MDF barn door with diagonal pattern

[LePallet]

The stylish design on this barn door was created by cutting and aligning MDF pieces and features a custom-built bulkhead.

• The project
• Before and after
• More barn door projects

The project

I made this barn door and cut every piece for the diagonal pattern feature from a MDF sheet. All materials were purchased from Bunnings, including a 3m slide rail.

Before and after

More barn door projects

Riley also built these eye-catching 2m-wide doors and found hanging the door tracks was not difficult.

Workshop member peta shared these beautiful barn doors built by her husband.

[craftyhopper]

Love this! Great job @LePallet 

When we move into our new house (building next year) I will certainly be making one of these.

Thanks for sharing

[hana]

Hi  - Really liked the project. Any suggestions on where to start. I have no prior experience of doing any DiY.

[EricL]

Hello @hana

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's fabulous to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your question about the MDF barn door.

It's great to hear that @LePallet's MDF barn door project has inspired you to make your own. Every D.I.Y. journey begins with the first step. Do you have the tools for this D.I.Y. project? It's important to know what kind of tools you have in hand and if you need to purchase additional tools to accomplish this project. 

Do you have a work area to build this door? You'll be generating a lot of sawdust and you'll need a spot where the unfinished parts of your project can be stored safely away from the rain. Last but not least do you have a mate that can help you lift? Some parts of this project will require an extra hand. 

Building the MDF barn door is composed of three sheets of MDF, two 12mm panels and one 16mm panel. The 12 mm panels are cut into strips and borders that create the diagonal line effect. The 16mm panel is the base to which the 12mm strips are attached. It's important to identify which door you'll be covering as all your measurements will be based on that opening.   When the panels are joined together they form a standard door thickness of 40mm. 

I recommend looking carefully if you have enough door sliding space. If there is not enough room you'll have to split the door in two. You'll need a ladder to attach the sliding door rail to the top of your door. The measurements for the strips are at your discretion. You can have them thick you can have them thin. But once it's assembled, I suggest painting the door before installing the hardware and hanging it.   

Once you've determined that you have the tools and the space necessary to do this project. We can then talk about measurements and the actual building process of the door itself.

Here is a link to our best advice: What tools does a beginner need?

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[Jason]

Hi @hana,

Just wanted to also reach out and extend a very warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. You've certainly come to the right place for a helping hand on getting started with your D.I.Y. journey. We're here to help, and of course the community has loads of ideas and inspiration for projects that you could tackle to build your confidence and experience. 

Great to see that Eric has given you some helpful advice. You might also find this article from the Bunnings team useful: Barn-style sliding doors: how and why to get the look. As the article suggests, you might like to consider buying a pre-made door and then utilising a sliding door kit. Perhaps you might like to hit the Start a discussion button and share some photos and dimensions of the space you are working with, and the look that you're going for, and our wonderful community can assist with ideas and advice.

Jason