DIY Double Sliding Doors
Want to make your own interior double sliding doors? I’m going to show you how you can DIY double sliding doors for under $200. This tutorial for how to make your own double barn doors is budget-friendly, easy, and makes a great weekend project. I used our double sliding doors for the laundry room and we have loved them for years! Double barn door hardware can be expensive, so I came up with this easy method to create my own double barn doors using closet doors and closet hardware on a budget!
*Please note this post was originally written in 2017. It’s been updated (as of October 2021) and the cost of materials has gone up, but I stand by this approach being super budget-friendly!
Barn doors are still all the rage these days, and you can't beat how convenient they are in tight spaces. We have two areas in our house that benefit SO much from having a door that can slide rather than swing. Our laundry room, in particular, needed a double sliding door because there wasn't enough space on either side of the doorway for a single 32" barn door. See what I mean?
When I started to price out what a barn door would cost, Everywhere I looked, the double hardware was at least $200 on the low end (though you can see where I found cheaper hardware here), but then I started looking up costs for a double door - meaning double the hardware - and it was more than twice the price. Not cool, man! These doors aren't even heavy, so they don't need the extra hardware because of weight, it's just so they can balance properly. Being frugal and intent on staying on budget, I figured out a way to make it happen on a budget.
What you need to build a DIY double sliding door!
Materials:
72-inch Sliding Door Track and Hardware Kit - Canadian link | American link
36-inch x 80-inch 2-Panel Smooth Bifold Door - Canadian link | American link
How I built double barn doors
To start, I cut the 2x3 pieces to size (72” to match the hardware), stained them with my favourite stain, Provincial by Minwax and screwed them together. I used 3” screws to attach them to the wall, leaving room for the door hardware and the doors below - mine were 80” doors, so the 2x3 pieces were attached at about 83” from the bottom to the floor.
How to turn bifold doors into double sliders
I separated the bifold closet doors by removing the hinges, patched up the holes and then painted them. In case you’re curious, I used ‘Wrought Iron’ by Benjamin Moore to paint the doors.
My next step was to spray paint the hardware - both the closet door hardware as well as the 12” handles. I used Rustoleum in flat black and sprayed everything using 3 light coats.
The next step was to attach the hardware to the 2x3 pieces. You can see it’s attached to the bottom. This is because this kind of sliding door hardware would normally be attached to the inside of the closet frame or a ceiling. I just happened to like the look of the wood to beef up the hardware a little more! These tracks are meant for closet doors, so I don't recommend using them with heavy doors. These hollow-core closet doors are perfect because they’re very light.
To keep them from swinging out when we slide the doors, I used some small L-brackets on the floor to help ‘guide’ the door straight across and I just added in a cabinet door bumper (tiny clear semi-circle sticker things) to make sure the doors don't get scratched.
To keep the doors from sliding anywhere, I super glued pebbles to the track. Yeah, that's my super official and professional solution. And guess what? It works. I get asked about these doors all the time, and it was such a simple solution: closet doors with some 2x3's nailed to the wall. That last sentence makes me feel like this entire blog post was unnecessary...Hopefully, you don't think so! And if you have any questions at all, leave a comment or email me and I'll get back to you ASAP! And if you want to see the rest of the laundry room, check out the full reveal of the makeover!