definitely the trickiest part. You’re not alone in struggling to find suitable hardware for triple sliding exterior doors, especially when repurposing older solid timber ones. A triple bypass track system would be ideal in terms of functionality, but you’re right that they’re hard to source locally and often geared towards interior or lightweight doors. Wardrobe tracks may be a tempting workaround, but I'd be wary – most aren’t rated for heavy doors and could wear quickly or fail under the weight. That said, if your old wardrobe tracks are heavy-duty and supported across the full span, you might be able to experiment for a low-use situation like this.

If you're mounting to the lintel, height is definitely your limiting factor, so a low-profile triple-track top-hung system would be ideal. Unfortunately, most barn door and stacker kits from Bunnings are made for single or double panels, so you may need to either modify a double system. If you’re okay with some DIY ingenuity, using two parallel barn door tracks with offset mounting points could let you slide the doors open in stages, though there will be overlap and you'll need to stagger the brackets. You’d also want to add a bottom guide rail or recessed channel to stop the doors from swinging or catching in wind – you could mount simple L-profile aluminium or use padbolts as you mentioned to secure them in place when closed.

As for the concrete floor edge, whether to add skirting or quarter-round really depends on the look you're going for. If you're already repainting with a dramatic metallic finish, keeping it sleek and clean might look best. However, if there are gaps to cover or you want a more polished transition, a slim skirting or even just a painted timber trim could help finish things off nicely. 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell