Making a room divider from old wooden doors is one of the easiest projects anyone can do. It requires very little tool and carpentry knowledge. If you know how to use a screwdriver and a tape measure, you can make this door room divider.
Materials Needed for the Door Room Divider
Two Doors Minimum. The doors will be the basis of the room divider or screen. Find two used doors at a home demo scrap yard, Habitat for Humanity store, or from someone who is replacing the doors in their homes. The only thing you don’t want in the doors is unwanted holes from damage. The doorknob holes and window sections are fine.
Hinges. You will need hinges from the doors being hung to the door sash area. If the doors didn’t come with the hinges, new ones can be purchased with the screws at any hardware store. You can also use the hinges that are used on accordion closet doors.
Optional Materials Needed for the Door Room Divider
Paint. If you don’t like the look of the doors, you can paint them to match the color scheme of the room they are going in.
Scrap Wallpaper and Borders. The scrap wallpaper and borders could be used to cover the windows in the door. That is if the door has a window. The size of the wallpaper or border will depend on the size of the actual door window.
Fabric. The fabric could be used in place of the scrap wallpaper or borders.
Hooks. If the divider is being used for a dressing area, place a hook to hang sleepwear on. If it is going into a room for the kids, the hooks can be used for the kids to hang things on for their side of the divider.
Scrap two x four pieces. If you have small scraps of lumber, you can add feet to the bottom of the screen. This will stabilize the doors. Approximate size needed for the scrap two x four pieces is two to three inches long.
Making the Door Room Divider
If you are going to paint the door, remove any dirt and dust from the door. If it needs to be sanded, sand it. Paint the door with the choice of paint. Let the paint dry before moving onto
Attach the hinges to the back side of the doors. The spots for the hinges should be marked by the previous hinges if the were removed. If the hinges weren’t removed from the doors, attach the loose side of the hinges to the other door.
NOTE: If there are hinges on the last door being used, remove them. If you don’t want to remove them, find a stud in the wall. Screw the hinges to the stud to secure the room divider. This will prevent it from falling over.
This step is optional. Set the doors up. Have someone hold the door divider while you add the one piece of the two by four to one side of the door. Then place the second piece on the other door on the opposite side.
If there is a window in the door, it can be covered with the wall paper or fabric scrap. Clean the window on both sides.
Measure the window section of the door. The best way to do this to take a section of a newspaper, place it on the window section. Take a pencil or a finger and crease around the interior of the window. Cut out the area that is creased from the newspaper for your pattern for the next step.
Tape or pin the pattern to the wallpaper or fabric. Trim out the section needed for the window.
Place wallpaper or fabric glue onto whichever piece you are using. Place it onto the window pane and smooth out any air bubbles.
For the holes where the doorknob was, it can be used to place scarves, belts or other items in for safe keeping. If you prefer, you could plug the holes with plastic fittings from the plumbing department.
These are the basic steps for creating a door screen room divider. You can use any type of door you can find for this home project. Some of the steps may not be needed depending on the door.
