I LOVE the barn door trend, love it. I love the hardware, I love all the neat door options that can really add flare to a room and I especially love the functionality of them.
When we built our house we used pocket doors in a lot of places. One of those places was between our master bedroom and closet/bathroom. However, there was an issue with the door being installed too low and so using it caused wear and destruction of the carpet under where the door slid. By the time this was discovered it would have meant ripping off trim and drywall, both of which were already painted, to fix the problem. We were already months behind schedule so we opted to leave the problem, which meant not using the door.
When we changed out the bedroom furniture and added a faux-shiplap accent wall we also added a barn door (#yay). When I decided to start this blog I realized that I didn’t have a good place to take outfit pictures. A mirrored barn door was my solution. So I got to work!
Building a Sliding Barn Door
Disclaimer: I am not an accomplished builder, like the ladies at Shanty 2 Chic or Ana White, but I am determined. So if you question my methods I am not offended. I have researched and read articles and watched videos to educate myself when I come upon something I don’t understand, but I am not claiming that my build methods are the best way. I am content with my projects having imperfections, taking pride in the fact that I was brave enough to take it on, rather than being afraid to do so because it has to be perfect.
I decided to build the door out of oak. The main reason was because of the grain in oak. I had a vision of what I wanted the finish to look like and I knew that oak would provide me that look. It is also a harder wood that, in my uneducated opinion, does not hold as much moisture as some other woods. For instance, pine. Pine is much lighter, but also much softer. I have built quite a few pieces of furniture with pine and dealt with some major shrinking, warping and denting.
I used a piece of 3/4 inch oak veneer plywood for the back side of the door. I had the guys at Lowe’s cut this to the size I wanted so that I would not have to struggle with getting this big, heavy and awkward piece of plywood through my table saw and risk a bad cut. I chose to frame the front side of the door with 1 x 6’s. I bought two 8’ boards for the sides and one 6’ board for the top and bottom. I glued these pieces in place by clamping them until dry (and maybe some good old heavy paint cans). Something to consider: If you are using a narrower mirror I would suggest having the vertical boards fit within the top and bottom boards to give it an illusion of being wider (as opposed to having the top and bottom boards fit within the vertical boards like mine).
To finish off the build I added a 1 x 2 trim piece around the edge to cover the exposed sides of the plywood backing. These pieces were glued as well, but I also used finishing nails to hold them in place since clamping wasn’t a viable option for this part.
The Finish
For the finish I wanted a soft, but aged feel. I experiment with stains on scrap pieces of wood (make sure it is the same kind of wood used in your project) until I came up with a combination that I liked. I ended up staining it first with English Walnut, then going over it with Weathered Oak.
After the stain was dry I waxed it with a liming wax. This is where the wood grain becomes important. You need a deep grain for the wax to be able to settle down into so that you don’t just end up wiping it all off. Before I started with the wax I ‘scrubbed’ the whole thing with a wire brush (in the direction of the grain) to open up the grain as much as possible. Then I vacuumed all of the sawdust that gathered on the surface from hitting it with the wire brush to ensure I was lifting it off the surface, rather than depositing it back into the grain like I would have if I wiped or swept the particles away. I ended up using a putty knife to lay the wax on and push it into the grain. Once I got as much off the surface as I could with the putty knife I then went back with a clean rag to remove any excess and buff it out a little.
The Mirror
I chose to take the door to a glass place to have them measure for the glass and install it. I have made some mirrored doors in the past where I did the measuring and installed the glass myself, but because this was such a big piece I decided it was wiser to have the professionals take care of it.
Hanging the Door
The track for this door was made and installed originally by a friend. Since then I have seen that Lowe’s is now carrying the hardware. If I remember correctly it runs about $175. I don’t have details for you on how to install the track to your wall, sorry.
I enlisted my husbands help to remove the old door, remove the rollers from the door and get them installed on the new door. I measured their location on the old door and placed them in the same location on the new door. The lag bolts used were really beefy. I started by pre-drilling the holes with a really small bit, then went over them with the larger bit. Lag bolts were fastened in and… ta-dah, it’s ready to hang!
This was a basic project that most anyone could tackle. I used my chopsaw/mitresaw for the cuts, but it could also be done with a circular saw – or you could even have the cuts made at the hardware store if you don’t have access to a saw.
For your viewing pleasure I’ve rounded up a few other drool-worthy sliding barn doors.
3) Bower Power
Which is your favorite?
Want to see more? Check out this post to see the reveal of the whole Master Bedroom Refresh.
