How to Install Sliding Barn Doors
This post was sponsored by National Hardware. As always, opinions are always 100% honest and my own.
Favorite project ever! I know I say that with every post, but seriously, our latest DIY shenanigans gets 5 gold stars and a sparkly heart sticker and a cupcake because it’s THAT fan-freakin-tastic.
Remember waaaaay back in the beginning of the planning stages of our master bedroom? Yeah, this scene?
Well, we are now currently rocking this new and improved look.
UPDATE: See the full master bedroom makeover reveal + source list here!
The doors make this wall in this room! Before, they were just sort of… blah. And now I’m loving all of that character and dimension.
One of the very first plans we had for this room was to install sliding barn doors on this wall, mainly for function’s sake.
For two years, Robert and I had dealt with this not-so-fun design flaw by our builder. Our door always swung into our master bathroom and slammed into our shower door. It created quite the traffic jam.
And in our closet, our swing-in door took up valuable wall space that we could be using for storage.
We considered DIYing our own sliding door track completely from scratch, but then we realized that we really wanted these doors to open quietly and smoothly, especially since one of us is usually having to tiptoe around early in the morning or late at night while the other is sleeping. (Robert is an early bird and I’m a night owl, so there’s lots of tiptoeing in our house.)
We decided on two stainless steel tracks from National Hardware to do the hard work for us, and I’m so glad we did because the installation went way more smoothly than I’m sure it would have had we attempted to build from scratch using individual metal pieces from the hardware aisle.
Supplies Used:
- 2 stainless steel National Hardware sliding door track kits
- 2 doors (You can see how I distressed our hollow core doors here.)
- Connecting track adaptor (If you have two doors side by side.)
- 2×6 or 1×6 board
- Paint (Color of your choice; we just used white paint to match our trim.)
- Tape measure
- Level
- Pencil
- Power drill
- 2.5″ interior screws
- Ladder
We leaned one of our doors flush against the wall first and measured 2.5 inches to find our header placement and marked with a pencil.
The header board was just a 2x6x12 whitewood board that we picked up in the lumber section at the hardware store and painted with some leftover kitchen cabinet paint we already had to match our trim.
In hindsight, I would have used a 1×6 board because our doors do jut out from the wall about an inch, more than I originally planned. But either will do.
We hoisted the board above our door frames to line up with our mark and used the level to position it before securing it with our drill and interior screws into studs in the wall.
And then the magic could happen. Robert was kind of excited. 😉 (P.S. He’s super proud of that Leonidasy beard right now.)
Oh, and also that’s our never-before-seen closet that will hopefully one day be on our makeover hit list.
Since we have two doors and a long wall, we had to use two tracks plus this connector piece to make one long track.
We screwed in the track in the center of our header using the hardware attachments from the kit.
And we officially had a track ready for doors!
Then, we used a template inside of the kit to mark and screw in the rollers on top of the hollow core doors.
And hung them up to ooh and ahh over them for about an hour. We’ll be adding door handles and a lock too, which I’ll be sharing later.
But besides that, this bedroom is officially finished!
I don’t regret the decision at all to go the store-bought route with this track because these babies are smooth and quiet and all kinds of awesome.
I love that the stainless steel continues the modern industrial farmhouse hybrid look that carries throughout the rest of our house too.
And now we don’t have to worry about the bathroom door slamming into our shower all the time, so the flow between the bathroom and bedroom makes much more sense.
I’ll be sharing a full tour of the entire room with a full budget breakdown and source list coming up very soon, but for now, you can see all of the progress from the very beginning here:
- Modern Rustic Master Bedroom Design Plan
- Finding the Perfect Nightstands
- The Trick to Get Designer Paint Colors on the Cheap
- DIY Planked Board and Batten Focal Wall Installation
- DIY Planked Board and Batten Focal Wall Reveal
- 3 Must-Do Tricks to Upgrade Plain Windows
- New Rug in the Master Bedroom
- Beginner’s Guide to Painting Upholstery
- How to Distress Hollow Core Doors
Have you ever installed barn doors in your house before? Do you absolutely love them?!
If you’ve been wanting one, National Hardware is giving away a sliding barn door hardware kit. Just enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. (U.S. residents only; I’m so sorry, international friends!)
If you want to save this post for later, you can pin it here:
Is there any need for a bottom guide? I have a non-standard opening that I plan to make a door for, but I’m concerned about it swinging and scraping the molding/wainscot.
We did not have a need for a bottom guide. We had plush carpet that allowed the doors to keep from swinging away from the wall. However, there are small simple pieces that can help if you find you need to help in this area. Amazon carries several different installment option pieces priced very low.
Great job- I’ve been wanting to do this as I also have that shower door bathroom door conflict going on. It’s also a great way to add some character, no? Yes!! My quandary is this- my door has a generous clearance from the floor and it appears that it will be higher than the original frame with this sliding hardware, so how did this work out? Did you add an extension or am I viewing this all wrong?
