How to Make Barn Doors for Less Money

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If you grew up in the eighties do you remember when your family got their first microwave? And, all of a sudden you and your siblings were microwaving everything in the fridge just to see if it “worked?” Well, our barn doors were my kids’ microwave. Maybe not as much excitement or life-changing meal planning. But, we were ahead of the barn door trend ten years ago (I can’t believe it has been that long). We replaced every builder grade white, hollow door with either stained solid doors or barn doors in our basement.

We installed a set of double barn doors and then a single barn door.  This was before a quick Google search locates affordable barn door hardware and track systems. In fact, ten years ago when we called the big box home improvement stores they referred us to large animal feed stores. Over the years we duplicated our barn doors and learned how to make barn doors for less money.

Our most recent barn door install was in our son’s room when we replaced his bi-fold closet doors with solid, pine barn doors. The white, hollow bi-fold closet doors literally derailed from the track on a weekly basis. And, the white doors clashed with his updated, industrial bedroom update here.

My original plan was to remove the doors, paint the interior of the closet a dark navy (Hale Navy). And, then install open shelves on the back wall. That is until I remembered my teenage son who has yet to fully understand the point of a dirty clothes basket.

At this point, I had already hauled the bifold doors to the garage so hauling them back up three flights of stairs and reinstalling the doors was not an option.

My husband likes to visit Home Depot the way I like to drop into Crate & Barrel. Find your happy place.

My husband found two, solid pine doors on clearance because they both had scratches on one side of each door. This was perfect since the back sides of these doors were facing the interior of the closet.

I used a wood conditioner and stained both doors. I love this stuff. It makes the stain so much easier to apply. It’s worth the extra step and I am not one who likes to take an extra step in a project or recipe.

Sidenote: Does your Home Depot have an “oops paint” section? In addition to paint, they often have quarts of stain. These  quart and gallon size mistakes are a few dollars and if you have the flexibility or the “jump and a net will appear” mentality, it’s worth a look.

The next item to buy was the track and hardware for the barn doors. Over the years the costs have decreased and the options have increased. Today we found our Gage barn door track hardware Gage Barn Door Hardware” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>here.  I freaked out a little when I saw the image on the affiliate link because I took the same angle of the hardware. At first, I thought Wayfair had used my image. wink 

The image below is mine. I thought I had captured a cool angle, but apparently, Wayfair had the same idea.

Here’s the widest shot I could get of the barn doors without backing into my son’s back wall and desk.

I tried to stand on the window ledge, but that would have had a completely different outcome.