DIY Craftsman Style Barn Doors

Barn doors. Love ’em or hate ’em, they do serve a purpose.

As we have worked to extensively renovate our home two areas have emerged where barn doors are the best solution available. Our new walk in pantry is in a small space where any other style door would not open properly, and our kids’ bathroom…well, that’s a long story. Let’s just say if you move a house, some walls will settle in ways that could make a nun swear. That door has never closed properly, and the space was again limited anyway. Barn door = problem solved.

Whatever your reason for wanting or needing a barn door, you may consider building one rather than buying. There are endless ways to make these versatile doors, and they really are not a difficult project.

I partnered with Wagner SprayTech to show you how easy it is to construct and paint these barn doors. All opinions are, as always, my own. Though the fact that a paint sprayer will make your life easier is pretty well a universally acknowledged truth, amiright?

Materials and supplies:

*This blog uses affiliate links, which supports my addiction to pumpkin cookies and Diet Coke, both of which I’m totally giving up. Again. You can learn more about the affiliate thing here.

1- 4×8′ MDF
4 – 1×4″ primed MDF
Recessed door handle
paint
barn door hardware (I used a bypass set for one doorway and this single track for another)

Tools:

circular saw
Rip-Cut
Miter saw
Table saw (if removing edges)
sander (or sanding pad)
FLEXiO paint sprayer
Plunge router (if using inset door handles)

How to build the barn doors

Here’s a video showing the entire process in a few minutes. The step-by-step tutorial follows:

Step 1:

Cut a sheet of MDF to size (whatever size you want for the finished door). I used the Kreg Rip-Cut to take it down to size, and one of my favorite measuring tools, the T-Square by Woodpeckers. That last one may not be necessary, but it is absolutely fabulous.

Step 2:

Cut the 1×4 strips to size and glue in place. Ripping the edges off of the 1x4s will ensure the tightest fit, but isn’t absolutely necessary.

Step 3:

Sand and prep for paint.

Step 4:

Paint! I partnered with Wagner SprayTech to show you how to create these simple barn doors. This is the same sprayer we used to paint our kitchen cabinetry recently. I like the FLEXiO because it is easy to use, easy to clean, and produces great results.

We sprayed the doors with three layers of paint. We did thin the paint down a bit with some Floteral to help it flow better, which I definitely recommend if you are using a high quality paint.

Using light coats, we were able to paint all three doors in one day.

Painting in a shelter is always best, but with three big doors outside was our only real option. If you choose to paint outdoors just be sure it is a warm day with no wind.

Step 5:

Attach door hardware. I chose to use these inset handles. Two of the doors are bypass style doors over a small pantry, and so I didn’t want handles that would stand out. The third door covers a bathroom in a tight space where I also didn’t want a handle to stand out.

These might look a little intimidating, but they are actually quite simple to do if you have a router. The back of the handle slopes inward just a bit, and the outside overlaps it by quite a bit. I placed tape down where I wanted the handle, traced the outline onto the tape, and then used my plunge router to cut out the material.

Like so…

Step 6:

Hang the door according to hardware instructions.

 

That’s really all there is to it. This is definitely not a project to be intimidated by.

Thank you again to Wagner SprayTech for making these projects possible. Be sure to check out other spray projects, the new window trim and the kitchen cabinetry. Best of luck with all of your projects!

Happy building!