A sliding barn door offers style and substance. Not only are they all the rage these days, but they also offer an increase in usable square footage inside your home. And who doesn’t want MORE room?
Whether you are mounting a door for your pantry, a front closet, bathroom, or den—there’s a few tips we’d love to share about this amazing DIY project.
DO-IT-YOURSELF
Tips for Success
TIP 1: Measure Everything
It’s easy enough to say you want a sliding barn door for your pantry—but you’ll need a few more details before you can start buying products and assembling your dream look. You’ll need the width of the door PLUS some (2” is a good start) on one side to ‘slide the door’ into. Make sure that this area is clear of any obstructions like light switches, wall lights, or air registers.
It’s also a good idea to choose your hardware before you cut or buy any wood for the door. You’ll need to measure how many inches are between where you plan on mounting the track and the floor. Subtract space for airflow (.5”-1”) between the door and your flooring. This should give you your maximum door height.
TIP 2: Support, Support, Support
Barn doors are heavy. They require secure mounting—especially with the amount of sideways force exerted on these doors daily. Sliding barn doors must be mounted to wall framing—whether this is done with wood backing between wall studs, a header board, or directly to studs.
The first option should really only be attempted if you are in the building process. Taking apart the wall as an afterthought isn’t recommended. But, securing a beautiful wood header board to studs—and mounting the top rail to that—is a great solution that is both easy and stylish. Be sure to use long support screws!
TIP 3: Stand-offs, Floor Spacers and Roller Guides
Every barn door will require stand-offs and or spacers to keep the door sliding freely. Most of these products come standard with the track mounting hardware. Your measuring tape is going to be your best friend when determining how much room should be between door and wall. Keep in mind your side view, as well as any hardware or design on the back of the door that could interfere with the sliding mechanism.
The guide at the floor will prevent the bottom of the door from swinging in and out. The easiest floor guide is an L-shaped bracket that mounts to the floor.
TIP 4: The Door
There are many ways to make a barn door. You can use a pre-made door and simply stain it, or assemble a barn door from either bare lumber or tongue and groove siding/flooring material. You can also re-purpose an antique door! Whatever your material, choose something straight. Cupping and warping will ruin your day.
TIP 5: Stain
When you stain your door, go easy on the first coat. Some wood will absorb the color faster than other wood. It’s difficult to guess how much is enough—and easy to use too much. Try using a rag and small, deft strokes to apply the stain. Finish an entire coat before applying second. Wait until the door is completely dry before mounting.
For a more thorough accounting of the building and mounting of barn doors, try the familyhandyman.com, where you’ll find a shopping list and a tool inventory explained in detail.
Adair Homes loves our homeowner’s custom touches. Tag us on Instagram with your latest DIY looks. We can’t wait to see!
About Adair Homes
With 51-plus years in the industry, Adair’s long-term commitment to treating each customer with honesty, integrity, and respect has paid off, 22,000 customers strong and counting.
At Adair Homes, our mission states: it is our privilege to build our customers the home they have always dreamed of. We believe in providing the greatest value for our customer’s dollar and finding innovative ways to value engineer homes. We believe that we can offer an outstanding customer experience that is both enjoyable and rewarding—and offer this one-of-a-kind customer experience as the largest on-your-lot builder in the West. For more info, get in touch with us here or call 1-844-518-7072.
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