$25 Barn Door Upgrade from an Existing Door

written by:Justin Kmetzsch

Today’s post is brought to you by Gorilla Glue. Opinions and DIY plans, as always, are our own. 

You guys will not believe what we did with our 40 year old door to our garage.  I am telling you the transformation is stunning! This Barn Door Upgrade from an existing door is the best!

We took a plain old door and gave it a new barn door look for around $25 for wood and Gorilla Construction Adhesive.  That’s right?!!  A totally affordable door transformation… if you have an existing solid core door to work with, we are totally going to show you how to make it look insanely awesome!

We took this sad looking door here…

Flat panel door to wood barn door for just $25! Such an affordable farmhouse style update for your home. #remodelaholic

and made it look like this barn door! Cue angels singing….  What do you think?  Pretty cool right!

Now, creating the look of the barn door is actually really affordable!  However one splurge not added into the cost is some outdoor hardware.  It did cost a bunch extra for the hardware (about $150, link below) but was worth every penny for how it turned out and TOTALLY OPTIONAL!!.  Just know that you in NO way have to spend money like that to create your version of this door! You could easily have the same great wooden farmhouse door with a regular knob — either an affordable new one or by spray painting your old one with this tried and true method.

We’ve been in love with rustic wood farmhouse style barn doors since long before the look became popular on cable home improvement shows — we built this split dutch barn door baby gate combo almost 8 years ago, and it’s still one of our favorites! We also loved the updated wood look of this flat to 5 panel door update, but the added wood does require adjusting hinges and door framing, so when we set out to make this new hinged barn door, we wanted to make sure that it was as easy as could be and could use the original hinges. (If you want to make a sliding barn door from an existing door, check out this post.)

Now I want to show you step-by-step of how I did it.  You could do this with any solid core wood door for a very affordable, fabulously farmhouse update!

Let’s start at the very beginning… with the plans:

First we fooled around in Sketch-Up to decide on the design of the door.  One main concern was not increasing the thickness of the door everywhere, so that we didn’t have to worry about changing the hinges or hardware to something crazy custom (like with this door update). That means we were selective about the framing on the door: we decided on NOT framing out the whole door.  Instead we were particular about how we placed the bracing.  After playing around with ideas, we designed some plans that we liked.  Then we had to pick a winner.$25 Barn Door @remodelaholic 100

And the winner is…$25 Barn Door @remodelaholic 101

barn door with a simple X design!!!

Make that dated wood door shine like new again with a farmhouse style barn door look! Plus, this door update is designed to use the existing hinges and door framing, no custom work required. #remodelaholic

In addition to being a classic style (like the Xs on this farmhouse sideboard and this double X console table) the “X” design also mirrors our stair railing, so we felt like it would fit well in the house and design.

How to Make a Farmhouse Style Wood Barn Door from a Flat Door

This post may contain affiliate links; see our full disclosure here.

Let’s get started building shall we!  PLEASE NOTE: while we chose to plane down our pine boards, that is optional.  This project could be done with as little as a miter box and hand saw, utility knife, caulking gun, hammer and nails.

Make Your Own Farmhouse Style Wood Barn Door From A Flat Door For Just $25 #remodelaholic

Tools Needed:

  • Circular Saw – For cutting the grooves. (alternately can be done by hand following this tutorial)
  • Drill or Screwdriver– For installing the door knob and hinges.
  • Orbital Sander (optional) with 100 grit sand paper
  • Belt Sander with 80 grit sand paper belt (we needed to remove and clean up the old wood- this may not be necessary for your project)
  • Miter Saw – For cutting boards to length.
  • Planer (optional- we wanted 1/4 thick bracing boards, but you could absolutely skip this step!)
  • Saw Horses or Work Bench
  • Utility Knife – For hand cutting the beveled edges of the grooves.
  • Wood Clamps – Four or more.
  • Caulking Gun – For applying the Gorilla Construction Adhesive.
  • Pencil
  • Tape Measure
  • Speed Square
  • Safety Glasses
  • Ear Protection

Materials Needed:

