How to Build a Barn Door

Hey friends!

Today I am going to share with you the barn door we made for the mud room in our entry way.  Do you remember that room?

Here is what it looked like when we started building our new front porch….

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This is what it looks like now…

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To begin building our barn door we bought 10 2×4’s from Lowe’s for the main structure of the door.  Be sure your boards are straight before you buy them. :)  You could also use a thinner board, but we wanted our door to be thick and substantial.

how to build a barn doorYou may need more or less boards depending on the width of your doorway.  We cut them the length we needed for the height of our doorway and laid them out flat on our front porch and pushed them as close together as possible. 

To hold them together, we added 1×4 trim around the edges and for the “X,” and 1×6 for the middle of the door. 

Cy measured and cut the lengths we needed for our trim and then applied Gorilla glue to the boards where we were going to nail the trim on.

how to build a barn door

 

how to build a barn door

Before nailing the trim to the 2×4’s he made sure the bottom was even.

how to build a barn door

Because the width of the 2×4’s didn’t cover our doorway opening completely, Cy allowed for a little bit of an overhang with the trim pieces so that we could cover the door opening completely.  

how to build a barn door

He nailed the outside trim work to the 2×4’s with 18 gauge, 1 3/4 finish nails and his nail gun.

how to build a barn door

He repeated the process on the top, sides, and bottom.

how to build a barn door

 

 

 

how to build a barn door

 

how to build a barn door

 

how to build a barn door

 

We glued and nailed the 1×6 to the middle of the barn door.

how to build a barn door

 

 

 

how to build a barn door

 

 

how to build a barn door

 

For the “X” at the bottom of the door, Cy cut and measure a board the length of one corner to the other by lining up the middle of the 1×4’s in the corners.

how to build a barn door

Then he just pencil sketched where he needed to make his cuts.  He said he could have used a framing square to be more exact, but he was able to do it this way.

how to build a barn door

He did a great job because it was a perfect fit! 

how to build a barn door

 

 

He applied gorilla glue to the back of the first half of the “X” and then nailed it to the door.

how to build a barn door

 

 

 

how to build a barn door

 

 

 

 

how to build a barn door

 

He measured and cut the second board in half so that it would fit as the second leg of the “X.”

how to build a barn door

 

 

how to build a barn door

 

 

 

how to build a barn door

Once the door was complete, Cy sprayed the knots with primer specific for covering pine knots.

how to build a barn door

After we primed all of the knots, we painted two coats of Valspar white paint on the door in semi-gloss.

how to build a barn door

Cy snapped this picture on his phone and sent it to me after he had painted one coat…

how to build a barn door

We installed our door with a rolling door kit (that I will tell you about in my next post.)  And now it looks like this!…

how to build a barn door

I love it soooo much!  It is the perfect door for this space!  And I love how I can close it when our mudroom gets a little messy.  :)

Here is a peek into the mudroom…

how to build a barn door

Since this barn door is in our new entry way, and I just finished decorating that space for Christmas, I added a little wooden star ornament to the handle. :)  

Love it?  Pin it!

how to build a barn door

 

35 Comments

  1. I love Cy’s presentation of the glue. He may
    have a future on The Price is Right, lol. Seriously though, the door (and the entryway) look fantastic.

    1. No. We didn’t do one, but we just bought sheets of plywood and had them cut into five inch strips to use as paneling for our walls. We just nailed them to the studs, filled the nail holes and painted. Hope that helps a little. :)

  2. I LOVE this post!! This is all i asked my husband for christmas for!! I cant wait to see your next post!!! ( Did you still have overhang on the back of the door? Just wondering)

  3. I would have found reading this more enjoyable if I didn’t have to contend with ads that cover the content. I’ll continue to read your blog because I like it. I just wanted to give you that bit of feedback. Nothing nasty or offensive intended.

    1. Marcia, I appreciate your comment. Thank you for letting me know. I think I may have some ads appearing that shouldn’t be, and I will check on it. thanks again!

  4. Looks great! I’m having trouble with pop up ads taking up half the screen and I can’t get them to go away. Its happen on the last two posts, very frustrating. Just wondering if anyone else is having the same problem.

  5. I love it Traci! And yes, Cy definitely has a future in the advertising business for gorilla glue;) So funny! I can only imagine your conversation through that! But seriously, I’m loving the door and have GOT to find somewhere in my house to do this!! I’m thinking my basement remodel coming! Love it!

    1. Thank you, Betsy. Cy is thrilled with how everyone loved his presentation and is considering quitting his banking job and going to work for Gorilla glue. ;)

  6. I also love Cy’s presentation of the Gorilla glue. I did notice he’s not wearing steel toed boots for his woodworking – ha!! I love the barn door!

  7. Love the door! Great directions too. Just wondering if you would share where you purchased the track for the door?

      1. Could I ask if you could take a pic of the other side?😁 My husband and I have been wanting to do this to our bathroom, but could never find a door we like… Or afford! I love yours, and would love to know what the other side looks like.

  8. Hey! Whatd you use for the bottom to keep the door from swinging? Hard to tell exactly but blackish brackets to keep door in line?

  9. Hi, I`m from Argentina. We are trying to do the same door(It´s wonderful). Let me ask you, and I hope you understand. In these photos we can see the front part of the door, is the back one exactly the same?
    As one side is in a bedroom and the other in a living, both of them have to look really nice.

  10. Hi, thanks for taking a moment to answer my question. We are looking to replicate your barn door as its by far our favorite look on the web. Anyway, in your step by step it states that you used 1×4’s for the trim to frame the door. The pictures look as if the top and bottom part of the frame may be a 1×6 like the middle piece and not a 1×4. Could you please clarify as I want to make sure my door is a proportionate as yours is. Thanks again!!

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