and that clearance means you'll lose sound and light privacy, so be aware.

Absolutely! You just have to mount the door so that it would slide over the carpet without catching.

For the trim questions, if you want the door to sit flush to the wall, you would have to remove the trim.

Search barn doors on Houzz and Pinterest and see what others have done to trim them out.

Good luck!

I just need to keep the cats out :P

what about the carpet, do you need a bottom rail or does it roll over the carpet well enough?

I thought they had wheels on the bottom

Yes you can use this door,you will have to remove lock as handle will be in the way ,and replace with a flat pull handles.

make sure the track you buy will not set the door to high,as you do not want the door to have to high a gap between carpet and bottom of door..

ditto track will need to set the door far enough away from casings.

You will also need to repair door and frame after lock and hinge removal.

and to your question.

most tracks hang the door from top of track,and so not have wheels on the bottom,

they have a door guild which the bottom of door runs over via a slot in bottom of door which is created by using a router tool bit.

ed.

Mechanism is only at the top! If you can't afford the fancy decorative mechanism, you can do it with regular sliding closet door track which will come with a small guide to install on the floor to keep the door from swinging. You can hide the track in a DIY built 3-sided enclosure. Did it for a cat issue too. Here is a commercial one, and photos of the one I did.

Sally Sliding Barn Door, 7'6"x3'6" · More Info

Front side

Back side

i think the cat could push their way in since the door just hangs there if you didnt do the bottom part.

No, a short stop that fits on the side at the floor holds it in place. Have two cats, one very strong, and they've never gotten through. It is pretty steady on the track and has little swing. Just be careful not to break the stop by missing it and slamming the door into it. I've had to replace it once, but no biggy!

No you can use existing carpet and baseboard. All you have to do is redo the door casing. You can easily find barn door hardware online