Do you love the look of barn doors but not the price tag? We’ve got a DIY Barn Door and DIY Barn Door Track tutorial – that won’t break the bank!
Dean and I dreamed about building a sliding barn door for our house for years. But the cost was always a wee bit prohibitive.
Have you ever felt the same way? Like you want a barn door but it’s too expensive?
Well no more, because we’ve got a DIY tutorial for a barn door AND track that won’t break the bank!
We were initially going to use reclaimed barn boards for this barn door project and tutorial. After all what better project to use barn boards for than a barn door?!
But when we went to look at them at a shop in the city they were about $20 a board and really rough to the touch. I’m talking snag-your-best-sweater-from-a-foot-away kind of rough. Which would sort of hamper the cozy feeling in your home, yes?!
So we decided to go for Plan B. Wood Pallets.
These can usually be found almost everywhere…the side of the road, big box stores, free exchange sites, etc.
In our case, Dean had a couple of really chunky wood pallets at his work that his company wasn’t using anymore. He dismantled them and chose fifteen of the straightest boards. They were dinged and worn and full of character, but they weren’t all wonky and warped, if you know what I mean.
TIP: When choosing wood for your door try to find the straightest pallet pieces so your door won’t have a wonky “wow” to it.
After you’ve chosen the wood for your barn door, you’ll rails and wheels.
One of the reasons we personally let this project drop to the bottom of the list for so long was figuring out the rail and wheels for the sliding action. Typically buying the barn door hardware from somewhere costs several hundred dollars. But you can always get creative. This time my most talented hubby thought of using two of the kids’ broken scooter wheels minus the rubber and tubing!
Then you need to source the material for the rustic handles.
Since any large rustic handles that can be pre-purchased are rather pricey, we decided to DIY some really large handles using pipe fittings.
So, with that explanation, below you will find the supplies list for this project and links to each stage of the project as well.
PLEASE NOTE: You will need to measure your own doorway and make adjustments to the measurements to fit.
Supplies
- scooter wheels (with rubber removed) or pulley wheels (disassembled pulleys) qty=2
- 1-1/4″ x 1/4″ x 86-1/8″ long steel flat bar qty=2
- 1-1/2″ x 1/4″ x 84″ long steel flat bar qty=1
- 3″ x 1/8″ x 84″ long steel flat bar qty=1
- 1/2″ x 1/16″ x 2″ long steel tubing qty=7
- 2″ x 6″ x 48″ long wood qty=15
- fitting black iron floor flange 1″ qty=4
- fitting black iron 90 degree elbow 1″ qty=4
- black steel pipe nipple 1″ x close qty=4
- black steel pipe nipple 1″ x 16″ long qty=2
- 1/4″ x 1-1/2″ long plated lag bolts qty=60
- 5/16″ x 3-1/2″ long plated lag bolts qty=7
- #12 x 1-1/4″ long screws qty=16
- 5/16″ x 2″ long – 18 thread plated hex bolts qty=2
- 5/16″ – 18 thread plated hex nuts qty=2
- 5/16″ plated flat washers qty=4
- Minwax Dark Walnut stain
- Rust-Oleum Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint
- white or light grey paint
- water
- sandpaper
After gathering your supplies, click on the links below to be taken to each step to build your own DIY Barn Door and DIY Barn Door Track That Won’t Break the Bank!
xo,
Shannon
P.S. If you missed it you can click here for our original Upcycled Barn Door Reveal.
David says
November 10, 2015 at 4:39 pmOn your sliding Barn Door what was this used for? [1/2″ x 1/16″ x 2″ long steel tubing qty=7] everything else makes sense to me except this.
Thank you and your door looks beautiful.
Shannon Acheson says
November 10, 2015 at 4:45 pmThese are for the spacers for the upper rail.
Marc says
November 27, 2015 at 1:00 pmHi everything looks very easy and simple ! Thanks a lot !
I only have 2 questions: the are some spacers between the 2 doors tracks.
Where can I get these !!?
What should I seek for !?
Thanks again for your reply !
Gerolene says
January 14, 2016 at 4:09 amGreetings from Cape Town, South Africa. I love, love, love the barn door and your coffee table is just as gorgeous. Trusting that you will have a very blessed and productive 2016.
Shannon Acheson says
January 14, 2016 at 8:25 amThank you and hello!!! I wish the same for you!
Ellen says
January 19, 2016 at 5:17 pmMe again, I forgot to Thank you for your post. Looking forward to your reply.
rachel says
January 31, 2016 at 7:51 pmBeautiful work. I’m looking to install something similar to muffle the noises from one room to the next. Haven’t quite figured out the logistics and time, but your post has given me some great inspiration.
How long did it take you to get all that installed?
Shannon Acheson says
February 2, 2016 at 8:32 amTo install it wasn’t too bad. Since we did it for a contest originally we had it complete in less than a week.
Phil DeNegri says
April 16, 2016 at 8:01 pmhow long does the wood smell of stain? and or did you varnish it after to seal it?
Shannon Acheson says
April 16, 2016 at 11:13 pmNo varnish. The strong smell lasts only a few hours. After that there’s some lingering smell, but it doesn’t usually bother me much.
Rosita says
July 4, 2016 at 12:35 amI am curious to know what you use for a handle or latch on the inside of the door so you can close it. Seems to me that a handle like you use on the outside would not work it would be up against the frame.
Thanks
Shannon says
July 4, 2016 at 5:21 amBecause our door opening is larger than the space to the side of the door, the handles don’t get in the way at all (because the door is always part way into the opening). If it is an issue for you, install handles only on one side of the door like the majority of barn door installations.
Deb McV says
August 3, 2016 at 12:58 pmLove love love!! Can I purchase the entire kit?
