Quantcast

Bower Power

· 84 Comments

Dude I Built a Door

BUILD· OUR 2nd HOUSE

And thar she blows….

If you are new to the scene, you didn’t read about my original door that hung here that was completely laughable.  It was all sorts of wrong.

And if the barn needs painting, you paint it.  If the barn door needs custom built, you learn painfully how to use a Kreg Jig.  That’s a saying by the way.  In a very small circle of people….namely, you and me.  Anyhoo…let’s get back on track….this barn door track 🙂  So the original door that hung here had issues and we had to remove it so the solution was a barn door track.  We installed the track and it is awesome….super smooth, doesn’t make a noise, hangs perfectly, looks legit.  The door itself was too small and looked ridiculous.  We actually went ‘door shopping’ where we called around and stopped in at a few local stores to see if we could hunt down a door that was the style of the old one but larger.  We hoped that for around $100 we could just buy one and cut it to fit.  No such luck.  So that’s when I put on my big girl panties (that also has an attached tool belt) and decided to build one myself.

The plan was fairly simple.  It required 2×6’s for the outer frame of the door and then I would pocket hole the inside 1×6’s.  I was going for a planked look that was simple and clean and more contemporary than most barn doors.  Usually on Pinterest, anything that hangs on a track is really really rustic looking…and that just would not fit the look here.  That’s why we went with something more sleek.

And so I got to measuring… (I took this photo with my third hand…I highly recommend it for all moms out there!)

and line drawing…

and cutting.  Note that this part of the project was roughly two weeks after LJ was born and my hair had not started falling out yet.  All those whispie pieces….they were growing in from when I had Weston….and now are gone.  plus some.

Once the frame was done, I started reading the instructions to the mini Kreg Jig I own.  I actually got it for free at Haven last year and this is one of the first times I even considered using it.  Now we are both addicted (as soon as I mastered it, I showed Jeremy who is now a Kreg Jig fool…seriously, I wanted to rename him Craig.)

The inner panels were

As you can see….I had issues.  First, I didn’t double check the depth on the jig so I was drilling pocket holes that weren’t shallow enough.  Then I realized later that I should have done some holes to the sides of the door.  ::brainexploding::

At one point, one of our neighbors came over and I showed her how to use a drill.  It was a blast to build with someone.  #girlpower

I had 1.4 million pocket holes to fill, so I whipped out this 3M wood filler.  I like that you can squeeze it into the holes instead of digging it out of a tub.  I smoothed it with an old debit card…because ya know, I hoard those.

Some of the holes can be filled with these little wood pieces.  I wouldn’t recommend using them if they stick out beyond the surface of the wood.  I even tried a trick that you use a little tool to buzz off the excess but mine still looked weird.  If it sticks out beyond the surface of the wood, I think removing it and just using filler is the way to go.

Oh and did I mention the filler?  Yeah…the first round of it wasn’t enough and after sanding it, I was meticulous to go around and refill any low or crazy divots.

After it was all said and done, I had my mistakes filled, my legit pocket holes also filled and they were ready to be sanded.

I had to lay other 1×6 boards under the inner paneled part of the door in order to sand but I needed to put a lot of pressure on the boards to get them to be really smooth.  I like to start with a high grit (60) and move to 120 and then to a 220 or 320 sandpaper for the last round.  It gets it really smooth that way.

I primed with Kilz Premium on this door – both front and back and I did about two coats of primer to block the raw wood knots from bleed through.  I know some folks put filler on those areas to block them even more.  Then it took two coats of semi-gloss paint in bright white (just untinted paint) to match the trim work.

After that, I took the door inside and lined it up with the doorway to make sure I could get the hardware in the right spot.  Holes were marked and then drilled.  (it looks like I am drilling into the door that is laying on the floor…but there were 2×4’s under there so that I didn’t damage our floor)

Then I attached the hardware with a couple wrenches.

The final steps were to fill the gaps between the boards with caulk.  I also did another coat of paint over the entire thing.  Caulk can change color or hold dust differently than painted spots so it’s not a bad idea to do an extra coat over it.

See that magic?!  I love caulk.  Don’t read that out loud.

All I had to do was hang it and it was ready for action.

When it’s open, it slides all the way to the left and there is a little bit leftover that you can see from the laundry room angle.  It doesn’t bother me at all because it needed to be that big for complete coverage when it’s closed.  It doesn’t get in the way at all because the washer bumps out that far anyway.

And when it is closed, (and it is usually never closed when I am in here…I mean…it doesn’t have a lock so whats the point of hiding from the kids in here?!) you can see the flat side of the panels.

