Barn Door Basics

ByElle Murphy

How about some barn door basics?

Barn Doors are indeed popular within the home design industry. But there are reasons behind that besides the fact that they are very cool. 

POCKET VS. BARN: Pocket doors are much more expensive and complex because the builder has to install a door kit inside the wall. Typically, we have to make this wall a 2×6 wall instead of a 2×4 one to get the system working right, so you will lose 2” from your space. Also, the locking mechanism isn’t as robust as a barn door. On the flip side, the pocket door is clean, and the door width doesn’t have to be planned. Pocket and barn doors are frequently used in modern buildings because they eliminate the door swing space.

DESIGN: The most significant advantage of a barn door is flexibility. Any opening can accommodate a barn door as long as you have the space for the width of the door to slide open. This door can be an antique reclaimed door, a new door, a funky door, a modern panel, or a double bypass door. Hardware can range from standard black metal to modern hardware. 

PRICE: This is the one place where homeowners can control their spending. Most of the time, the builder makes the barn doors from a sketch that I provide. Since it is a simple slab, there is a high return on investment.
Featured in these photos are:

  1. A bathroom door that needed to be clipped due to rooflines. On the opposite side is even a full-length mirror.  The homeowner built this himself.
  2. A hallway door made of reclaimed wood, custom designed and built by Old House Parts in Kennebunk, Maine.
  3. This powder room door off the dining room in a small house in New Castle, NH, is reclaimed and refurbished by Sage Farm Antiques.
  4. Another powder room door of a hallway was built by Ben Molin Builders of York, Maine, and custom painted in C2 Dorian Grey.
  5. A modern panel that folds over the mudroom closet and closes off the FROG (Family Room Over Garage) was custom-built by Jewett Farms of Dover, NH
  6. These by-pass doors cover a pantry for the kitchen with a lot of traffic and an exterior door. We ordered the hardware online, and Scott Builders of Portsmouth, NH, built the gates.

How do you think a barn door would work at your home? I’m sure pretty cool!