Sliding Barn Doors from Knotted Pine Rustic Doors

 
Sliding barn doors and rustic doors are all the rage right now. And why wouldn’t they be? The rustic or farmhouse style is nostalgic and beautiful in it’s simplicity. It makes you feel warm and cozy inside. I think its something about the smell of fresh cut wood that does it for me. When I first saw sliding barn doors, I knew that I had to have some. I was looking for months for the perfect sliding barn door to put in my house, but some of the prices were way too high for my millennial renovation budget. I have come to be a hardcore DIYer, finding great pieces for a steal and putting in a little sweat equity to make it into exactly what I want.

Easy, Cheap Sliding Rustic Doors

When these gorgeous rustic doors came in at work, I knew I had found the perfect door for my project! This door is the perfect shape, has the beautiful knots that I love so much, and is unfinished, meaning it’s ready to stain or paint it any color that I please!
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The next step was to find some inexpensive sliding barn door hardware and learn how to install it. I searched for some time and found so many ways to do it. I could buy $350 hardware, build my own imitation $350 hardware (and by I, I mean my talented husband), install them on galvanized pipes (the look wasn’t exactly what I wanted), or be the spend thrift I choose to be and find the $350 hardware for about $100, shown here. This was the look I was going for, and because the knotted pine door itself is so inexpensive (Around $150, depending on the size), I was able to swing it.
Now that I had found my hardware and had my gorgeous rustic doors, I could decide to paint them or stain them. I am a sucker for a good stain, so the decision was fairly easy for me. Rustic doors are special in that they don’t usually need paint to be pretty, and as someone who likes the distressed look, a darker stain worked well for me.
The stain I used was a mixture of Minwax Dark Walnut and Rustoleum Summer Oak, two of my favorite stains. The dark walnut gives it the deep rich color I was looking for, and the summer oak gives it just the right amount of warmth. I used about 3/4 Walnut, 1/4 Summer oak. For every 2 cups of stain, I add 1 cup of paint thinner. This allows the stain to be more build able and helps you achieve the perfect color you’re looking for.
Lastly, I had to install the hardware. I followed this tutorial and it worked out perfectly!
 


Hardware for Sliding Barn Doors is pretty easy to install.

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Before the instructions, there are just a few things to keep in mind before beginning.
1. The door itself should be 1-2″ wider on the side of each opening.
2. Making sure the track is level is extremely important.
3. Are the holes pre-drilled? If not, you need to make sure to locate the studs and drill through the track.

TRACK
To start, the track should be twice the width of the door. If your door is 36″, than the track should be 72″,
1. The track will be hung above the door opening, depending on the sliding barn door hardware style and the individual opening, the distance will vary. We recommend 1/4-1/2″ of a gap between the top of the door and the bottom of the track.
2. If the holes are not pre-drilled, locate the position of the studs and mark them on the track. If the track was ordered pre-drilled, you can skip the next step.
3. With a 3/8″ drill bit, drill into the track at the marked locations, making sure to include holes on both ends of the track for the stops.
4. With the holes drilled, hold the track up at the determined height, and place the 1 1/2″ spacer between the track and the wall. A lag bolt will then enter the track, go through the spacer, and enter into the wall. Note: it may be helpful to leave some slack in tightening until all bolts are into the wall. Once all are loosely hung, you may go back and tighten them all the way.
*NOTE: The spacers keep the track of the wall at an even length
TRACK STOPS
1. The stops are to be placed on each ends of the track. However, they can be placed anywhere along the track if you are trying to stop the door at a different location than the tracks end.
2. Included in your hardware set are 1 3/4″ tap bolts, use those to attach the stop to the track. (You may also use a lag and spacer if the hole location lines up with a stud or you are going into backing.)
DOOR
The standard set of hardware works with doors of 1 1/4″-2 1/4″ thickness.
1. Stand the door up under the track to find  the best location for the straps. The top mount styles won’t require markings on the door, but any style that has straps will require markings. Mark off where the holes in the straps will go.
2. Drill through the door at the markings, a 3/8″ pilot bit works well.
3. Attach the straps before placing the hardware on the rail. Once the straps are securely tightened you are ready to place the hardware on the rail

 
 
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I am so in love with my new sliding barn doors made out of these gorgeous knotted pine rustic doors. They were so easy to work with, I would recommend them to anyone and everyone. These interior doors can be used in modern space, rustic spaces, and in traditional spaces. We also offer them in 8, 10 or 15 lite french doors, which are gorgeous as well. They are extremely versatile and will morph to fit the needs of your home.
For more information on our knotted pine rustic doors, or about building sliding barn doors, feel free to reach out to us! Please like, share or tweet this article, and subscribe to our newsletter to receive more awesome remodeling tips, tricks & special discounts!
Happy Remodeling!