I closed it all the way so that you can see how big it is and how it is no longer too small for blocking the gaps around the door (like the previous door).  During the day, light can still shine around it but that is fine by me…it’s like the crack you see under a regular door.  Oh that is another pro of using a heavy duty hardware piece vs. doing one of those homemade sliding doors.  With homemade sliding doors, usually there is a eye hook on top that goes on a piece of pipe (that could cause metal-on-metal mating noises) and then on the bottom is casters…which would mean that your door has to be a bit higher which would allow light, dirt, small animals through.  It’s definitely cheaper to DIY these but sometimes it is better to just shell out the $40 extra bucks.

And this is how it is 99% of the time.  Open and glorious.  I am really proud of how it turned out.  Even if it does have two little Weston-induced-dents on the top.  I will fix them in time.  A little Bondo and paint should do the trick.

That’s the story about how I built a door.  Still undecided on hardware.  What have y’all been building lately?  Anyone else getting Kreg Jiggy with it?

 

0 Shares

Comments

  2. I can’t believe you built a door!!! And I can’t believe it took you this long to start using your Kreg – YHL fawns over that thing, how did they not get you hooked sooner????

  3. My dad has installed a couple of these sliding doors in his house and the only problem that we have noticed is tat the door has a tendency to swing a bit (toward and away from the wall…if that makes sense). Do you have this issue? We love the look, just wondering if there is a solution to the door feeling a bit unstable. I feel like if it would have been done professionally it wouldn’t swing but not sure how they prevent it. The only thing I could think of was a track that ran the bottom of the door too but I haven’t actually seen one that has that.

  4. Any plans for handles? I imagine it might get a lot of fingerprints over time getting opened and closed. My other question is if you push the door towards the wall when it’s “open”, does it hit the wall? I feel like I usually see these with some kind of bottom rail mechanism.

    It looks really cool :D.

  6. Wow, that looks really good. I’m super impressed with your skills to build a door. And I really like how you made it a bit more modern and less rustic. Great job!

  7. Hi Katie! Long time lurker, first time poster! Awesome post, very informative! You are inspiring me to try some DIY stuff on my own! I love the door and am impressed that you did it yourself, girl powa!~
    Keep on doing what your doing – your blog has officially become my first blog read of the mornings 🙂 ps – i’m also digging how you don’t make a million posts about one project 🙂

  9. WOOW!! I am SUPER impressed that you did that all on your own!! #girlpower for SURE!!

    GREAT JOB! Looks sooo good!! I bet you are enjoying doing laundry now!! LOL!! I cracked myself up with that!! Has anybody really said that and meant it?!?!?

  10. I love your door!
    We finally built the Ana White Farmhouse bed last month. I had adored your for so long. After that I bought the Kreg Jig and we build a few sets of coffee tables! We are totally addicted to it!!

  14. They came out great! Been using the Kreg Jig for a while now thanx to Ana White’s promotion of that wonderful tool and of course the use of her awesome plans. I have used the plugs once. I glued it in, sanded it down so it was flush, (because some of it did stick out beyond the surface)and then used filler for any gaps and it worked great. If you go to the Kreg Jig site there is a table to show what depth to use and they have videos as well. Anyway, now that you are a pro, you will ace the next projects. Either way, as I said, this came out great! Virtual high five!

  15. Great job with the door! It looks fabulous! Thanks for sharing how you made it too!

  17. Fantastic job kiddo, I love your new sliding door! What is the back story on the other 2 doors in the corner? Any idea why the other doors don’t match? Does it bother you at all that you have 3 different kinds of doors hanging there? Not a criticism sweetie, just wondering why the builder did that 🙂

  22. Dude, I’m impressed. I just finished a dog gate and did the happy dance around my kitchen after, so I get the “heck yeah I just built that!” kind of feeling. I’m really impressed with your door. And yes, I do love me some Kreg jig too.

  27. where did you find the hardware again? i’m sure you told us, but i’m having a lazy moment. with coffee. also, are you going to put a handle on the outside to help pull it open and closed??

    great job, girlie! color me jealous!

  29. Seriously?? THAT’S AMAZING!!!! I’m shocked that you would even try to build a door, on a track, just after having a baby. I could never do something like that and it’s super cool that you can! Thanks for sharing. Love your blog!!

  30. I love your door! We re-purposed a knotty pine door to our basement bathroom and did the exact same barn-door look. It’s my favorite part of our new bathroom – even though it doesn’t lock 🙂

  32. Looks awesome!!!! You are something else, girrrrl!
    PS I keep singing “I built a door and I liked it….” in a Katy Perry voice….

