Tools and Materials

Note

Product costs, availability and item numbers may vary online or by market.

Barn Door Ideas

When considering ideas for barn doors, think about the major design elements:

Wood vs. Painted: If you like the look of natural wood, there are a variety of species available to choose from. Some of the most popular choices for custom barn doors include pine, walnut, white oak, maple and knotty alder. If the room has painted trim and you want the door to match the same color or be a different hue to serve as a focal point, consider painting it.
Custom or Kit: If you don’t feel up to all the measuring and cutting required to build a barn door from scratch, you can opt for a prebuilt sliding barn door and a sliding barn door kit. Just install the mounting hardware, then hang the door from it. It’s easy to find a barn door in nearly any color or wood species you want.
Barn Door Hardware: Consider your preferred hardware finish. Some of the most popular include bronze, stainless steel, oil-rubbed and satin nickel.

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Barn Door Paint and Stain Options

If you want to go the do-it-yourself route, once you’ve learned how to make a barn door for the space, consider finishing options. If you want to allow the natural look of hardwood to show through while protecting the materials, wood stain is the perfect choice. Of course, you can always opt for a tinted stain if you want the door to have a hint of color to augment the wood grain.

If you want to paint your barn door, some of the most popular color choices include neutral white or off-white, gray and black. And if you intend for the barn door to provide a pop of color, there’s always red, yellow or orange.

Building DIY Barn Doors

Whether you’re crafting a barn door for a laundry room, bedroom or closet, this sliding barn door is easy to build to fit your opening.

For a standard single door, first account for any casing around the opening. The door width should be 2 inches wider than the opening, or at least as wide as the full opening plus any casing. For the height of the door, measure from the finished floor to the top of the opening, or to the top of the casing. The door in this project should hang about 1 inch above the finished floor. If you’re going to use two doors instead of one, divide the new calculated door width by two; the height remains the same as for a single door.

Once you know how big the door needs to be, adjust the length of the stiles — the vertical frame components — and the top/bottom rails — the horizontal frame components — to the desired lengths. The crossbar is cut to fit the actual door. The car siding is designed to have one board centered in the door panel and then fit the boards toward each side, all cut to fit the door as it’s built.

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Make a Frame

Adding Trim and Design Elements to a Barn Door

How to Install Barn Doors

Some hanging door tracks may also require a hanger board or ledger on the wall to mount the track. You can attach the board to studs to carry the weight of the door. The board also creates space to keep the new sliding door away from the wall so it clears the doorway trim. If your hardware requires a hanger board, cut the board twice as long as the door width (Project Diagram, Drawing 1). A 2-by-6 will work for most homes, but the board needs to be at least as thick as the trim.

Mount the board above the door opening or above the top of the door casing, following the hardware manufacturer’s instructions for placement. Secure the hanger board to wall studs with flathead screws. Drive them slightly below the surface of the wood. Fill the screw holes with wood filler and paint the hanger board to match the wall color. As an alternative, you can apply a clear finish to the board or stain it to match the door.

Good to Know

The track comes in stock lengths. If you choose, you can leave the track full length or cut it to the desired length with a hack saw. If you choose not to cut the track, the hanger board will need to match its length.

A close-up of the door track and hangers for a wood sliding barn door.

For the track hangers, you’ll install a bracket that connects the two rails or use two hanger brackets. Install three brackets for a single door, five for a double door or six if there’s no connector bracket. Slip the brackets onto the track and then hang the track. If you’re using a hanger board, check the track instructions for placement of the track on the hanger board. Fasten the brackets with the manufacturer’s recommended hardware.

Frequently Asked Hanging Sliding Door Questions

Thinking about replacing a standard door with a hanging sliding door? The answers to these common questions will help you know what to expect.

Can I Install a Hanging Sliding Door Myself?

If you’ve got experience with DIY projects and tools, you can install a hanging sliding door. All-in-one kits with the door and hardware make installation relatively simple. You can also purchase a door — or build your own — to use with hardware kits that include the track and hangers. Find a kit for your door’s size and weight and follow the instructions.

Do Hanging Sliding Doors Need a Bottom Track?

Hanging sliding doors or hanging barn doors usually don’t need a bottom track. They have rollers that ride along a track at the top of the doorway, suspending the door just above the floor. The hardware must be rated for the door’s weight and size and you should mount the track to wall studs or a hanger board secured to the studs.

How Far Off the Ground Should a Hanging Sliding Door Be?

A bottom of a hanging sliding door can be between 1/2 and 1 inch above the floor or ground. This spacing should give it good clearance to open and close easily. When you’re installing the hanging door track, you’ll need to make sure you level it properly to maintain this gap.

How to Install Indoor Sliding Barn Doors