DIY Sliding Barn Door + Inexpensive Hardware

Continuing on with Shut The Front Door DIYs: build an antique-style sliding barn door and hang it with inexpensive hardware! See everything shared so far here, and don’t forget to come link up your door-related projects here, plus tell us a knock-knock joke for a chance to win $25!

Hello Remodelaholic readers it’s Jaime from That’s My Letter here today to share my diy sliding barn door.  You can build the door and install the hardware on this version for less than $100, keep reading and I’ll show you how.

How to Build and Hang an Antique Sliding Barn Door

Get the printable plans

There are many reasons why you would want to use a sliding door but the main reason I choose to make this door sliding is because it prevents the door from opening into the room which ultimately frees up floor space.  The door glides along a pipe track and stays almost flush to the wall.

I actually took the existing door off the hinges and installed the pipe track with casters but you can also build this door fairly easily with just two steps, see down below for detailed plans.

The casters are very forgiving on our uneven wood floors.  I used 2″ stationary casters however you can see there is a gap at the bottom of the door, consider smaller casters to lessen the gap.

Before you build this barn door I definitely suggest to measure your doorway and determine how wide your door needs to be.  This door above is made from 1×8 tongue and groove pine boards.  Tongue and groove boards are available in 1×6 and 1×8 so the number of boards and size will be based on how wide you want your finished door.  (And yes you could build this door from straight boards without the tongue and groove as well.)  Please note the plans below are based off of my door in the pictures above.

Download the printable woodworking plan HERE for the full material list, cut list, and assembly instructions.

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Easy DIY Sliding Barn Door Hardware from Plumbing Pipe

After building the easy barn door, next comes the hardware installation to make the door slide.

You will need the hardware pictured below to add your sliding door hardware and barn door wheels. Using plumbing pipe is an affordable way to make your own custom barn door hardware.

Materials to Make Your Own DIY Rolling Barn Door Hardware

• 2 – 1/2″ threaded floor flange
• 2 – threaded 1/2″ x 1″ nipple
• 2 – threaded 1/2″ 90-degree elbow
• 1- 1/2″ threaded pipe @ 72″ L
• 2 – large 1″ eye hooks to fit around the pipe
• 2 – stationary (rigid) casters (I used 2″)
• 2 – door handles (optional)

*I used all 1/2″ galvanized steel parts from the plumbing department.

Also note the nipple length is key here because that will determine how far away from the wall your door will hang.   You don’t want the door banging into the moulding so a longer nipple might be necessary if you have thicker moulding.

See more DIY barn door hardware plus affordable pre-made barn door hardware HERE.

Step 1: Attach Casters

Attach casters to bottom of door flush on interior.  You can see in the picture above from the hall the casters are wider than the door so you may consider attaching a 1×2 at the base of the door.

Step 2: Place & Attach Flanges

Determine where the pipe track will go by holding the door in place.  Attach floor flanges to wall (using anchors and screws) then insert nipples and elbows.

Step 3: Attach Eye Hooks

Screw eye hooks into top of door and slide onto long pipe.  Twist pipe into elbows.  You have to do one side at a time and possibly unscrew the nipple, attach the pipe then rescrew the nipple.

Step 4: Add door handle hardware both on the interior and hall side.

Because I used the 1″ nipple my door clears the moulding and I have space for the door handle.

I hope you enjoyed this sliding barn door tutorial, it’s definitely an option to consider when thinking about space savings ideas and room flow plus the farmhouse feel adds so much charm.  Happy Building!

——————Update 05/21/2016——————-

Reader Brag Post!

AnneMarie built this beauty! Here’s what she had to say about it:

I used ship-lapped barn wood I found at Home Depot. Loooove the gray finish and I figured it’d add a bit of pizzazz to my already bland apartment. My doorway is much bigger (@ 66in) and so I went for a 10ft pipe track in black to complement the  gray door. Also used black caster wheels. I made the mistake of not accounting for the length I was losing due to the overlapping of the wood and ended up with a door that was 1) too short for my entry way by about a foot and a half and 2) had cross boards that were too long. What’s a girl to do but improvise? I decided to attached the cross supports diagonally, which I ended up really liking. I also ended up loving the fact that the door is shorter. It’s for my living room and a bigger door would’ve taken up all of my free wall to the left of the entrance, which I think would have been overwhelming. I spray painted my door handle orange for a dab of color. Thanks again for the blueprint. This was incredibly easy after reading your instruction! 🙂

Thank you for sharing! The improvising worked out wonderfully!

Do you have a project inspired by a post or tutorial here at Remodelaholic? Let us know!

More DIY barn doors:

• Simple Classic Cross Brace Barn Door Building Plans
• Reclaimed Wood Chevron Barn Door
• Barn Door Baby Gate + Dutch Door
• How to Make a Sliding Barn Door from an Interior Door
• How to Make an Existing Door Look Like a Wood Barn Door

 

Published 30 Mar 2015 // Updated 21 May 2020