Sliding Barn Door

Hey again! Two posts in one week, it’s some kind of record lately right? Well I promised a tutorial for Landon’s sliding door and here it is! This is super simple if you have the right tools. You can build the door and hang it in about 1-3 hours depending on your tools and skill level. I love sliding barn doors but I’m not crazy about “farmhouse” decor, as I’m sure you can tell from my made over spaces here on the blog.

With that in mind, I decided to do a little search for modern sliding doors and I put a couple ideas together to get to where we ended up with this one. We started with one vision in mind, but landed on something a little different. Because of that there are some changes I would make if I were to do it over again. Isn’t that how it always goes with DIY?

I know the raw wood isn’t for everyone but we double heart love it. I make no apologies, NO APOLOGIES 😉 Landon is asking to add a large graphic to the door and I think that’s a great idea, we just have to figure out how we’re going to do it!

For this project here is a list of items we used and some commentary on what I might change if I could do it over again. Keep in mind I needed an extra wide door (42 inches) so my measurements will be different than yours.

This post was sponsored by Crownbolt and Ryobi, but as usual all thoughts and opinions are my own

This post may contain affiliate links. See full disclosure above.

Supplies you will Need for a Sliding Barn Door

2 drills (Not NECESSARY but making pilot holes with a bit then switching to the screw head bit over and over is a pain in the butt and a total time suck. So if you have the luxury of 2 drills, get those babies charged and bring them BOTH to the barn door building party!)

Miter Saw (I use this one and I LOOOOOOOVE it!!)

1 1/2 inch self tapping screws

3 – 1x3x8 Fancy Pine boards (This is the super nice cabinet grade wood that needs no sanding! Here’s where I might change things. I was originally going for a sliding barn door very much like this lightweight one from Vintage Revivals. I had even bought the fabric. Then I decided to use a sheet of plywood on the back instead. So what I’m saying is, since all my wood is now showing instead of being covered by fabric I COULD have bought all fancy wood instead of the cheap 1×2’s I used on the inner frame. I’m still happy with it but it’s certainly an option. It would be more expensive in the end, of course.)

4 – 1×2’s (I bought furring strips because they are cheap and I didn’t think they would show. *See explanation above)

1 – 4×8 sheet of sanded underlayment (If you are doing the fabric method you have get the cheaper $13 sheet. I decided at this point for it to tall be exposed so I splurged and bought the $19 sanded sheet. The finish is MUCH nicer. Make your life easy and have Home Depot cut your 4×8 to the exact size of your door.)

1 – Sliding Barn Door Kit (I used the top mount style kit.)

4 – 3/16 Drywall Anchors (Unless you are lucky and can hit 4 studs (that’s what she said 😉 )

How to Build and Hang a Modern Sliding Barn Door

Measure, measure and measure again. You’ve heard it a million times, measure twice, cut once. Go ahead and open up your sliding door kit and read the directions. There are some height requirements, etc. that you will need to know when deciding on the size of your door. Width: We went with a 42 inch wide door. This made sure the door would cover the existing trim work when closed. Height: We went with about 83 inches if I remember correctly. The door needs to be about 1 1/2 inches off the floor to slide properly once it’s all hung up.
Start cutting your outer frame, using the fancy pine 1×3’s. We cut the sides at the same time, then also the top and bottom at the same time. Our Ryobi Miter saw was a DREAM. This coming from a DIY’er who has been using a miter box and hand saw for 3 years. Yikes!
Pre-drill for your screws! This is where the 2 drills are a life saver. Use 1 1/2 inch screws to attach your outer frame at the corners. I drove mine in from the top and the bottom so they would not be visible once the door was up. Another set or hangs or large clamps are helpful in this step.
Now that you have the outer rectangle built you can measure the INSIDE of that frame to get the measurements of your 1×2’s for the inner rectangle frame. Cut them the same way we cut the outer frame, 2 long sides together, top and bottom together.
Predrill, screw then double check that it fits nicely inside your outer frame. Now you can measure and cut your inner horizontal and vertical pieces. We did 3 horizontals and 4 verticals. Remember we didn’t intend for this to show while we were building. If we had known I would have been more intentional about placement (and straightness lol) but as is well that ends well. Predrill and then screw everything in place including the horizontals, verticals and the outer frame to the inside of the inner frame.
Now you can turn the whole thing over to the back side and predrill and screw your big sheet of underlayment on. And you’re done with the building portion if you plan to leave it raw and beautiful like we did.
Now you need to hang the bard door sliding kit. It’s very simple but you will need to have TWOO sets of hands. We were not able to hit 4 studs so we used drywall anchors. We had to bring a screw from the kit to Home Depot to get the right size, which was the 3/16 size anchors. It took some brain power lol
Just put your big iron bar that comes in the kit up to the wall, find where you need it to be (we had to do some adjusting because the width of our door. You can use 2 kits since they sell an extension piece to connect the 2 but we were able to use just one), make sure it’s level then mark your holes.
Predrill for your anchors then from this point you can follow the instructions in your kit based on your custom door size.

And there you go!! I know that seems like a lot of steps for a sliding barn door but I’m trying to be very detailed!! We were nervous that it wouldn’t all work it but it totally did! Magic….or, um perseverance? This room makeover threw us some serious curveballs but with great products from amazing companies it all came together eventually and we are thrilled with the results. You can see the floor tutorial and details here. Also, be sure to enter the big giveaway for $500 to Home Depot. Who wouldn’t want to win that?!?!