Hey buddies! We have an awesome building project for you today. We’re building sliding BARN DOORS! This is going to be a two-part series; the first sharing how to build the barn door, and the second will be talking about barn door hardware and installation in our attic family room!

We started out in the lumber isle at our local hardware store. We’re building 4 doors to fit our needs, so that’s why there’s so much wood pictured.

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We’ll be teaching you how to build just 1 barn door, but you may see lots of extra wood in some of the pictures because we did each task in batches for all four doors.

Supplies needed for building a Sliding Barn Door

• 2x6x8′ Qty 4
• 1x4x8′ Qty 6
• 7/8″ Fender Washer
• 1 1/4″ Kreg Screws
• 1″ Kreg Screws
• 11″ x 14″ glass pane
• 23 ga 1″ nails
• 23 ga 3/4″ nails

Tools needed for building a Sliding Barn Door

• Table Saw
• Miter Saw
• Kreg Foreman
• Router
• 45 deg chamfer router bit
• Router Table
• Glass cutter
• Nail Gun
• Chalkline
• Tape Measure
• Square

Directions

First item of business was to break down all these boards.  We started by cutting all the boards for the panel.  To do this we cut the 1×4’s (qty 26) down to 20″ using the miter saw.

Then we planed the 2×6’s down to 1 3/8″

Using the table saw we ripped them down to size, then cut them to length using the miter saw.

Once all the 2×6’s are cut to size (refer to prints), we drilled pocket holes in all the interior parts of the door (mullions and rails).

It’s time to assemble the frame of the barn door!  To do this we started by gluing and screwing the bottom rail to both sides (stiles).  next glue and screw the bottom mullion to the bottom rail and middle rail.  Measure from both corners of the door before screwing the middle rail to the stiles.  This will ensure that your door is square.  Continue gluing and screwing the rest of the assembly together.

Rip the remaining 2×4’s down to 5/8″ x 5/8″ square stock.

Tilt the table saw blade at a 45 deg angle and ripped a chamfer on one side of the 5/8″ square stock.

We used this as our trim stock to trim out the door.  This is probable the longest process throughout the project.  grab a pencil, mark the length of the inside of the panel opening and cut to size on the miter saw.  Glue and nail flush with the face of the door using a pin nailer and 1″ 23 ga pin nails.  Continue doing this to all the openings.

Barn Door Pannels

Ok! Let’s set the frames off to the side and get started on the panels.  To get started we took the 26 1×4’s that we cut earlier and cut a 45 degree on one end, using the miter saw.

Chamfer them using the router, router table, and a 45 degree chamfer router bit.

To aide in laying out the panels, we laid out the panel outline on a workbench using chalkline. (don’t mind our gross assembly table)

While we had the chalkline out we also marked three locations on the 1×4 to identify where we we would drill our pocket holes.

Next up, you guessed it.  We drilled 3 pocket holes in each full angle board used. The small boards we marked and drilled after laying out the panel.

Using the Kreg 1 1/4″ screws, we screwed all the boards required to make one panel.

Trim the panels to width using the table saw.

Line the panels up side by side and mark were you want to trim them to length.  We cut them to length using the miter saw.

We inserted the panels into the door centering the panels in the opening.   Then we drilled a couterbore and held the panels in place with a fender washer and a 1″ kreg screw.  You can also use this hardware, you just want to use something that is going to allow the wood to move over time.

Barn Door Finishing

Time to finish the door with stain! Beth and I both wanted a ‘greige’ shade, so we did a little mixology and dumped a little brown here, and a little gray there, and came up with the perfect shade! OR you could also use our technique for making tinted barn wood from brand new pieces of pine! Such a fun and rugged effect if you’re going for the farmhouse look.

Barn Door Windows

Cut the panels of glass down to 10 1/4 x 13 3/4.  You could just as easily pay a glass shop a couple bucks to cut it for you.

Add some ‘frosted glass’ vinyl according to instructions if you want that frosted glass look!

Install the panels and trim the back of the glass with the remaining trim glueing and nailing it into place with the 3/4 in 23 ga pin nails.

It’s barn door installation time! We hauled these bad boys up to the attic one at a time. THEY’RE HEAVY! But it’s so amazing seeing them in their new home, and watching this attic family room come together.

CLICK HERE to see how we installed these doors with beefy sliding barn door hardware from National Hardware! It involves hardware that’s meant for this exact application, and even has a bypass bracket so the doors can slide behind each other since we don’t have wall space off to the side for the doors to slide when open. It’s amazing!

Be sure to check out all the other projects we’ve done in this attic space, including BEFORE PICS! (woof, they’re bad).

Bethany