Simple DIY Barn Door Tutorial
Next for Shut The Front Door DIY week: another gorgeous barn door! See the first here, and we have more sliding barn-style door goodness to come, so stay tuned and subscribe by RSS or email to get updates for every post. 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!
Simple DIY Barn Door Tutorial
Click Here to Get a Free Printable Version of this Building Plan
Hi it’s Amy from Hertoolbelt, back with another building plan. Anissa from House Seven created this beautiful barn door for her home. She graciously let us create a build plan for her door, and you can swing by her blog to check out how she hung it with DIY barn door hardware. Oh and when you check out Anissa’s blog, be prepared to stay for a while, her home is gorgeous!
How to Build a DIY Barn Door
Materials
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- 2 sheets – 8″ on center plywood siding (48″ x 96″ x 15/32″)
- 4 – 1″ x 6″ x 8′ pine board (actual 3/4″ x 5 1/2″ x 8′)
- 1 1/4″ brad nails
- wood glue
- wood filler
- sand paper
- primer
- paint
Final cost depends on the type of siding you buy, the material price will range between $60-$100.
Cut List
| Qty | Thickness | Width | Length | Material |
| 2 | 15/32″ | 47 1/4″ | 96″ | Siding – trim lap joints off |
| 2 | 3/4″ | 5 1/2″ | 96″ | Pine |
| 2 | 3/4″ | 5 1/2″ | 36 1/4″ | Pine |
| 1 | 3/4″ | 5 1/2″ | 96″ *cut to fit | Pine |
Step 1
Trim the lap joints off of the siding sheets, approx 1/2″ on one side and 1/4″ on the other (actual widths depends on which style type you buy). Your final width should be about 47 1/4″. Use ample wood glue and glue the backs of the siding pieces together. Press the siding pieces flat and allow to dry. 
Step 2
Trim the length of two 1 x 6’s, if necessary, to match the length of the siding. Cut another 1×6 into two 36 1/4″ lengths. Glue and nail with 1 1/4″ brad nails around the siding, flush with the siding edges.
Step 3
Lay another 1×6 centered on the diagonal, or however you want it placed. Use a straight edge and the inside of the trim as a guide, mark the cut lines on the board. Cut the board to fit within the trim.
Use wood glue and 1 1/4″ brad nails to secure the diagonal piece into place. Allow the glue to dry.
Step 5
Use wood filler to fill nail holes, cracks and blemishes and allow to dry. Sand the wood filler and door smooth, finish sanding with 120-150 grit paper. Prime the wood and allow to dry. Paint the door and allow to dry.
To hang your barn door and see how she made DIY barn door hardware, check out Anissa’s post.
UPDATE: We also recently saw this beauty at the local home show which is pretty much the same design, and how about that color! It looks really similar to Sherwin-Williams Coral Reef like we used here.
Reader Update 09/20/16
Lisa shared with us a photo of the door her husband, Jeremy, built from the plans:
Nice work!
Do you have a photo you’d like to share with us? We’d love to see it!
I’m so glad we have talented people like Amy and Anissa to share amazing things like this with us! And there is even more to come…
Coming up in #ShutTheFrontDoorDIY:
(be sure to subscribe by RSS or email to get updates for every post of Shut The Front Door DIY week)
A dreamy garage door makeover
Amy is the tool lover at Hertoolbelt. On Hertoolbelt, Amy shares DIY furniture plans, handyman tutorials, and craft patterns. She has three pint sized 'helpers' that help fix things around the house and build fun projects.
I love this tutorial. Now, if I can only get the hubs to be convinced with just one more spring DIY honey do project 😉
xo,
Seng
You don’t need hubs, just do it yourself!!!!
@Patty. Well said.
Yup! Some of us are not lucky enough to have husbands so we learn how to do “it” ourselves. Great that there are other women to also can do “it.”
So excited to be a part of this series!! Thank you Remodelaholic:)
So thrilled to have you, Anissa! Thanks for sharing!
I Cant wait to try and make this! Super excited!!!
Send us a picture when you do! 🙂
I have a `question. I have a closet with a standard door jam that I would like to cover with this door. Should I keep the door trim? Should I remove or replace it?
for an 8ft door opening, how much taller/wider should the door be. It seemed 8ft siding was used, but I would assume you’d want it slightly larger than the space? thanks
We are going to build a barn door and I liked yours. The frame pieces you don’t have then on the other side of the door? In other words the other side of the door is plain?
Does the door have to be solid or could you use a hollow core interior door?
What about the back side of the door…do you trim out the same way?
I wanted one for our newly remodeled basement. So my husband went and bought all the materials and is building it for me!
Wahoo! Send us pictures when he is done!
Where did you get the wooden dining room chairs? I am looking for those once I get my barn door built.
Also wondering about the back side of the door… do you trim it out like the front side? I think it would look unfinished otherwise…?
You would have an awful thick door if you did lol. From what I’ve seen, You don’t normally trim both sides, no.
To take this a step further, that’s the point of a “barn door” as they were originally designed to be on barns and as such generally have an unfinished look so to speak. That is the appeal. However, if it really bugged you…I don’t see why you couldn’t use these same plans and mount both the the plywood sidings to the outside of the frame or “trim” as you call it. You would probably want to use wood filler around the edges and sand once dry so it looks like one piece. Also you may consider using an x frame like this |x| instead of the |/| frame shown.
Again this project is just and idea, you can use your imagination to make it your own : )
Just my two cents for what its worth…good luck!
Hi, wondering what you do with the sides of the door since it will show the wood stacked on each other, is there a trim piece you would use or does it look fine that way?
I don’t know 100% but I would assume you could sand and paint or even use wood filler and sand to make the edges look finished or one piece.
I have a question for you…first off my wife has been bugging me to do one of these for a while so I was looking at plans online and came across this one. Great idea using the siding I never would have thought of this on my own. I think I know the answer but wanted to get your opinion so my question is this, if I needed more than the 47″ say my opening is 60″ can I just use two of these sheets cut as needed? I mean they look like there tongue and groove so to speak so I’m assuming you could.
Going to look into maybe trying this soon, possibly this weekend.
Thanks!
I love this turorial but we are looking for a Tutorial for bypassing barn doors. We have a small amount of space and want to get rid of Mirrored sliding glass doors.