Q for those with sliding interior Barn Doors

10 years ago

I'm considering having a sliding barn-style door for my pantry. We're heading in the craftsman/farmhouse direction, and I think it'd be a nice detail. Plus, there's decent number of decrepit old New England barns in the area, and I suspect I could get something old, authentic, and cheap pretty easily. It's in an area where it's not an issue to keep the wall space free of obstructions. And I only seem to use the pantry once or twice a day, if that, so it's not a high-traffic doorway.

QUESTION: So the top of the door rolls on a track with some hardware. What about the bottom of the door? Is it free, or is in in some guide/track (like closet sliders) as well? If it's free hanging, does pulling outwards on the door cause the bottom to swing out (and the door to pop off the track?) Also, does it matter if it's a cased opening or not?

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Comments (4)

danimal_ky
10 years ago
Here is a picture of the door we pulled off of an old barn for my wife's closet. It has no brackets on the bottom, so it could swing out if pulled. The track is basically a pipe with the wheels inside, so coming off track is not possible.
mushcreek
10 years ago
If you use old hardware, make sure it is the type that can't come off of the track, like the one posted above. I have similar old rollers that I'm going to use. They roll on the outside of the pipe, but they still can't come off. I have childhood memories of a kid who narrowly missed disaster when he managed to knock a huge barn door off of the tracks, and it came crashing down.

Most barn doors have a roller at the bottom which holds the door in line whether opened or closed. My hardware didn't come with one (or the pipe, for that matter), but it's easy enough to rig up something. My barn has modern hardware, and the bottom guide is just a plastic guide wheel. Probably not necessary indoors, unless you have pets or children that might push the door outward. I'm going to try to find a small vintage roller when I install mine.

I'm also trying to figure out a clever way to latch the door, as ours will be on the powder room, and some folks like to be able to secure the door when using the 'facilities'.
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illinigirl
10 years ago
we are also having double barn doors opening from my kids playroom to the lower level family/media/bar area. I will have to look into what hardware they are using....but they are planning on having it latchable so the kids don't mess with it.
mtnrdredux_gw
10 years ago
Our MBR was originally a small barn, and I use a barn door to my bathroom's tub area. We also have barn doors as front doors (followed by a vestibule and then weather tight doors).

The door in the MBR has a small metal square (maybe 2" sq?) affixed to the floor, with a metal flange. The bottom of the door is slotted to slide over the flange. It's all invisible.

The front barn doors are large double doors and they are in a recessed track.

All of our hardware is new. We liked the look of old, but could not find the perfect size and smooth operation in antiques.

HTH