Memaw’s Barn Doors
Maybe it’s just me but I hate patio door vertical blinds, they break and the kids and animals get in them and they are pain to clean. I have a 96”x96” patio door that I wanted to cover. I thought about learning how to build barn doors but just wasn’t sure if they would be too much because they would be so large. The wall my patio doors are on is 16feet. I also had a large window on one side. So I would have to use bypass hardware so they would nestle nicely in the corner without covering the window. Barn doors are very expensive. I needed 2doors that were 8ft1in x 48in., BIG DOORS. I thought I could save some money by building my own doors. I happen to be at my local Lowe’s and they have discount wood and I go thru it every time I make a trip there. I got really lucky when they had a huge stack of 1x6x8’s for $20! There were at least 50 boards. Some were warped and some had knot holes and chipped here and there. I wanted a rustic look so that did not bother me especially for the price. I needed to have bypass barn door hardware and I purchased a 16ft bypass door kit from Amazon for $299.
I measured and cut the boards. I did not plane and glue them together because I didn’t care about small cracks, I felt they looked more rustic that way. I laid a 1x6 across the top, middle and bottom. I ratchet strapped them together tightly and screwed the back boards on.
Here they are all sanded and ready to go. I am a staining artist so I sanded from a 120 to a finished 220 to prepare it for my art. If you don’t sand step, meaning 120, 150, 180, 220 you will end up with swirls all over your wood.
I had to add a backer board above the door to attach the hardware to. The hardware has to be anchored every 16inches and my studs were not 16in apart above my door so the backer board allowed me to put a solid piece of wood into the studs and then the hardware anchored to that. I swear I could hang an elephant from this hardware! I painted it to match my wall.
Here they are. Excuse my dog Eddie he doesn’t listen and refuses to move, but he is my special boy❤️. Anyhow, at this point I wasn’t sure if I wanted to paint or stain. I am a staining artist but wasn’t sure if I wanted to put my art on such a large piece in my home. After mulling it over I decided to go with my art. If I didn’t like it I could paint over or stain over or just sand it all off and start over.
If you look real close you can see the outline of my design. I draw my art on lightly with a pencil then I use stain like others use paint to create my art.
Progress
I only use stain to create my art. The light areas are the raw wood.
My home is very rustic with lots of wood and nature. I went with a Sunflower Hummingbird bird design and I just love it❤️
Here they are nestled into the corner nicely and the design allows the single door to look beautiful by itself.
Visit my Facebook page to see more of my work. I do live videos from time to time also to show how my art is done. Www.facebook.com/memawslovelyglass
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No, not for me. Beautiful art, but don’t like the fact it always covers one whole glass door.
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Wood work for me.
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What a beautifully designed project! Looks fabulous!
Just gorgeous! Not only did you create a beautiful door but your artwork is brilliant!!! Can you come to my house?
Absolutely in love with this! Your amazing!