We moved into a fixer-upper home a few years ago, and have slowly been making our improvements as we go. The master bathroom is incredibly tiny, and you had to stand up against the wall to close the door and get to the toilet; incredibly inconvenient. We decided that we wanted to install a barn door, but after looking at the $400-$500 price tags, opted to make one ourselves. The whole project took about 3 hours to build (with two babies running all over it), and another hour to hang. We actually used 10% off coupons that had come in the mail, and happened to already have the wood glue, filler, sanding block, and paint, so our final cost was closer to $150. I also think that if you have a dedicated workspace and no kids jumping around that this will take much less time; we had no space, no experience, and crazy distractions in putting this together, but we are SO happy with the final result. Here’s how you can do this project, ordering ALL of it online:
Supplies:
- SMARTSTANDARD 6.6ft Heavy Duty Sturdy Sliding Barn Door Hardware Kit -Smoothly and Quietly -Easy to install -Includes Step-By-Step Installation Instruction Fit 36″-40″ Wide Door Panel (I Shape Hanger)
$49.99$39.94 on Amazon
Remaining items from Home Depot: - (6) 1″x8″x8′ wooden common/pine/soft boards
- (3) 1″x4″x8′ wooden common/pine/soft boards (NOTE these are the only item that won’t ship to your home on this list; if you NEED everything to ship instead of store pickup, you can get these pine boards for an extra $30 on your total cost)
- (1) 1 ¼” trim head screws (Note that these have a special head, but the bit i included in the box)
- sanding sponge (sand paper and a sanding block will also work, which is what we had)
- wood filler
- wood glue
- paint or stain (If using stain use polyurethane to seal as well. We used the same paint as we have been using to trim our home, semi-gloss, to match the doors)
- handle hardware – we used this handle and this finger pull (installed slightly offset of each other), or you can use this complete set instead for the same effect.
Let’s get started!!
- cut your boards to the following lengths so it looks like the following picture:
(5) 1″x8″ boards 84″ long
(1) 1″x8″ board into (3) pieces, 29 ¼” long
(2) 1″x4″ boards 84″ long (third board cut later)
- Lay the (5) large 1″x8″ boards next to each other; this will be the base of your door. Put wood glue on the 1″x4″ boards and glue these to the outside edges (as shown in photo below), and use wood glue to glue the (3) short 29 ¼” pieces at the top, bottom, and center, as shown in photo below. NOTE that the “center” board should be 34″ from the TOP of the door to the TOP of the center board. Ensure that all of the boards are lined up straight, and screw everything into place; we put screws into every board to make sure that it is very secure.
- Next, line up the last long 1″x4″ board diagonally to make an X pattern on the door. Draw a straight line that lines up with the top of the bottom wood piece, and another straight line to line up with the bottom of the center wood piece, as shown with the red arrows; cut those two angles. Put the board into place with glue and screws; we had to slightly adjust our angles a couple of times for them to line up correctly (this was where we started getting excited about the look of the door!).
- To make the other half of the X, line up the angled edge, and mark the same cuts for the other direction. Make sure to chop out the section where the second X-piece is crossing over the first X-piece, so that the X will be flat. Note the three cuts shown in the image below. After checking that everything fits correctly, glue and screw into place.
- Use wood filler on all screw holes and any major blemish areas (we had a couple of large knots in the boards), and let dry. Then sand everything down, and paint or stain.
- Add in the handle; we used a finger pull on one side and a regular handle on the other side. In order to make these flush you will need to use a chisel or drill, or the door will work fine without it or with another regular handle on the inside, depending on what tools you have available.
- Hang the door using the package directions. The hardware set we got will hold a 220 pound door, so this one will work perfectly. If you opt for different wood than softwood/pine, then you may need to take this into consideration. Installation is very simple, and the instructions are very easy to follow. Make sure to drill the track at the bottom of the door prior to hanging the door up so you don’t have to take it down twenty times while installing :). All done!
We were very excited to complete this barndoor, as it gives us the privacy that we need in the master bathroom. We are looking into doing this in a few other areas of the house to close off when needed without taking up all of the space that a door normally uses, and they look super pretty when all put together. Let us know if you end up putting one in your home!