  • (1) – Existing Solid Core Door – My door is 6′-8″ tall x 32″ wide.
  • (2) – 1×6 x 8′ long Wood Boards – I used white pine boards.  You could use other types of wood to match the existing veneer if you want.   My existing veneer is oak, but I wanted the price of pine!!
  • (1) – 1×8 x 6′ long Wood Board –
  • (3) – (Optional) New Black Hinges –  You could use your old ones if they are in good shape.
  • (1) – (Optional) New Door Knob
  • (1) Tube of Gorilla Construction Adhesive from Lowes!!
  • (1) Pint of Stain  – I used Dark Walnut that I already had.
  • (Many) Stain Rags
  • Rubber Gloves
  • Foam Brush
  • Polyurethane – Clear

One trip to Lowe’s for the Gorilla Construction Adhesive, lumber and the other odds and ends we needed, and we were ready to get to work!

Cost Breakdown of Project:

  • $25 for the wood boards and Gorilla Construction Adhesive to make the new barn door — so affordable!
  • $160 for the new handle (TOTALLY optional)
  • $12 for new black hinges (optional- if ours hadn’t been painted five times we would have used them! – you can also strip old paint if needed)

$197 Total — but the bulk of that was for the new doorknob that we splurged on.

We also added a classic Boxwood Wreath (optional and REALLY AWESOME!) if you want the whole look like ours.

Cut List:

(This is dependent on the size of door you are working with.  You will need a measuring tape to double check all your own measurements and cuts before beginning your build!)

  • (1) 31 7/8″ x 7 1/2″ x 5/16″ – Top Board
  • (1) 31 7/8″ x 5 1/2″ x 5/16″ – Bottom Board
  • (1) rough 72″ x 5 1/2″ x 5/16″ – Long Diagonal Board
  • (1) rough 72″ x 5 1/2″ x 5/16″ – Short Diagonal Boards (before cutting in half)

DIY Wood Barn Door From a Flat Door
Step-By-Step Instructions:

Start by removing the door off the hinges.  Then remove all the hardware.  Because this project took a couple days we screwed a sheet of inexpensive OSB that we had to the door frame in the garage to keep any critters outside, and our kitty inside.)

Sand off any old layers of stains or paints. CAUTION:  You must beware of lead paints; do not sand down lead paints. If your home is built around or before 1978 in the USA, please be sure to do a lead test before beginning to remove any paint.

If you wanted a painted door instead of a wood door, you can choose not to do this step. I did this because I wanted to get down to the wood layer without having the old stain on it.  This way I had a fresh start for a new color of stain.  I ended up using a belt sander, with 80 grit sand paper, to quickly take of the old layer of stain.

$25 Barn Door @remodelaholic 4

I divded my door into 6 equal spaces and the cut five, 1/8″ deep grooves, spaced evenly on the door going vertical from top to bottom using the circular saw and a straight edge (like this tutorial shows).  Remember that if you don’t have access to a circular saw, you could use the easy technique that was used in this tutorial!

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Use a razor blade to slowly cut an angled edge on each side of the 1/8″ deep grove.  Cut about 1/6″ bevel on both sides of the 1/8″ deep groove.  This will give the door a nice look of six planked wood boards at about 5 5/16″ apart.

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$25 Barn Door @remodelaholic 8

Plane down three boards to 5/16″ thick.  This step is optional.  If you don’t have a planer that is okay.   You can still do this project with 3/4″ boards. You could also try using the thinner “craft boards” available at many stores now — but they are usually shorter in length, FYI.

$25 Barn Door @remodelaholic 9

I just didn’t want my boards to be 3/4″ think, I wanted them to be thinner than 1/2″.  You can just leave them at 3/4″ thick and skip this step.  Just make sure you have enough room when you open the door against the door moldings.  Thicker boards might prevent the door from opening all the way if your door moldings are chunky!

(You could also avoid this problem, of not being able to open the door completely, by chamfering the edge of the 1×8 ends and cutting a bevel from the corner of the board to allow for additional swinging space.)

