How to Build Barn Type Doors

Adding barn type doors to an outdoor shed can enhance the overall look for a complete rustic landscape décor. You can build a simple barn type door in an afternoon. By following a basic set of procedures, you can create a door that blends an old-style look with modern construction materials.

Things You'll Need

• Sawhorses
• ¾ inch by 6-inch wide by 8-foot long pine boards
• Tape measure
• Carpenter's square
• Pencil
• Circular saw
• Outdoor-rated glue
• Powered screwdriver w/ Phillips head
• 1 1/4-inch Phillips head screws

Instructions

1. Set the sawhorses in an area that is close to an electrical outlet and where the doors will be installed onto the building. Lay the pine boards onto the sawhorses in one layer, approximately the width of the door that you are going to build.

2. Measure the width and height of the door opening for the barn type door. Transfer the height measurement to the pine boards and mark a square cut line using the carpenter's square as a guide. Based on the width measurement, remove extra boards from the sawhorses, leaving only the boards you need.

3. Sort the boards into those with a good side and a bad side if you wish. If a board has a bad side, set it on the sawhorse with the bad side up. This will be the side that will face the inside of the building.

4. Use the circular saw and cut the boards to length.

5. Measure for the two cross runners on the door by deducting 1 inch from the overall width opening of the doorway. Then cut two boards to this measurement. In other words, if the width of the door opening is 36 inches, cut two boards to 35 inches long. The cross boards attach the door to the building and are used for the hinges.

6. Using the tape measure, make a mark 10 inches from either end of the long boards and mark a square line across the boards both on the top and bottom of the door. This line will used to align the two cross boards you cut in step 5.

7. Apply an even coat of glue to the backside of the two cross boards from step 5. Lay these two boards against the 10-inch line you marked in step 6. There should be 10 inches of blank space between the two boards and the top and bottom ends of the boards.

8. Attach the cross boards to the long door boards using Phillips screws. Use two screws per connection point for each long board. Set the two screws at a diagonal from each other. Use the 10-inch pencil line to align the cross boards with the long boards. This line will help you square the door as you build it.

9. Lay one of the extra pine boards from the upper corner of the top cross board to the opposite lower corner of the lower cross board to form a diagonal brace. Use the square and pencil to mark a line on the brace board and cut that line with the circular saw. The brace board will fit between the two cross boards.

10. Glue the back side of the brace board and set it into the opening between the two cross boards. Screw the brace board onto the door using the same number of Phillips screws per board you used in step 8.

11. Measure the overall width of the door and mark a line on the door. Cut the door to the proper width. The door is now ready to be painted and then hung into the door opening with your choice and style of hinges.

Tips & Warnings

• Allow the glue to fully cure before hanging the door. Follow the manufacturer's recommendations for cure time.