  33. Katie! It looks great! I would be proud of it too. Now I need to find a place for a sliding door…

  35. Way to Go! That looks so great! Your blog is becoming my FAVORITE blog of late – everybody else is slowing down, and you are speeding up! May the rewards follow your hard work!

  39. It looks fabulous Katie!! I’d love one in my own home, but that’s a while down the road yet, lol!! I just bought a Kreg Jig this morning and am ready to use it to make a head board for my brothers bed. It’s similar to the bed Jeremy built for you guys!! I can’t wait to see how it turns out!

  42. John told us that he loved it but we just hadn’t jumped on board yet. I think it was probably because we were taking our sweet-arse time in the building department.
    xo – kb

  43. We don’t have that problem very much…we definitely do if we put a lot of pressure one way or the other but just sliding it open and shut we don’t. Maybe because our door is super heavy?
    xo – kb

  44. It doesn’t hit the wall because there is a little bumper thing at the top on the rail that it hits first. And I definitely want a handle – just haven’t made a decision yet 🙂
    xo – kb

  46. It did at first that all the doors were different but now we don’t really notice. The white regular door goes to the office and the green door is an exterior door (which is why it is metal and so different). I did change the hardware to match on the two other doors and I think it helps a little.
    xo – kb

  51. awesome! and of all the blogs i read you always have the best safety equipment! i love seeing masks on people.

  52. Wow, I’m so impressed! That no easy job. I wish I had the patience to do something like that. A little tricky when you constantly have a toddler tugging at your shirt.

    It turned out awesome!

    V @ Life+1

  54. Why no door handles on either side? Won’t it get super dirty if you’re constantly touching it to open it? Love the fact that you built it though! Looks awesome : )

  55. We installed a wall mounted sliding door for our bathroom and at first we experienced the swing you are talking about Crystal and then we switched to a door which was a bit bigger and twice as heavy and the difference is amazing. It doesn’t swing at all and it feels so much more substantial.

  58. Can you pretty pretty pretty please with a cherry on top do a full tutorial of how to use that thing? A video would be like the whipped cream.

  59. I freaking love it! nice job, Katy! I need to get off my arse to and build something already! I installed crown molding in the kitchen hall (not too long ago). That’s DIY-ish. and it felt good to start and finish the project relatively quickly.

    I guess right now I’m in a stencil slump… I started and I’m having a heck of a time finishing the darn thing especially on the edges where the wall/ceiling starts to curve

  60. LOVE this door!!! Hats off to you Katie!

    Hey–what has happened to your font size, for an old lady like me (55)–I can barely read anything. Noticed the change, maybe late last week, or early this week.

    I don’t want to miss any of your fun chatter, but it’s really difficult to read

  61. I didn’t change anything so I would definitely look at your monitor zoom! Sometimes I don’t realize it but it can change with shortcuts.
    xo – kb

  62. Well we never have dirty hands.
    hAHAHA! I plan on handles – just haven’t decided what. And to be completely honest, this thing is open 99% of the time and doesn’t move.
    xo – kb

  65. I am very impressed! Two weeks after having a baby you’re out with the power tools!! No one would ever know you made it. It’ perfect….what a talent you have. I’ve always wished I took shop in school it would be the one subject I’d have really used!!!

  68. I, too, like the crisp clean look of your door. Where did you get the rail/wheels hardware?

  73. looks great, very cool! Can you pretty please tell me where you got the rug that’s in front of the green door? thank you!

  75. I love my Kreg Jig!! I recently used it to make a dining table and a bench. Your door looks great!

  76. I am loving the door! We get jiggly with our kreg jig all the time, once you get the hang of it it’s one of the coolest tools ever!

  77. I love the door Katie and I would love to do something similar for my master bathroom. Did you ever decide on hardware?

  80. Much love right back atcha! And if you do build it then I need see it…tag me or send me a picture!!!
    xo – kb

  81. We have a really small laundry room as well, and would love to reclaim some space from the door by moving to a barn style door. How well does the door block sound compared to the old standard style? I’m a bit worried since our laundry room is right next to our dining room, and it’s really nice being able to close the door to block the majority of noise.

  82. Well…um….I don’t think the door was ever closed before really….so for us, we actually block more noise with this door because 1. we close it more and 2. it’s solid wood.
    xo – kb

  83. Looking for sliding doors for my laundry room led me to your blog. I opened it simply because the title was so intriguing (plus I really liked the look of your up-rustic design). Love the instructions; love the illustrations; love the minute details you include. The results are almost eclipsed, however, by your literary skills. Dude, you can write!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get the latest via email!