One of my all-time favorite builds is a sliding barn door. They make such a statement in any room and are a great way to fill a space. The barn door becomes the decor.
SIDENOTE: I have recently made some updates to the family room that you will see as you scroll down. Please scroll all the way to the bottom of this post to see the most recent pictures of our family room.
I built my first sliding barn door when I remodeled my sons’ bedroom. We went with a modern farmhouse look for their room. Shocker! My favorite style, no doubt. You can see the pictures and read all about the boys’ room here.
For the boys’ sliding barn door, I used a double criss-cross design…
Because this was such a fun build, I knew I wanted to do more of these. Looking around my house, I started to see all the places I could add sliding barn doors. Oh, the vision…so many barn doors in my future. 🙂
After recently completing a board and batten treatment…
and updating the corner cabinet in my family room…
It only made sense to work on the sliding barn door for this room. So off to Home Depot I went…
How to Build a Sliding Barn Door:
Supplies Needed:
12- 1×6 (8foot) pinewood boards
1- 1×4 (8foot) pinewood boards (for the cross boards)
80-grit sandpaper
1 1/4″ Kreg screws (coarse)
Wood filler
8 x 1 1/4″ screws
Primer
Paint (color of your choice)
Constructing the Door:
(Affiliate links added)
Step One: Determine the length and width you want your door to be. Then cut all of your door boards to the same length that you have decided upon.
Step Two: Sand all of your boards. They don’t need to be super smooth. After all, it is a barn door, so some imperfections are expected.
Step Three: Drill all of your pocket holes into your 1×6 door boards. Each board needs a set of two pocket holes, every 9 inches apart, on one length of the board. As shown below….
I highly recommend a Kreg Jig for this. Don’t let the sight of this scare you…
I’ll do an upcoming post on how to use a kreg jig and link it to this post. You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to make pocket holes with a kreg jig. Maybe you’re wondering, what the heck are pocket holes? That would have been me a few years ago. 🙂 They are holes drilled at an angle, to securely join two pieces of wood together. With the Kreg Jig, it looks like this…
Step Four: Clamp two boards together (one clamp on each end). Drill 1 1/4″ kreg screws into each of your pocket holes…
Step Five: Repeat Step Four until all boards are joined together…
Step Six: Use wood filler to fill in all of your pocket holes. Once dry, sand…
Adding the Trim:
Now that you have the barn door built, you’re ready to add the trim. With so many different designs to choose from, the hardest part is narrowing it down to one design. I chose this design…
Step One: Cut outside length pieces (1×6 boards) to fit your door and clamp them on…
Attach using 8 x 1 1/4″ screws. This brand of screws is my personal favorite…
Step Two: Cut width pieces (3 of them) (1×6 boards) to fit inside your length pieces. Clamp and attach to door using the same screws in Step One…
Step Three: Cut cross boards (1×4 boards) to make your X. Getting these cuts perfect proved to be somewhat challenging. There is probably an easier way. But I eyeballed it by placing my board where I wanted it and drawing my lines…
For the most part, my technique worked out. Any spaces can be filled with wood filler, so it doesn’t have to be perfect.
After attaching all of your trim pieces, your barn door is ready for paint. I put a coat of primer (Zinsser Fast Prime 2) down first…
After applying two coats of paint (Behr Marquee Peppercorn) and letting it dry, I flipped the door over and attached 4 brackets to the back of the door to reinforce it. This turned out to be a wasted step, I believe. The pocket holes are really what’s holding the 1×6’s together. It’s a very solid door and not the least bit flimsy, even without the brackets. I then threw on a coat of paint to the back of the door…
And voila..another sliding barn door built.
Last step: Max comes over to hang it. Why don’t I hang it myself? I love to build things, but I hate to follow manufacturer’s instructions on things I have to put together. So, I have a “Max” (my handyman) to do that part for me. Maybe one day I’ll tackle it myself. But for now, I have Max. 🙂
We ran into a snag with the sliding door frame. I wasn’t thinking, and ordered the same size as what I used for the boys’ room. Well, this door is substantially wider, longer and heavier than the boys’ door, so that didn’t work. I ended up returning the 6 1/2-foot track and ordering an 8-foot track. Perfect!
To finish it off, I added a 14″ square cast iron handle pull. I love this sliding barn door so much!! It looks like it was always meant to be there…
This little photo-bomber is pretty adorable too…
And this big photo-bomber wanted his moment in lights…
A look at it with the door shut…
Most of the time, it will be open.
The big picture…
Here it is with the cast iron handle pull…
A little closer look…
UPDATE: Our family room has recently undergone some makeovers. As you can see in this picture, I have added shiplap and craftsman trim to the alcove space beyond the sliding barn door…
Another change that I am loving is our new furniture. We were in desperate need of some freshening up in this area…
And just for fun, here’s a long view of our family room as you enter through the front door…
And a more recent look at the sliding barn door closed…
As I said before, these doors are so much fun to build. And the statement they make is bold and beautiful. As always, if you have any questions, please ask. I love to help people realize they can do this stuff and see how much fun it is.
Until next time,
Happy Building!!
