The herringbone barn door is finally finished! We started this project at the end of February and here we are in mid-June and I can say we are 99% done. Okay, so it still could use a door handle. But you guys, I couldn’t wait to share this project with you. And technically, it functions just fine without a handle, but it will most certainly look better with one. I ordered a handle for the door just before writing this post, so it should be here by the time you are reading this. I will surely update you if its a perfect fit.
I’ve put together a herringbone barn door tutorial for all the DIYers who want to make your own.
By now you know Andrew and I love a good DIY project. One of our friends recently asked us “You’re project people, aren’t you?” because we just can’t help ourselves. I’ve contemplated building a barn door for this hallway for some time. So when we had a free weekend back in February, we decided to go for it.
This opening in our living/dining area leads to the hallway for two of our bedrooms and the bathroom. It’s not a transition that needs a door necessarily. I mean, we’ve lived without one for 9 years so far. But, we wanted to add a buffer from the living area to the bedrooms. Our two older children share a room at the end of this short hallway and our intent was to block sound and light from carrying down the hallway in the late evening when they are in bed but we are still up. And I have to say, so far it is doing the trick.
Barn door inspiration is plentiful on social media and after seeing a few herringbone iterations, I knew I wanted to make my own. We used budget-friendly materials from a big box hardware store and a ‘let’s just wing it’ attitude. I have to say, when I showed Andrew the herringbone pattern I wanted to do, he was a little more than skeptical (and maybe even wanted to throw in the towel at one point), but my optimism prevailed in the end. Here’s how we mastered this project:
Herringbone Barn Door Tutorial – Hardware
I’m not sure what the typical starting point is for building a barn door. But we started with the barn door hardware, the mechanism that allows the door to slide back and forth. Andrew likes to dip his toes in the pool of welding, so instead of buying this hardware like any normal person, he decided to manufacture his own.
I won’t go into too much detail here as this is out of the scope of most DIYers, but we used some wheels made for pulleys and some scrap steel to create the hardware to attach to the top of the door. After experimenting with a few prototypes, we settled on a winner.
Andrew welded another steel plate to the rolling mechanism so the door would have enough steel to attach to for a strong hold. We tested our apparatus with some scrap wood and when we were confident enough with the hardware, we move on to the real show stopper – the door.
Herringbone Barn Door Tutorial – Materials
- One 2″ x 12″ x 12′ Yellow Pine board
- Eight 1″ x 6″ x 8′ Select Pine boards
- Miter saw
- Table saw
- Kreg pocket hole jig + screws
- Wood glue
- Router
- Circular saw
- Minwax Polyurethan in Satin
- Foam brushes
- Barn door hardware
Herringbone Barn Door Tutorial – Barn Door Frame
We started constructing the door by making the stiles and rails (basically the door border) using the 2″ x 12″ x 12′. We knew the final dimensions of our door needed to be 82″ x 36″, so we cut one 82″ piece and two 26″ pieces. After cutting the boards to length, we ripped each board in half, making each board roughly 5 and a half inches wide. Then, we used our table saw to rip each board to a perfect 5 inches wide. In doing this, we cut off the factory edge so all of the edges were clean and uniform.
We double checked to make sure all pieces were equal and square, trimming a few pieces as we went. Note: since we only needed 3 rail pieces (the horizontal pieces of the door) there was an extra 26″ long board left over after ripping the 2×12 in half.
Herringbone Barn Door Tutorial – Barn Door Panels
Then we moved onto the door panels. We cut the 1x6s to 27″ lengths- we found this was long enough to create the herringbone pattern. Next, we took each 27″ board and cut one end at a 45 degree angle, using our miter saw.
After cutting the boards, we laid out the herringbone pattern. All boards, especially thin ones can have cupping – when the board has a slight arc to it. You can see it in the photo above with the boards stacked up. This happens naturally and the cupping (or arc) follows the shape of the tree rings. Since we wanted our finished door panel to be flat, and not cupped, we alternated the cupping of the boards when we laid out the pattern. This is probably easier understood by looking at the pictures.
See in the photo above how the two outside boards have tree rings that are concave down and the middle board has tree rings that are concave up? When the cupping is alternated every other board, once the boards are attached, they kind of even each other out. This helps to make the entire door panel, which is made up of all these smaller boards, flat in the end. If the cupping was not alternated and the boards were all laid the same way, the entire door panel could start cupping and it would not fit within the stiles and rails.
Once we had the pattern laid out and the cupping situation handled, we started to assemble the door panel. We used our Kreg pocket hole jig to attach boards in pairs to form a “V” shape. Each panel ended up with 6 “V”s.
We used 3 pocket holes to attach each set of boards. As we attached each pair of boards, we also added wood glue to the joint. There were a few boards that required a screw close to the bottom of the V which we could not pocket hole. For these instances, we drilled a pilot hole, then countersunk a screw.
