Tank Stand Finish Help

[Rudy]

Seeking help on the completion of my tank stand. I am not a carpenter, especially a finish carpenter, by any stretch of the imagination. :shake:

I have the tank stand, as you can see by the attached picture, framed and ready for completion. However, I am at a loss on how to install front doors (2 per side) and finish off the remaining visible front portion followed by the sides. I assume I will simply keep the back open?

For the sake of convienence I plan to buy the doors pre-made from home depot or the like. As far as the finish wood goes I plan to use red oak.

I guess my concern is do I cover the front with planks of red oak and then cut-out the opeings for the doors or do I cut the planks prior to installation around the space for the anticiapted doors. :confused: The sides I figure I can just do the former as there will be no side access.

I would greatly appreicate any help that someone may offer. A tutorial is what I most need. I am anxious to get to the plumbing of the tank, but I have to finish the stand first. ;)

[ingros]

For my stand (there is a thread somewhere on reef central showing the stand prior to installation of doors), I simply framed in the door area with 2x4s when I reached the stage you are now at. You can then sheath the stand up to the framed door areas and simply install your doors later, at your convenience. This is much easier, in my opinion, than sheathing the entire stand followed by cutting door holes.

John

[AZDesertRat]

If you can wait a day or two until I resize the pictures, I built a stand very similar and covered it in 1/4 Oak plywood with HD/Lowes DIY doors from www.qualitydoors.com . I used Oak 1x4 trim pieces top and bottom and outside corner moulding on the vertical edges. While you are waiting to install the sheathing prime and paint the entire stand with a gloss paint to repel water. I would also caulk or exterior glue any joints that might get water into them first.

[texasreefer]

What I would recommend is go to HD or Lowes and buy you a sheet of Oak plywood. It should cost you less than $50. You can then sheath the stand and cut out the openings for the doors. First lay out w/ a pencil where you want the openings for the doors. To cut the openings take your circular saw and measure the distance from the edge of the base to the side of the blade. Then clamp a straight edge that distance from the edge of your marked opening. Raise the blade all the way up and set your saw in place against the straight edge and start your saw and drop the blade all the way down. Then simply cut to the edge of the opening. Keep doing this until you cut all four sides. You will need to cut the corners w/ a handsaw or jigsaw to cut the little piece that is left. One hint is to put your guide on the outside of your opening. That way if you accidently slip and you cut away from the guide it will be in the scrap piece and you can simply back up and straighten out the cut. You can also use a tablesaw if you happen to have one to cut the openings. W/ a tablesaw simply lay your piece face up and bring the blade up through your wood. I used to work as a trim capenter and we used to cut door openings all the time w/ a tablesaw using this method.

[Rudy]

Thanks for all the good ideas. It seems like the concensus is to apply a sheath of plywood first and cut the door spaces from that. Oh thanks for the reminder regarding the painting and caulking too. Will do that today.

Now I have a couple more questions if you do not mind?

1, What width plywood, 1/4" or 1/2"?

2, If I am understanding this I would cut the piece of plywood to match the front, maybe even tack it to the stand briefly. Draw out where I wish the doors to be and then remove the plyuwood and cut out the openings, right? I have a table saw, but how would I ensure I am in the right spot if the board is on top of the table as I raise the blade, trial and error and I assume lean toward the scrap area?

3, After the oenings for the doors are cut what is the next step, apply the finish wood and then the doors?

4, What size hardwood do you recommend?

[Rudy]

OK, Stand primed plus a heavy coat of Semi-gloss wall and trim paint on all surfaces. <See Attached>. Did not have gloss, sorry. Will caulk later this week or over the weekend.

What is next, the front and sides with Oak Plywood as you mentioned. Please address the following questions.

1, What width plywood, 1/4" or 1/2"?

2, If I am understanding this I would cut the piece of plywood to match the front, maybe even tack it to the stand briefly. Draw out where I wish the doors to be and then remove the plyuwood and cut out the openings, right? I have a table saw, but how would I ensure I am in the right spot if the board is on top of the table as I raise the blade, trial and error and I assume lean toward the scrap area?

3, After the oenings for the doors are cut what is the next step, apply the finish wood and then the doors?

4, What size hardwood do you recommend?

[Rudy]

OK, I am pretty sure I do NOT want to go with a laminate application over plywood. I can see how it would be easier, but I personally do not care for the look.

If I am going to use Red Oak, should I still apply the plywood on the front as a base? If so, am I correct in assuming I will cut the door openings in the plywood then join the hard wood to the plywood over the surface via wood screws, gluing, etc. Then lastly apply the doors to the hardwood? Or, do I skip the whole plywood portion entirely and buy 12" wide planks of red oak, join them then screw directly to the frame and then cut the door opening out of them?

FYI, I will likely be buying the doors pre-made form home depot, Loews, etc.

I apologize for my ignorance with this process. I enjoy DIY, but with anything new it is a little confusing for me without being able to ditrectly observe first. :confused:

Appreciate the help.