ANOTHER UPDATE: I accepted a challenge from Home Depot to try out their Everbilt Sliding Barn Door Hardware. I have to admit, they make it super easy to hang your own sliding barn door! Check out the easy to follow tutorial below:
If not already a friend of the blog, please join my email list. I send out a monthly newsletter with information behind the scenes of the blog and often share our family story. I try to get on a little more personal level with my friends. 🙂
One more thing…I’ve had a few people ask me about the track I use for my barn doors. I order them off of Amazon and have found them to be the best price for the best quality…
TC Bunny 6.6 feet Sliding Door Hardware Set Antique Style (Black)….approximately $55
TC Bunny 8 feet Sliding Door Hardware Set Antique (Black)….approximately $60
Sign up for the RL Newsletter
Never miss a RepurposeLife post and valuable emails containing: DIY Projects, Full Tutorials and Interior Design Tips.
Share this:
Greetings,
This article has inspired me build a sliding barn door in our home. I’ve tracked down all of the parts and tools, including the antique rail. The one part that I am absolutely stumped is with the GRK 8×1-1/4 screws. They simply don’t sell these in Canada. The closest size 8×1-1/2. I value your opinion and would like to what you think the best substitute would be for this project.
Warm regards,
Jonathan
Hi Jonathan,
That’s awesome that you”re going to give this project a try. I think you’ll find it to be a lot of fun and pretty simple. Not to mention very rewarding with the end result.
Your question is a very good one. Interesting that you’re not able to find them up in Canada. I worry about going up to a 1 1/2” screw, because you’ll probably end up going through your boards. The primary goal is to use a screw that you can sink. You don’t want it to be visible and want to be able to fill in your nail holes.
One idea I had was to purchase them on Amazon. (Not sure if you tried that already.) I looked them up and they’re less than $14 for a box of 100. Here’s the link for them, if you’re interested… https://www.amazon.com/GRK-772691020697-Number-8-4-Inch-100-Piece/dp/B001PCZ7GO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1503455385&sr=8-2&keywords=grk+screws
If that doesn’t work out, SPAX is another brand that has the #8- 1 1/4” screws.
I hope this helps.
Best of luck with your project. Please let me know if you have any more questions.
Happy Building,
Nicole
Nicole,
Thank you for your reply!
Now I noticed that the Amazon link you shared is for the same size screw but in a non-FIN/Trim head variation. I hope this wasn’t an error, because I’d be thrilled to track down this particle screw given the stark scarcity of its FIN/Trim head cousin.
Amazon does have the FIN/Trim head screw, but at $80 its a tough swallow as the total cost of this project is already uncomfortably high.
If you could confirm that the GRK 772691020697 you posted is a safe alternate, that would take some heat off the situation greatly since that would cost me $40 (still a lot for screws, but far less worse than $80)
Thanks again. With this cleared up, I can’t wait to actually get started on this project!
Hi Jonathan,
Sorry, I’m just now getting back to you. My day got away from me yesterday.
Yes, the GRK 772691020697 R4 Number-8 by 1-1/4-Inch Screw, will sink, if you’re using a softer wood like pine…which is what I always use for my barn doors. In a harder wood like oak, it may be tougher to sink the screw. I hope this helps. I’m trying to understand why it’s going to cost you $40 for the screws? Is it more expensive to order them in Canada on Amazon? Just curious. 🙂
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Would love to know how it turns out too!
Nicole
Yes, the screws on the amazon.ca website are significantly marked up. I simply went to the local hardware store and bought a generic equivalent ($5!) which seems to be doing the job just fine. I sank the screws in just enough to fill their holes with wood filler afterwards.
I finished the door last night! What a big project it was! Locating all 5 supporting studs to align with the frame was the biggest hurdle. But it’s finally complete! My wife and I have a bedroom room to finally keep the little ones at bay!
I had to custom make the door since our room is in the basement and the doorway was very short yet very wide. The ceiling is extremely low also, so all measurements had to be extremely precise to make everything turn out – it was a tad bit nerve racking..
We decided on a wood stain look for our door.. to keep those lovely natural textures from showing through. (linen white, weathered grey)
Here it is:
http://tlcphoto.ca/tmp/barnDoor.jpg
I took the handle off because I have to go buy a different color, but that’s the gist of it. Works like a charm, and its charming to look at!
Thanks again, Nicole – your tutorial helped make it all possible!
Wow! That looks really good! I see what you mean, about having to make it really wide. I’m glad it all worked out for you. Hopefully, it inspired you to tackle some new projects as well. Barn doors, especially, can become very addictive. We have two of them in our house, and I’m working on a third one right now. To be honest, I haven’t actually hung any of ours myself. I leave some things (like that) to my handyman. I like the building part, but not that part. So, kudos to you for taking that on!!
Door looks awesome. What color did you use?
Thank you!
Behr Marquee Peppercorn (Semi-Gloss)
This door is awesome! The color looks amazing in your room too! Nice work!
Thank you!
I am in love with the sliding barn door trend lately. I’m sitting in my living room now trying to figure out how I could incorporate one in my house. Yours is really pretty. I love the dark color, I feel like it adds some texture to the room! Gorgeous!
I am so sorry…I’m just now seeing that I missed your comment from a long while ago.
Thank you so much for your kind words. Did you happen to find a place for a sliding barn door?
Please let me know if you have any questions about them. 🙂
Thank you!
Have a great day!!
I love this barn door! My husband is making these for our boys rooms, do you have the height of the middle cross bar? We were t sure how big the X is. Thanks!!
Love the barn door and I’m in the process of building one. I’m also going to paint mine black. What is the paint color of your living room.
Thank you! The family room paint color is Benjamin Moore Santorini Blue.
Good luck on your barn door build. I would love to see pictures when you’re finished. 🙂
Nicole