DIY Double Barn Door

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 I finally did it. I've been dreaming about putting barn doors in our house for 5 years now, and it's finally done! Our front room, right off the entry way, was converted into a guest room/living room combo a few months ago and the only thing that was missing from making it complete was adding the doors. I had a curtain swagged for years on one of the sides to soften up the hard lines, but I figured guests would probably want a little more privacy that what a dinky little curtain can give :) I would know, I had a curtain as my door for half my teenage years because my door was taken off from slamming it too much lol Curtains don't offer that much privacy, trust me :)

 Since my dad came to stay for a week last week and I figured now was the best time to get to add some doors:) I'm still trying to get used to it, and losing my entryway table has been a little rough, but I'm sure I'll figure some stuff out...like where to drop the mail and the keys.

 This opening is about 5 feet wide, and I had to work around an air intake, so I had to split the doors into two and make it a double sliding door.

Here's the tutorial on how I made the barn doors, and I'll also talk a little bit about the hardware at the end of the tutorial :)

I, of course, made two of these doors, but here's how I made each one of them.
Supply List:
Plywood Siding
3 pieces of 3 1/2 inch molding, 8 feet
1 piece of 5 1/2 inch molding, 6 feet
Sander
Wood Glue
Nail gun
Paint
Joint compound
Handles


For the main part of the door, I used plywood siding. This was the majority of the cost here. I found this siding for about $32 a piece at Home Depot. My doorway measured 60 inches wide and 86 inches high. So, I made my doors 68 inches wide and 88 inches high. Larger than the opening dimensions so there would be no gaps when the doors closed. So, each panel was cut to 34 inches wide and 88 inches high. You can have these cut at the lumber store to save time and your sanity :)

 I first sanded the board to get ride of any random textures and slivers.

 I found that using a blow dryer was a pretty effective way of getting off the dust, especially in the gaps.

 Next was putting on the molding. You can save some money here and use pine boards instead. I used 3 1/2 inch molding for the sides and cross part, and then 5 1/2 inch for the top and bottom. I measured two of  3 1/2 inch first at 88 inches, and then secured them onto the two sides of the siding. I used wood glue and a nail gun.

 I then measured the space between the side molding and cut the two 5 1/2 inch pieces to that length and secured them onto the top and bottom of the siding.

 Next I put a couple coats of paint onto the siding. I wanted to do this before the cross length piece was placed so I wouldn't have to paint in a ton of corners. Just thought it would be easier :)

 Using a square, I measured and cut out the middle/cross piece to fit into each corner. I used a 3 1/2 inch piece for this. An easy way to do this also, is to place the board on top of the corners, making sure you have it where you want it on the top and bottom corner, and then place a mark where they intersect the bottom layers of molding. Turn your molding over and then create a corner of a square using those lines. 

 The best thing about doing two doors, is now you don't have to go through the same pain of doing this again, just flip your molding over onto the second doors molding and trace it out :) Saves you some time! If you don't want the cross moldings to be opposite each other like I did it, then you can just trace it one on top of the other rather than upside down on each other. Make sense?

 When all the molding is secure, use some joint compound and fill in all the nail holes and seams.

 I also used a putty knife with the joint compound and filled in the sides of the door so it didn't look like plywood anymore :)

 Once the compound was dried, I then sanded it down.

After sanding, I then added the last coats of paint. It took about 4 coats of paint to get the door completely white, two at the beginning and then two more at the end.

 Here's the beginning of my next project. I realized after running out of time, that when you slide the doors, they look horrible on the inside of the room. So, I just painted the plywood with a quick coat of paint. Now I'm going to add some molding onto this side also and finish up painting. I'll have to show you how I do that soon :) but for now, this is what it looks like. Not too pretty haha

 Once everything was dried, I then added the hardware to the door.

 And hung it up on the track. I bought this track from Amazon (click here). It was the cheapest one I could find at the time. It's 12 feet long, perfect for the opening I had. They do make smaller ones too if your doorway isn't as large. Here are a few that you can pick from.

I loved the style of this one. I would explain how to put this up, but if you purchase this, it gives you some instructions. The only thing I did differently than the instructions was I used a different drywall anchor and bolt than the ones they supplied. I only had to use two of these out of the 8 holes we used for mounting, so it wasn't too bad. I also had to cut down one of the sides by about 4 inches to fit, but that didn't change anything about the rest of it. These slide great and look amazing! 

 So, once the doors were hung, I then needed to add the door handles. They looked a little plain otherwise.

 I got these door handles from Home Depot. They are actually meant for garages, but I loved the size and look! I just used my own screws to put them in the doors and bypassed the hardware it came with. I think they were about $13 for the pair.

 And here's the finished product again.

 I just love the impact these give when you come into our house. I still haven't moved the artwork on the left side of the wall yet, it barely overlaps. I'm not sure if I ever will either. I guess we'll see if it starts to bug me or not.

 Here they are closed. We went for a "V" look per my husbands choice.

 And here they are completely opened again. The hardware also came with guides for the bottom which I haven't put in yet. We are getting ready to get hardwood in here, hopefully soon, so I figured I would wait until that happens. Plus, these doors are really not going to be moved much either except when the occasional guest comes to visit. So, I wasn't too concerned about it.

 Here's the view from the other angle.

 My husband was not on board with this idea...at all. Like he was wanting me to move everything out of our old guest bedroom and bring in a bed and everything else back into it to accommodate my dad. But, I fought hard enough and got my way and got my barn doors :) Also, he wasn't too happy that he had to help with the hardware either, and I don't blame him. I wish someone would have told us to just go and buy different anchors before we started and it would have saved a lot of time and agony. So, trust me on this one, if you get the hardware and don't have studs to secure it in, go and buy some different drywall anchors :) 

 So, as for the cost, here's the break down for each door:
Plywood Siding: $32
3 pieces of 3 1/2 inch molding, 8 feet each: $19
1 piece of 5 1/2 inch molding, 6 feet: $7
Handles: $6.50 ($13 for the pair) you can also find some cute single ones from Hobby Lobby
Paint, Glue, Nails: On hand, no cost.
Total: $64.50

Both doors total: $129
Hardware: $126

Grand total: $255

A little expensive, but a lot less money than finishing a room in our basement to use as a guest room! Plus, if you are doing only one door, the grand total would be significantly less especially since the hardware would be cheaper too! 

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”