Who loves barn doors but doesn’t want to hire someone to build it for you?  You are in the right place, because that is how I felt.  So I set out to find an easy build that I could do on my own – and here is how I did it.  Best part is it cost me under $75 for this 6 foot by 3 foot door!

Follow along with my 60 second tutorial here and then check out all the details below!

Supplies Needed:

• 7 1×6 Gorman Tongue & Groove Boards ($7 each)
• Wood Glue
• 1×8 or 1×10 board – 40 inches
• 1×6 board – 40 inches
• 1×6 board – 32 3/4 inches
• 1×4 board – 71 3/4 inches (2)
• 1 to 1 1/4 inch Wood Screws
• Wood Filler
• Paint and Painting Supplies
• Rag

Tools Needed:

• Sander or sand paper
• Clamps
• Safety Goggles
• Circular Saw
• Drill
• Sawhorses
• Wood to work on

Step One – Shop for Wood

Run to Home Depot for supplies.  You can have them cut your wood (see how to use the Home Depot Cutting Center here) if you want to as well.  After you measure you may need to sand off or cut some pieces to match perfectly.

Step Two – Glue Your Boards

You will use wood glue to glue together your tongue and groove boards.  Set up a station of sawhorses and a large piece of wood or two small pieces to place on the sawhorses.  This is what you will work on.  Add small amounts of wood to each groove, then slip the tongue into it.  Wipe off any glue that leaks.  MAKE SURE THE BOARDS ARE ALL EVEN.

Your boards will not lay flat.  But they must dry flat.  So grab your clamps and extra wood pieces.  You will lay the pieces on top of the door and then use clamps to tighten it and straighten the boards out.  Let fully dry.

Step Three – Add Wood Edges

Once dry, you will add your other pieces of wood.  These sizes are totally up to you and your style.  I wanted bigger on the bottom, smaller on the sides.  You can see here my look that I was going for.

The measurements I gave you at the top will be just about right.  But you will want to double check your measurements just in case you need to shave a few millimeters off before attaching them.

Add your 1×8 or 1×10 to the bottom first.  Add clamps to make it secure and then use your hand drill to screw them in.  This wood is soft so you can drill your screws in pretty deep.  This will give you space to add putty to fill it in.

Then do the same with your TOP 1×6 board.  Then add the two 1×4 boards to the SIDES.  Finally you will add the 1×6 board to the MIDDLE.  It can be even, higher or lower – whatever your desired look is.

Step Four – Fill In Screws

Grab your putty and fill in your screw heads.  Once dry, sand off.  Then wipe down your entire board with a rag to get all of the sawdust off before painting.

Step Five – Paint

You can paint the door anyway you want.  Chalk Paint, Spray Paint, Milk Paint, or whatever.  I am linking lots of paint tutorials I have here for you to read about if you are unsure how to paint your door.  For this project I decided to use my paint sprayer from HomeRight (found here on Amazon).  It was fast and easy.  I loved it!  I used Behr Paint and Primer with a custom white that matched my house.

Finally, we hung our door.  Barn door hardware is a bit tricky until you try it.  I will be sharing a full tutorial on how to install next week – stay tuned!  Until then, grab your hardware from Caldwell Company here.  They have great products for a great price.

I just loved the way it turned out.  I know you can make one too!  Let me know if you have any questions!

Love,

Kelly