Modern Sliding Barn Door Install | Lake House Renovation

"This modern sliding door will make every one a fan of barn doors."

Barn doors have been around for quite some time now, but I hear a lot of people say they aren't fans. Well, I found a door that would be hard for anyone not to love. Im bringing a modern feel to the old school barn door and bringing it back in style!

Materials Used

• Trim Puller
• Sheetrock
• Drywall Screws
• Metal Beads
• Metal Cutters
• Joint Compound
• Joint Knife
• SPAX Construction Screws
• 1x4x6 Select Pine Board

The Before

The existing door to the bathroom didn't have a door and I first thought about putting a regular door there, but then eventually I decided to add a barn door. The TV wall is a long wall with lots of room, so I thought the barn door would help give the room some flair.

Having a regular door there also just wouldn't fit with the functionality of how the room works, there's a door on either sides of the opening and a regular door would get in the way.

Once I decided that I was going to go with the barn door, I decided that I was going to case out the door with sheetrock, instead of trim for a cleaner look.

Prepping the Doorway

The first thing I did to prep the doorway was remove the existing trim around the door. I used my handy dandy trim puller to pull the trim off the door.

Once, I removed the trim, I cut three strips using sheetrock down to size to fit inside the door frame and secured it to the wall with drywall screws.

After securing the sheetrock in place, I added the metal beads to the corners and secured them down again with drywall screws. I was able to easily cut the metal beads with metal cutters. You want to make sure you screw the screws in deep enough so they can't be seen once you apply the mud.

Now with the metal beads in place, it was time to mud over it. Now when mudding, less is better. You don't want to put it on too thick because it will crack. I did three thin layers of joint compound to complete the door frame. I would do one layer let it dry for a day, do another and so on and so on.

After the third layer was applied, I was able to paint the area and it was ready for the barn door!

Customizing the Door

Now, I know most of you are here for the barn door details, so I won't keep you waiting any longer. I purchased my door from Rustica Hardware and chose the French Quarter Barn Door.

These doors come customized exactly for your space, which is pretty awesome. I was able to make all of the selections I needed to make my door exactly how I wanted. Just beware that certain selections cost more. For example, I paid more to get frosted glass and for the gold track, but Rustica's website shows you exactly how much each item is, so you can play around and see what best fits your budget.

These are the selections I made for this particular door.

The barn door was delivered around 3 weeks from me purchasing it, which was super impressive in today's time for a custom door, it came well packaged and I fell in love when I saw it in person. 

Installing the Barn Door

To install the barn door, I first had to install a header piece. The holes on the barn door didn't line up with the studs, so I used a header piece and screwed two screws into each stud to make sure the header would hold the weight of the barn door.

Once the header was hung, I installed the barn door track. The barn door came with all of the hardware you'll need to install.

The one thing you'll need is a level, because it will be very important to get the bar completely level so the barn door slides properly when its hung. I also hung my door a 1/2" from the ground to give it enough spacing to not hit the ground when sliding.

We also hung a door stop at the end of the track to keep the barn door from sliding off.

Once the track was installed it was time to hang the barn door; the best part. Overall, I was extremely happy with the look and feel of the barn door, it is a show stopper for sure.

I'm also glad I decided to opt for the gold track, I really love the contrast of the gold with the black; it looks amazing on the brown wall and the frosted glass gave me the privacy I needed for the bathroom.

But I can't leave you guys hanging without a before and after. The space looks totally different and I can't wait to finish up. Next up, baseboards.

As always, thanks for reading guys! Ashley