How to Make Your Own Sliding Barn Door

March 6, 2019
nicole

Hi! I'm Nicole

Fearless DIY. Sharing building project tutorials and interior design tips. Let’s build something beautiful together. For more projects, design tips and behind the scenes, follow me @designtobuild.nicole

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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.

With so many styles to choose from, here’s a look at a few of them I have built for my own home…

My family room.  (This is the one I’m giving the tutorial on in this post 🙂 My favorite!!)….sliding barn door in family room

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sliding barn door with goldendoodle pup

My first sliding barn door build in my youngest boys’ room….A simple step-by-step how to make a sliding barn door.

My latest sliding barn door build in my teenage daughter’s room makeover...

Modern Teen Bedroom Makeover--What to Tackle First

Because this is such a fun build, I know I want to do more. Oh the plans I have….so many barn doors in my future. 🙂

My family room barn door came together, after recently completing a board and batten treatment

A simple step-by-step how to make a sliding barn door.

and updating the corner cabinet in my family room…

Update your built-in cabinets with little time and money

It only made sense to work on the sliding barn door for this room. So off to Home Depot I went…

A simple step-by-step how to make a sliding barn door.

How to Build a Sliding Barn Door:

Supplies Needed: (affiliate links)

(12) 1×6 (8foot) pinewood boards

(1) 1×4 (8foot) pinewood boards (for the cross boards)

80-grit sandpaper

1-1/4″ Kreg screws

Wood filler (affiliate link)

8 x 1 1/4″ screws (affiliate link)

Primer

Paint (color of your choice)

Sliding door tracking (my favorite tracking–the most affordable option, I’ve found 🙂 )

Sliding door hardware (handle)(Here’s the one I used for this door)

Constructing the Door:

(Affiliate links added)

Step One:

Determine the length and width you want your door to be. Then cut all of your 1×6’s to the 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….

A simple step-by-step how to make a sliding barn door.

I highly recommend a Kreg Jig for this. Don’t let the sight of this scare you…

A simple step-by-step how to make a sliding barn door.

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…

A simple step-by-step how to make a sliding barn door.

Step Four:

Clamp two boards together (one clamp on each end). Drill 1 1/4″ kreg screws into each of your pocket holes…

A simple step-by-step how to make a sliding barn door.

Step Five:

Repeat Step Four until all boards are joined together…

A simple step-by-step how to make a sliding barn door.

Step Six:

Use wood filler to fill in all of your pocket holes. Once dry, sand…

A simple step-by-step how to make a sliding barn door.

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…

A simple step-by-step how to make a sliding barn door.

Step One:

Cut outside length pieces (1×6 boards) to fit your door and clamp them on…

A simple step-by-step how to make a sliding barn door.

Attach using 8 x 1 1/4″ screws. This brand of screws is my personal favorite…

A simple step-by-step how to make a sliding barn door.

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…

A simple step-by-step how to make a sliding barn door.

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…

A simple step-by-step how to make a sliding barn door.

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…

A simple step-by-step how to make a sliding barn door.

After applying two coats of paint (Sherwin Williams 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…

A simple step-by-step how to make a sliding barn door.

And voila..another sliding barn door built.

Last step:

Your barn door is now ready to hang. Check out this post for a great tutorial on how to hang your sliding barn door. Much easier to do than you might think. 🙂

To finish it off, I added a 14″ square cast iron handle pull. (In the pictures below, my handle had not yet come). 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…

A simple step-by-step how to make a sliding barn door.

And this big photo-bomber wanted his moment in lights…

A simple step-by-step how to make a sliding barn door.

A look at it with the door shut…

A simple step-by-step how to make a sliding barn door.

Most of the time, it will be open.

The big picture…

A simple step-by-step how to make a sliding barn door.

A simple step-by-step how to make a sliding barn door.

Here it is with the cast iron handle pull…

A simple step-by-step how to make a sliding barn door.

A little closer look…

A simple step-by-step how to make a sliding barn door.

A more recent look….

sliding barn door in family room

And just for fun, here’s a long view of our family room as you enter through the front door (Notice we got rid of the red couches 🙂 ) Happy day!!! Loving the neutral couches, much better….

Entry way to a farmhouse home with fall decor

And a more recent look at the sliding barn door closed…

Big wall art sign with home decor

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:

For a great tutorial on How to Hang Your Own Sliding Barn Door, Check out this post!! Great information! Very Helpful!

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One more thing…Some of you have asked 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. Here are a couple different sizes….

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

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