BTW if you fill those hinge cuts with bondo you can sand it smooth and paint. Presto fixo!
Hi Jennifer! We actually used the next size up for our doors. Our door frames are for 28″x80″ doors and we ended up getting 32″x84″ doors to cover the entire doorway. I hope that helps answer your question. Good tip about using Bondo! Thanks!
Your doors look really great. I have a question…can you have both doors open at the same time. From your photos, it appears not. So, going from the bathroom into the closet, do you need to slide the bath door over in order to get the closet door open. I think I would find that frustrating to be moving doors all the time, but that’s just me.
Thanks, Kathy! Yes, both doors can open at the same time. I just happened to photograph them with one door closed because our closet is so not pretty right now. 😉
Hi! Lauren, we just installed a sliding in our master’s too. I was just wonderingn if you have to put a track at the bottom? Or none at all?
Hi Jan! We didn’t put a track at the bottom, but you can put down a floor guide if you’d prefer. It’s up to you.
They look wonderful….and make such a huge statement in your master bedroom!! Thanks for sharing….
Thanks, Lanita! We’re definitely loving them so far.
Beautiful! Silly question – as there is no handle on the inside (bathroom side), is there anything to grab on to, to open and close the door? Thank you for this post! We have a door out in the garage, just waiting to be hung!!
Right now, no. But I plan on adding a finger pull on the inside. You can just slide it open with your hand though. No handle is really needed at all.
Timely for me as well as I’m puzzling over how to install a barn door in my master as well, so could use some help with hardware. I always appreciate your friendly and easy-going approach to making home. Love your vision and energy to keep going,mine step at a time!
Aw thank you, Andrea! Hope it all comes together for you. 🙂
You nailed it again Lauren! Looks great and really completes that modern farmhouse vibe! Like you, I have a door behind a door, like your bathroom and shower door you just shared. But mine is leading into our home from our garage with this awesomely big closet behind it. A closet the builder decided to put bi-fold doors on. Total flaw! If anyone is trying to get something out of that closet and someone else enters from the garage, or forgets to close that closet door…..bam! I had my husband remove the doors to prevent further damage to both the garage door and the bi-folds. I thought about just getting the sliding closet doors, but then as you started sharing about your master bath and closet doors it hit me, perfect spot for a barn door! I can just imagine walking into my house and seeing that door!! (Sigh) Character meets function meets happy dance from me! Eek!! Can’t wait!
YES! Love an awesome barn door at an entrance. That would make a great first impression. 🙂
This is on our to do list also. But I’m wondering what you did to the inside of your old frame. Specifically, where you took the hinges off, it leaves that gaping, UNFINISHED hole. I’m not sure whether to try filling it in (afraid that will look very patched!) or just leave the hinges on the frame? (again, that may look kinda funny too). Or is it necessary to re-frame that side where the hinges are?
I’m trying to figure that part out too. For now, we’re just painting where the hinges were.
You go Girl! I have been waiting for months to see this awesome post. Ahhh! It is perfect and those distressed doors really do make the room! One more room down! And congrats to your Leonidas for all his hard work!
Haha! Thanks, Mary! It feels so good to have this space finished. Whew!
Wow! This is gorgeous! You guys did an amazing job!
Thanks, friend!! We’re totally in love with them over here.
Ooooh!!! Your bedroom is gorgeous!!! I love the doors! You did a beautiful job! Good for you!
Thank you, Tess!
Beautiful! Can you please give me source info for the ceiling fan/light? It’s very pretty!
Thanks, Michelle! We originally got the fan from Lowe’s 3 years ago, but it’s been discontinued. It’s called Harbor Breeze Angora.
Love your doors to the moon and back. I am in the planning phase for two sets of doors. Your inspiration will make this process easier. Appreciate the chance to win hardware, too. Fingers crossed.
Thanks, Susie! We’re totally over the moon for them too. 🙂
Your bedroom looks amazing! Love your style :). Thanks for the giveaway! Your post comes at the perfect time as just this weekend my hubby was framing in the opening between our bed & bath so we could put up a sliding barn door. There is just a large opening so he has to be very mouse-like in the early AM and try to not stumble around in the fatness as he gets ready by flashlight :(. I’m an early bird, too, but getting up before 6:00 should truly be just for the birds 😉
Haha! I totally agree. Early bird gets the worm but eh… who wants worms anyway? 😉 So exciting about your barn doors too!
Great doors. Great room. Where did you put the handle on the inside the sliding doors? Thanks
Hi, Moriah. The handle only needed to be on the outside of the side belonging to the closet. The bathroom side of the door has a the lock just above the handle. The full post on how and where is https://www.blesserhouse.com/adding-pulls-to-the-barn-doors/ . If this is still fuzzy please let me know. I hope this helps!!