Unhinged: DIY Barn Door Opens Field of Possibilities
I've wanted a barn door in my home ever since I saw the one my little brother had in his house (wanting the toy your brother has never gets old).
When I bought my place I had to have one — I literally had to because my washer and dryer needed one more inch than my closet could provide. Hanging one door on the outermost track and the other outside the closet on the barn door track bought just enough room.
I got the track and the hardware from Rustica Hardware but held off on the actual door, instead using the original closet doors while I sought the barn doors of my dreams.
When I couldn't find anything I liked that would fit my closet's circumstances (one door needs to hang from the existing closet door track and so must be slightly shorter), I decided to take matters into my own hands and build them myself.
Three trips in two days to Home Depot later (including a nearly two-hour visit during which I literally just stared at wood) I had a car full of shiplap planks and other lumber, and a patio-turned-barn door staging area.
Several planks of shiplap siding along with some other pieces laid out before assembly.
With a simple design in mind, I measured — and measured again. I framed four six-inch shiplap siding planks with 1x8s and 1x5s (the shorter door has a 1x4 header) and set them against a backing of three 1x10s across the top, middle and bottom. The pieces were cut, and then glued and screwed in place from the back, leaving not one screw head showing from the front. The doors look great. Now to decide on a handle and a finish: paint or stain?
Newly finished barn doors temporarily in place before being finished with stain or coat of paint.