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Cut the top and bottom wood boards to length of 31 7/8″ or tho the width of your existing door, and clamp them in place.

Sand the boards with at least 100 grit sandpaper and sand a slight bevel to the corners so they aren’t so sharp.

Clamp the top and bottom wood boards in place temporarily.

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Cut the long diagonal board to the rough length of 72″.  Lay the board across the top and bottom boards with the corners over lapping.

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Draw a straight line on the diagonal board where you will be cutting it to length to fit in between to top and bottom boards. A square is invaluable for jobs like this!

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Cut the diagonal board to length on both ends.

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Clamp it in place temporarily.

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For the two diagonal boards, lay the second board across the top and bottom boards and the long diagonal board.

$25 Barn Door @remodelaholic 18

Draw a straight line across the four edges of the overlapping boards.

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Miter cut along the four lines to create the two diagonal boards.

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Sand the surfaces of all the boards and sand off the corner edges with a small beveled edge.

Stain the door.  I tried to not stain under the X boards so the glue had a clean surface to adhere to.  But because our woods are different (oak and pine) we stained them differently since the pine needed more stain and the oak needed only a light coat)

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Stain all the five wood boards before gluing.  Do not stain the back of the board only the front and sides.

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Apply the  Gorilla construction adhesive that you picked up at Lowe’s on the back side of the boards. I really wanted the boards to be attached with a strong adhesive because this is a door that we use a lot!!

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Clamp the boards down while gluing.

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You can also nail it down with a few brad nails to hold it while the Gorilla Construction Adhesive dries.  The middle of the door was harder to clamp the boards down, so the nail gun came in handy.

$25 Barn Door @remodelaholic 26

And there you have it.  A (sorta) BRAND SPANKIN’ new door without all the cost of a new door.

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Here it is hanging it up!
DIY Wood Barn Door on Hinges for $25 #remodelaholic

And finally, with our new splurge-worthy hardware:

Barn Door From An Old Solid Core Door Makeover @Remodelaholic 67

 Barn Door From An Old Solid Core Door Makeover @Remodelaholic 63Now we just need to find a really great door rug/mat to help protect our new flooring.  Have any suggestions?

Barn Door From An Old Solid Core Door Makeover @Remodelaholic 62

Barn Door From An Old Solid Core Door Makeover @Remodelaholic 65

You can find a beautiful boxwood wreath like this here!

Let us know in the comments below what you think of the our new barn door.  Is this something you would be willing to tackle? Just one trip to Lowe’s for the Gorilla Construction Adhesive and lumber make this a great “weekend win” project!

Turn An Old Basic Flat Door Into A Rustic Wood Barn Door For Just $25! #remodelaholic

More DIY barn door ideas:

If you like barn doors you can also check out the barn door baby gate we made here.

Color Washing Paint Technique Finished Dutch Barn Door Split Door Baby Gate @Remodelaholic

or how to use an interior door to make a sliding barn door here:

Interior Door To Sliding Barn Door #remodelaholic

and another existing door, but transformed into a dutch door:

Upcycle An Old Door Into A Dutch Door

plus more of our favorite DIY barn doors AND hardware ideas (both DIY and premade) here:

Barn Door Hardware Crop (2)

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Gorilla Glue. The opinions and text are all mine.

Justin Kmetzsch
Website | + posts

I am the husband of the amazing Cassity of Remodelaholic. I love to problem solve and to design and build things inside and outside the house to make life better. I am a professional Landscape Architect by trade and love the outdoors.

We love hearing from fellow Remodelaholics, so let us know what you like about this and leave any questions below in the comments. If you've followed a tutorial or been inspired by something you've seen here, we'd love to see pictures! Submit pictures here or by messaging us over on Facebook.

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4 Comments

  1. Hi there! Love the way to explain how to do this. Can you tell me what you do if you want both Aida of the door to have the design? Specifically, doesn’t it change how it fits in the frame how do u account for it, is it possible to do?

    Reply

    1. You would have to bring in the design from the edges to fit in the opening on the other side. I think that would be the best. Totally doable. I might try it on mine.

      Reply