How to build a barn door?

[shaqqi]

Hi All

This can be my first DIY Bunning project. 

I would like to make a wooden stain type barn door. Size of opening is width 980 mm width and height 2120 mm

Plz suggest what shall be the ideal width and height I shall go for and what material I shall get from bunnings . Thanks

 

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @shaqqi. It's sensational to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about creating a barn door.

Creating a barn door from scratch would be considered an intermediate woodworking project. I don't want to discourage you from attempting it, but you should be aware that it is a relatively in-depth project. You might like to check out @jwatt's Sliding barn door for inspiration. They used Pine lining boards and framed them with DAR Pine. I've created a rendering below to assist in your build.

Typically you'd want the width and height of the door to be slightly larger than the opening so it covers it when closed. So, you could make your door 2200 x 1000mm.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell
 

[MitchellMc]

Hi again @shaqqi,

I thought I'd also link you to our wide range of barn doors for you to take a look at too. Just in case you don't decide to go ahead with your D.I.Y. project.

Mitchell

[shaqqi]

Thanks Mitchell for the guidance and sharing the posts 

After your post and research  I came to a conclusion that i will give it a go as i am confident i can do that but still some expertise guidance i will be needing to progress . Design i am going to build is attached for reference. There are 2 options i concluded to go from. Please advise which will be better option. Reason for asking is the overall thickness difference between both options

Option 1 (Total door thickness will 12+19 = 31mm)

Pine Lining Boards  (12 mm thick only available in Bunnings ) Main 140 x 12mm 4.8m Unprimed Solid 321 Lining Board

And

Frame with DAR Pine of 89x19 mm or 140 x 19mm dressed pine. (available in Bunnings)

Option 2 (Total door thickness will be 19+19 = 38mm)

DAR Pine of 184 x19 mm (6 pieces to join) or 140 x 19mm (8 pieces to join) dressed pine.

And

Frame with DAR Pine of 89x19 mm or 140 x 19mm dressed pine.

Also suggest screwing or nailing is better, appreciate if share the recommend screw/nail size to buy for recommended option

Thanks 

Hassan

 

[JacobZ]

Hi @shaqqi,

That's brilliant, I'm glad you've decided to give it a crack.

Regardless of the thickness, option 1 is my choice. The main reason for this is that the 140 x 12mm Lining Boards are manufactured with tongue and groove edges so they lock together far easier than DAR pine does.

It's also worth noting that if the door is likely to be viewed from both sides you may want to add the 19mm DAR on both sides of the door so it is uniform regardless of which side you are viewing. This will make the door 50mm thick.

To make your door as strong as possible, the 140x12 lining boards should be glued together and then clamped while the glue sets. Due to the width of your door, you'll have to use some decent-sized clamps such as these Craftright 1200mm T-Bar Sash Clamps. 

Brad nails are the best option for attaching your DAR to the lining boards as they are designed with a narrow head that sinks below the surface of the timber so they can be covered with timber filler. Unfortunately, they require a nail gun to be effective. As they are extremely thin, hammering them manually is not usually a viable option.

25mm nails are the only size brad nail that will work if you choose to put the trim on only one side of the door. These PowerFit 25mm C Series Electro-Galvanised Brad Nails can be fired by this air bradder, but unfortunately, it will also require an air compressor to function. You'll have to contact your local store to check for availability. 

If you put trim on both sides of the door, you can use longer nails such as these 38mm Angled Brad Nails which can be fired by this Trim Master Gas Bradder. Once again, you'll have to check with your local store for availability.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob