DIY Barn Door

The choice of wood is key when it comes to building a barn door for a room in your home. You should have an idea of what type of look you want and how it fits with the decor.

• Appearance board is a wood that is easy to work with. It is popular with DIY projects primarily for its finish rather than its strength.
• Go with something close to the genuine article for a more authentic look. Try reclaimed barn wood from farmhouse siding to give it new life in your interior décor.

There are many options when it comes to DIY barn doors, so look for inspiration online to find a design that works for your home style. 

Here are the tools you'll need for this project:

• Measuring tape
• Table saw
• Wood glue
• Clamps
• Nailer & collated finishing nails
• Square
• Level
• Wood stain or paint
• Barn door hardware

The barn door will hang from a track or rail installed above the doorway. Wheels on a bracket attached to the door slide on the track, enabling the barn door to open and close. The hardware for DIY barn doors can support up to 200 pounds.

The track or rail for this barn door project should be twice the width of the door to slide completely open. For example, a 3-foot-wide door entryway requires at least 6 feet of track.

The choice of room for a DIY barn door must have plenty of space to accommodate the door and its track. The first step in building a barn door is measuring the doorway for the room.

• Remove the existing door and surrounding trim with a pry bar.
• Use a tape measure to measure the width and height of the door frame. Write down the measurements.
• Assess the room setup. When installing a single barn door, measure and mark enough wall space on one side of the doorway that’s at least the width of the barn door for it to slide completely open.
• Be sure to determine which side of the frame you want the door to slide toward when opened. Left is typically more common.
• Once the measurement for the entryway has been taken, add at least 2 inches on each side. The door will be wider than the entryway when it closes to minimize any gaps.

Now that the measurements for the door have been taken, it's time to cut the appearance board for your DIY barn door to size.

Measure and mark the size of the door on the plywood and cut to size with a table saw. Remember, when building a barn door, add about 4 inches to the door width so the new barn door will cover the opening.

Once the board for the door is finished, cut the top and bottom trim boards.

• Measure and mark where the holes will go for the hardware.
• Predrill the holes.
• Use wood glue to attach the trim boards.
• Use a clamp to reinforce the glue and hold the trim boards in place. Use a finishing nailer to attach collated finishing nails to attach the trims to the appearance board.

Follow these steps of how to build a barn door to create the vertical trim pattern. 

• Place the vertical trim boards on a saw horse or a flat surface.
• Measure and cut the vertical trim for the sides.
• Using wood glue and collated finishing nails, attach the trim pieces to the appearance board.
• Measure the distance between the vertical trim pieces to determine the length of the middle horizontal trim.
• Attach with the glue, clamp and finishing nails method just like above.

Next, create the diagonal trim patterns.

• Find the longest distance of each diagonal board.
• Use that measurement to cut the trim board.
• Find the center of each end and line them up to the corners where they will go.
• Use a large square to determine the exact angles needed.
• Mark the board to cut for each corner and use a miter saw to match the angles.
• Use wood glue and finishing nails to attach the trim pieces.

Use wood filler or putty to fill any gaps in the door before starting the process of staining or painting.

• Apply the wood stain or paint of your choice and allow the door to dry.
• If you are using paint, start with a brush to fill in edges or holes. Then apply the rest of the paint evenly with a roller.
• Allow the paint to dry on both sides. This may require waiting overnight.

This task of how to build a barn door is done with a helper to ensure the track or rail is level and secure.

• Use a table saw to cut a 1 x 4 to match the length of the door track.
• Locate the studs and mark the areas you will be drilling.
• With the aid of a helper, align the mounting board so that it is level with the door casing. Drill holes through the mounting board and the studs.

It's time to attach the barn door hardware rollers and handles. The handles on DIY barn doors should be sturdy enough to support the door. Check the manufacturer’s details when choosing the hardware.

• Mark the screw locations.
• Drill pilot holes and screw the hardware into place.
• Attach the handle to the door.

Using a level, check that the track and the mounting board are level and mark where each hole will be drilled.

• Drill the holes to attach the track to the wall.
• With help, lift the barn wood door so the rollers make contact with the track. Roll the door onto the track.
• If the hardware kit comes with door stoppers, add one stop to each end so the door doesn't slide into the wall or come off the track.