During this process we used clamps to ensure the boards were flush with each other. When all of the “V”s were attached, we started to combine them. Starting with the bottom two “V”s, we attached them with glue and more pocket hole screws.
We drilled the pocket holes at 1.5″ and 3″ from the base of the “V” for each set. This kept all of our pocket holes clustered in the center line of the door. We added a decorative mullion at the end to cover this area on the back of the door. Since most people will never see the back of this door, we weren’t nearly as concerned about how it looked compared to the front.
Andrew built the panel by adding one “V” at a time, clamping as he worked.
After the door panel was assembled, we clamped the panel to a flat surface to let the glue dry. Then we repeated the same process for the second door panel.
Herringbone Barn Door Tutorial – Assembly
Then we pivoted back to the stiles and rails. Using our router, Andrew made a 3/4″ wide (1/2″ deep) groove, also called a rabbet, in the long side of each rail. For the center rail, he routed a rabbet in both sides.
He used the same router bit for the stiles, but used the plunge technique so the ends of the board were un-routed. He left the portion of the stile that connects to the rail un-routed so it would be easier to assemble the door.
Next, we used a scrap piece of 1×6 to dry fit the rabbets we just made in the stiles and rails. You want it to fit, but not too snug and not too loose – its a delicate dance.
We clamped the door frame (stiles and rails) together to: 1) make sure everything fit together and 2) so we could trace the opening for the door panel. We laid the door frame on top of our herringbone door panel, lined up the centers, then traced the opening.
Then we measured 1/2 inch outside each of the lines we had traced to account for the portion of the door panel that would be recessed in the stiles and rails. Using a straightedge, we drew new cut lines and cut each panel to size using our circular saw.
There was a small triangular space at the bottom of the panel that we filled with a small scrap and a brad nailer.
Next, we sanded the panels and filled any gaps and knots with wood filler. Then it was finally time to assemble the door!
Andrew drilled pocket holes in the back of the stiles and rails. Then we carefully started to put the door together.
We started with the bottom panel and inserted in into the stile. For each step, we added wood glue to the rabbet (the groove in the rail/stile) before inserting the panel. Then we added the middle rail and used pocket hole screws to attach it to the stile. Then we added the top door panel, and the other stile.
Lastly, we carefully slid the top and bottom rails into place, gently but forcefully tapping them with a rubber mallet where needed. This was by far the hardest part of the entire project!
Again, we used clamps when securing the pocket hole screws so all the pieces would remain flush and square. And then we were on the home stretch!
We gave everything another good sand, filled more holes and knots with wood filler, allowed it to dry, and sanded again.
Did I mention we sanded it a bit?
Herringbone Barn Door Tutorial – Wood Bleaching + Finishing
And then, because I can’t help but try new things, I bleached the wood on the stiles and rails. I will write a whole post on the process of bleaching the wood soon, but here’s the gist.
Have you heard of wood bleaching? I hadn’t until recently when I was scrolling social media one day. It is a way to remove a little of the yellow tint that certain woods can have – think oak and yellow pine. I tried this method because I didn’t like how the barn door frame and the door panels were different wood tones. The door frame was darker and more yellow, and I wanted them to be closer in hue.
Let’s be honest, I wanted the look of white oak without the price tag. If I had an unlimited budget, I would have built this door from white oak because I love the wood tone of that species. But, pine is much more affordable. So we went with the pine and I got to try something new.
I started with the back of the door (in case anything went terribly wrong) and applied 3 coats of the bleach solution. I was very pleased with the results and finished the front side with the same method.
See how the door frame is lighter and less yellow in the photo above? It was just was I was going for. Just so you don’t have to scroll back and forth, here’s a before and after:
The yellow was gone and I was smitten! Here’s another before and after of the bleaching process:
The scrap piece of wood sitting on top of the door is the original yellow pine we bought! I was very happy that the bleaching process made the door frame and the door panels look like they were the same color and hue. To finish the door, I added 3 coats of Minwax polyurethane in Satin, sanding between coats.
I do have to say, when I added the polyurethane, some of the yellow color was brought back out. Its still better than it would have been if I hadn’t bleached it at all, but I’m on the hunt for a new product to use besides polyurethane. I think this is partially just what happens when you add a coat of polyurethane to pine, but there may be products out there that might not make it as pronounced? If you have any ideas, please let me know!
When the polyurethane was cured, we attached the hardware and hung the barn door.
We love the way it turned out and I’m happy to report it is functioning how we hoped. It blocks sound from entering the hallway when our kids are sleeping and provides privacy for anyone exiting the bathroom after a shower.
How to you feel about barn doors? Are you a fan? I’d love to hear what you think. Comment below or connect with me on instagram @elleandjaydesign. And you can now find me on Pinterest too!