Shannon says
August 5, 2016 at 1:41 pm🙂 not from us! There are lots of stores that have kits now though. Try Home Depot?
Linda Carr says
October 15, 2016 at 1:14 amLove the barn door idea. Thank you for making it affordable.
Tony says
August 29, 2016 at 10:39 pmHow do u keep the door from sliding off the rail?
Shannon says
August 30, 2016 at 12:26 pmWell as we’ve mentioned in other comments about the doors, one side rolls towards a wall and can’t fall off. On the other side the handle on the back side and the doorway prevents the door from even getting to the end of the rail. If your door is in a different place, you may have to include some sort of stopper.
DeeDee says
September 2, 2016 at 9:23 amI love so many ideas I’m running out of space on Pinterest!! I love the antique country look and especially cozy! I got so many projects I really need some ideas on entertainment center I want to make for son for Christmas that will hold a flat screen 60″.. At moment working on bed frame out of old by fold doors I found in and old basement from apartment complex built in 1949 can’t wait to see them finished as its my first project & a big one, need some ideas to paint ? I like the white wash but not real sure how to do? Definitely will post when finished ……Thank you very much
Maria says
November 13, 2016 at 4:07 pmI agree DeeDee, so many great and beautiful ideas. Yikes! I want to save every thing I see, it’s all just so awesome.
Thanks to everyone who contributes to Pinterest. I love it!
María says
September 11, 2016 at 7:31 amMe encanto.
Jen says
October 7, 2016 at 12:26 pmHow much did the whole project cost?
Shannon says
October 11, 2016 at 10:36 amUm, if I remember correctly about $200?
Jen says
October 11, 2016 at 10:39 amDef a lot cheaper than buying them! It looks great, I think I’ll try this for my living room!
Ponce Teran says
October 27, 2016 at 4:28 pmBeautiful results. Could you provide some links where to purchase the flat bars and tubing?
Thanks,
Ponce
Shannon says
October 28, 2016 at 11:23 amHello Ponce. Metal Supermarket’s online purchasing site is here: https://ecommerce.metalsupermarkets.com/MSC-Home.aspx. Cold-rolled flat bar is here: https://ecommerce.metalsupermarkets.com/catalog/STEEL-COLD_ROLLED/FLAT_BAR/C1018.
Samantha Rogers says
December 7, 2016 at 12:30 amFor my birthday I asked my husband to build a sliding barn door for my office. He has been having a hard time finding affordable barn wood, so I really appreciated your suggestion to try using pallets instead. I will pass this information on to him and cross my finger for a great birthday surprise!
Shannon says
December 9, 2016 at 11:08 amHere’s hoping!
Moriah Cameron says
July 23, 2017 at 8:35 pmWe love your barndoor! Did much do we just built one for our house :). Before we hang it, my hubby wanted me to ask if yours is holding up okay without any support on the back. Ours seems a bit flimsy so we were just wondering. Thanks so much!
PA – love your kitchen, too 🙂
Shannon says
July 24, 2017 at 12:12 pmIt held up just fine – until we moved and took it down! 😉
Moriah Cameron says
July 24, 2017 at 1:17 pmLOL. Thanks so much for getting back to me so quickly. I checked our receipt and it appears we purchased 1/8″ thick steel. The problem is with us. However, since the door will be visible from both sides when shit, I wanted the back side to be done, too. So the error works out for the best 😉
Moriah Cameron says
July 24, 2017 at 1:21 pmOh my… I meant totype shut. So sry.
And say we are going to attach the right thickness of flat steel on the backside of the doors so all works out perfectly
Jennifer says
September 26, 2017 at 11:14 amI scoured the comments looking for this question before I asked it and didn’t find it! I can’t tell if your doorway has trim or not, do these plans factor in a doorway with trim? Or what precautions can I take that will help me best hang the door? I saw on one of the posts there’s something of a spacer, I think.. Would I just need to get that material in a bigger size?
I’m so excited to start this project this weekend! Thank you for posting!
Shannon Acheson says
September 29, 2017 at 11:33 amHello Jennifer. The doorway itself did not have trim. But there were baseboards for sure. The spacers and track allowed the door to open and close freely without touching the baseboards.
Sandy C says
October 27, 2017 at 8:33 amHi Shannon,
I love these plans and I’m about to tackle this project. It looks like the links in the supplies list to Amazon items are broken.
Is there any chance you could update them? Or maybe confirm that they’re working for you?
Thank you.
Sandy
Shannon Acheson says
October 27, 2017 at 10:00 amOh dear! That’s crazy. They worked for me from the writing side of the blog, but not on what you would see. I’m so sorry! I think I’ve fixed them. Please try again, Sandy!
Sandy C says
October 29, 2017 at 11:27 amThanks for having a look at it. Oddly, it’s not working in Chrome, but it worked just fine in Internet Explorer. That’s me trying just now. Anyway, I was able to get where I needed to go, and I’m excited to get going on this!
Shannon Acheson says
November 2, 2017 at 9:34 amWeird. I’m glad you could make them work. I apologize again that it was difficult!
Gretchen says
October 29, 2017 at 11:18 amCan’t wait to get started on my barn door
Shannon Acheson says
November 2, 2017 at 9:35 amWoohoo! Let us know how it turns out, Gretchen!
Justin Brown says
December 13, 2017 at 8:15 amI absolutely love this idea. I too have seen the horrific high prices for barn doors and your idea is way more cost efficient for me!! One question, was the door heavy once it was completed and hung?
Shannon Acheson says
December 13, 2017 at 10:59 amIt was rather heavy, yes.
Beverly Miller says
May 15, 2018 at 2:44 pmVERY nice. Where can i buy the long steel flat bars?
Shannon Acheson says
October 11, 2018 at 12:19 pmThey can be purchased at places like Home Depot and Metal Supermarkets.