How to Build a DIY Modern Barn Door!

Build a custom door for a fraction of the price to buy one! The hardest part?

Spoiler Alert: it was not building the door!

Pack a Punch!

Do you have a space begging for a door? Do you want to add character to your home? Do you want to achieve this at a fraction of the cost? If you answered yes, then this DIY Barn Door will be perfect! Take a look at the easy steps below and build your custom barn door!

In planning the renovation of our basement catch-all-room into a gym, I knew I needed a door for the doorless closet. I especially needed this door because my husband claimed it as his "gear closet" and that just didn't say "zen" to me! The opening was wider than a standard door but not the standard double door size either. It was hard to find the style I was looking for at a reasonable price, so D-I-Y was a perfect option for this task! I knew I wanted something more modern than the run-of-the-mill barn door off Amazon (which cost about $250 + $100 for hardware and the price went up from there.)

Iphone Mock Up

I mocked up a few different door style ideas (by drawing on a picture of the closet on my phone. Honestly, this was an easy and quick hack that did not require special software or skills!)

I settled on a two-panel diagonal slat door idea! I loved how the slats added not only interest to the door, but a more modern feel as well.

LET'S GET TO WORK!

Prep work:

Measure the length and width of the opening and plan for a few inches taller and wider than the opening.

Make sure there is enough room between the top of the closet opening and the ceiling for hardware.

Choose your hardware ensuring it’s the right size. Make sure that you double the size of your door opening to find the correct length hardware. I found a 9 foot slider on amazon for $70. Keep in mind that if you are DIY'ing you are most likely using 3/4" plywood and 3/4" boards and the thickness of standard doors are wider than that. Some barn door hardware will only fit the width of standard doors. I had to return the first barn door hardware set that I purchased for this reason.

Order your handle or plan your custom handle for the door. I opted for a custom handle, because I wanted a wood tone handle that was extra long!

Buy your wood! (Tip: Allow wood to season for a few days inside to adapt to the climate of your home, otherwise they could warp.)

A few notes: some local lumber yards will deliver wood to your house for a small fee, which is great if you don't have a car that can fit a huge piece of plywood. If you know your dimensions, Lowes and Home Depot will cut plywood and boards upon request for free. This is also great because moving a full sheet of plywood is pretty challenging without help!

Materials

(1) sheet of plywood

(2 ) 1 x 3 x 8 pine boards: to add length or width to the door as needed.

(3) 1 x 4 x 8 pine boards: for the border of the door, cut to size.

(1) 1 x 4 x 6 pine board: for the middle board, cut to size.

1 x 2's or rip strips of plywood for slats, cut to size. Lattice could also work for an inset look.

Wood glue

Wood screws and nails

Let's Build

Step One (optional): Add width and/or length to your plywood as needed.

Using a Kreg Jig, drill your pocket holes on the plywood to attach the

1 x 3's to add width to your door if needed.

Attach 1 x 3's with 1 1/4 inch pocket hole screws if using 3/4" wood.

(Note: softwood i.e. pine, requires coarse thread, hardwood requires fine thread screws.)

Step Two: Cut and attach the border.

Cut and attach 1 x 4's for the border and middle board of the plywood door. First, measure and cut the two side boards. Then measure the width between the boards to cut the top, middle and bottom boards. Attach with wood glue and nail or screw to the plywood. I used the Ryobi cordless pneumatic nailer for this job!

Step Three: Cut and attach the slats.

Arrange your slats ensuring they are equidistant apart at all places so they are all aligned.

My slats were 9 3/8" apart. Set your miter saw to 45 degrees and cut the slats.

I used wood glue and my pneumatic nailer to attach the slats.

Step Four: Caulk. Prime. Paint.

Optional: caulk gaps and nail holes.

Prime and paint door. I used Sherwin Williams Iron Ore.

Step Five: Attach the hardware.

Attach handle and slider hardware. I used a simple custom door handle for a more dramatic wooden handle. (Blog post on the custom door handle coming soon!)

Pre-drill holes for screws and slider bolts according to hardware instructions. I was so nervous to drill holes in my pristine new door. Measure three times; drill once! Installing the slider hardware was, in my opinion, the hardest part of this entire project (and maybe also trying to lift a full sheet of plywood alone!) Once you install the hardware on the wall and on the door, get some help to lift this bad boy onto the track! (Don't dent the ceiling!) Important note: make sure to attach the slider hardware to the actual sheet of plywood and not to the added 1 x 3's on each side (for width) due to the weight of the door.

Stand back and be proud of your custom barn door!

You did it!!!

Great job!