Barn door DIY for your home: how to make it with wood

DIYing your very own barn door is easier than you might think.

Barn door DIY is not as simple as, say, chewing, but for the impact it delivers, the DIY necessary is definitely doable for anyone describing themselves as handy and/or owners of power tools.

‣ MyFixitUpLife Barn Door DIY - Improvenet - MyFixitUpLife

It’s an awesome way to make a big change in several rooms. Yet, it takes up almost no space and is simple to use. What’s not to like?

Wood

While we love the idea of using reclaimed wood so we can morph into a purely Pinterest-based existence of fictitious barns and factories from days of olde (yes, with an ‘e’), reclaimed lumber is expensive and can be hard to find and work with.

When we do a barn door DIY, we usually use what’s leftover from another project or buy new lumber. And for us, the knottier, gnarlier and more figured the better. We used #2 Eastern White Pine 1 x 8 for this door. One ‘new’ thing we do like—straight, untwisted boards.

To design your own DIY door, you need enough verticals (slats) to cover the door opening plus no less than one inch on each side. At least one diagonal brace (or an X like we did) is nice and one stand-off. This goes horizontally above the door. It accepts the door hardware and projects the door past any base molding near the floor. It also looks cool.

We’ve made a few barn doors for homes and commercial projects, and each time the door is unique to the owners.

Click here to read more by Mark and Theresa on Improvenet.com

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Mark
A licensed contractor, tool expert, wood and outdoor enthusiast, and elite Spartan Race competitor, he writes about home improvement and tools for national magazines and websites, and teaches hands-on clinics for other remodeling professionals. Check out his book, The Carpenter's Notebook.

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Comments (2)

[…] As an option, you could do barn doors and build shelves inside the room. We did a door for our Food Network show; here’s how to build a barn door, TV style.  […]

I love the idea of doing a barn door in your home! My wife and I just got into a new place and have been thinking of ideas we could do to change things up a bit. Thanks for giving tips about what kind of wood could work for the door. Super helpful!

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