Istalling a sliding barn door

[ch47dpilot]

I have a few questions on making and installing a sliding barn door. I've built many garages/barns but all with swinging doors or standard lift-up type garage doors like in a house. This is my first attempt at a sliding door.

1: I want to use wood for frame. 2x4 or 2x6's, is the door made so it's 2" thick or the width of the board?
2: I'd like to sheet in steel siding but the wife would like the white "X" on the doors. What should I use a painted 1x6 or something else?
3: I've looked at pictures and drawings of the hardware. The top rails and rollers seam pretty straight forward. I haven't found much on the locking hardware and bottom roller systems. Also what is recommended screws, nail, lags or something else to attach everything

Any help, web sites or pics would be helpfull

 

[Wagtail]

Have you checked out the Similar Threads at the bottom of this page?

 

[ch47dpilot]

No, but I have now, thanks they all helped out. Not sure why my original search didn't find them. Still trying to find some good pics of locking mechanism and how to keep lower section of door from coming away from barn. Both doors open and closed

 

[Streetcar]

The door that were at my old property were made of tongue and grooved siding with 1x framing. Plywood with 1x framing is also common. Bottom was just a keeper to stop door from swinging out
Use 1x for the decorative x
My doors were nailed together, but you could use screws

 

[mcfarmall]

They also make some very nice painted extruded aluminum frame pieces for the top and sides that 2X lumber will slide right into and also incorporates flashing for the edge of the metal covering. I wouldn't build a sliding door without them. Makes the job faster, easier, lighter...all things that a good sliding door should be!

 

[mddorange]

No, but I have now, thanks they all helped out. Not sure why my original search didn't find them. Still trying to find some good pics of locking mechanism and how to keep lower section of door from coming away from barn. Both doors open and closed

I have a sliding barn door.
At the bottom on the open side of the door is a roller that keeps the door close to the barn. You can get that roller at TSC or any farm store.
On the closed side of the door towards the bottom is a hook that the door goes into when closed that keeps the door close to the barn.

 

[DJ54]

If you haven't purchased your track yet, check out Cannonball track. I used it on a 12'X12' slider on my horse barn at the other farm, before selling it. Also used it on the stall doors, and used it again on the doors here at the new barn. Doors roll very smoothly, and easy. My stall doors easily weigh 200+#, and I can open them with one finger, it rolls that easy. The 12X12 rolled very easy too.

I put an adjustable tension over center latch on each end of the 12X12 to hold it shut. No roller due to running various equipment in an out, plus snow piling up in front of the door, would allow to swing the bottom out, to slide. The only real problem was on very windy days, if you needed to open it, it would swing out 2' at the bottom. Didn't hurt anything, and would drop back, once you got passed the opening. I had to lay into it pretty good, when closing, and latching though. Just put some handles on the inside, so you can handle it.

Latches held in a couple 70 mph. winds we had in a couple freak windstorms.

For the "X", I first thought of some white flashing screwed to the ribs, but may chatter in the wind. What about some of the white vinyl fencing..?? It would never have to be painted, and it's nice & light.

 

[s219]

I have done several. The ones framed entirely with wood can and will warp. For my recent barn build, I used aluminum 1.5x1.0 rectangle tube for the vertical studs on each side, with fir 2x4 horizontals across. That has been the best so far. You can buy door frame kits with metal studs, but for me it was cheaper to buy the aluminum tubing.

 

[s219]

Here's a pic of the door frame hanging from the track.

 

[GLyford]

Are there any good latch recommendations that do not require a man door? Have a smaller shed with just a slider, and no latch at the moment. Something that "cams" endwise and/or towards the side to keep wind from pulling it outwards would be nice.

What I'd really like is something that cams and can be operated from inside or outside, because the last thing I want is someone shut inside with no way out (remember, no man door).

I keep seeing ideas that will work well for just working from inside, some that might work from outside, but not a lot for both.