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I wanted to share our experiences installing a DIY barn door.
Before I start, I wanted to post this not to show off, but to share my experiences so you don't make the mistakes I did.
I am NOT a builder. I am a Reno rookie and tend to wing these things and this girl managed to wing this barn door and it was a success!
For anyone looking to install a barn door here are some of the obstacles we had to overcome:
1. Our apartment is brick/concrete so drilling was tougher (and super loud!)
2. Our hallway entry where we were planning to instal the barn door was HUGE.. I couldn't find a door that would fit the space.
3. The top of our hallway was an aircon vent (I didn't realise this until after I purchased everything .. I know.. silly.. bf wasn't impressed haha) so installing the Rolltrak for our barn door was going to be difficult.
So this meant we needed to build our own barn door AND just adjust how we installed the Rolltrak railing.
For the Barn door, we purchased 12mm ply wood as the base and I bought planks of white Primed Pine DAR to create a pattern for the front of my barn door. All together for the materials and accessories it cost us.. wait for it... under $350!
Now when I said I winged it, I wasn't joking. At this stage I started to panic about the weight of this bloody door I was building which was already a work in progress. Word of advice, check the weight of everything if you can!! I had the fun job of weighing my door on scales.
Once we realised everything was still within range (phew) we continued to build the door. This part was relatively fun! The only hard part was cutting the door to size.
Once that was all done, we painted the door with left over paint we had lying around, installed the handles and the Rolltrak pieces on the door, and Bob's your uncle!
Here is a photo 
Im super proud of what we did. Its a beautiful edition to our apartment and ads character.
Anyone looking to build a barn door from scratch, DO IT!
Meg
The Reno Rookie
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Megarakawa. It's brilliant that you've joined us, and many thanks for sharing this amazing project.
I'm stunned that you've achieved this stellar transformation and all on a budget. I've recently been pricing barn doors, and one would expect your total cost for just the door itself. I love the herringbone design you've chosen for the door; it's classically simple and elegant.
You wouldn't happen to have taken any progress shots, would you? I'm sure they would really paint the picture for our members of how you went about the door's construction.
Many thanks for sharing your beautiful work, as I trust it will provide many of our members the inspiration to give this a go themselves.
I look forward to seeing your next project. Well done.
Mitchell
Hello!
Thank you so much! I did take a couple but not a huge amount im sorry.
Here are some shots of how I put the herringbone panels together ontop of the plywood.
Funny fact - I couldn't find the tile spacers to space my panels for my herringbone panel so I used puzzle pieces (gotta get creative). It meant it was evenly spaced.
Enjoy!
Thanks so much for those additional images @Megarakawa! They'll really help our members get an idea of how they, too, can create such an amazing project.
Mitchell
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @tinkering. It's wonderful that you've joined us, and many thanks for jumping into the conversation.
It's great to see you've taken inspiration from this project and let me mention @Megarakawa, so they are alerted to your kind feedback.
You might like to start your own discussion to document your transformation. You'll then have a place to ask any questions that might come up during the project. I'm keen to see these doors and provide advice about how you could clad them to achieve a similar look. It sounds like an awesome project, and no doubt @Megarakawa will be keen to assist as well.
We look forward to hearing all about your projects and plans around the house and garden and would encourage you to let us know anytime you need assistance or have something to share. You'll find tons of inspiration within the community just like this project, as our talented members constantly contribute their ideas.
Mitchell
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @jones4nau. It's wonderful that you've joined us, and many thanks for jumping into the discussion.
Let me mention @Megarakawa, so they are alerted to your kind comments.
We would be thrilled to assist you with your project and encourage you to start a discussion so you can receive helpful advice from our members. Please let us know if there are any questions you had before you get started.
Great to have you on board!
Mitchell
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