Sometimes during a build, I’ll get stuck on something and need to think for a bit while I work on other projects or even other aspects of a build. I don’t know how many barns I will make in my lifetime, and I wanted a sliding door for Milo Valley Farm. The problem arose when I narrowed the building. The door width required for the framed openings equates to two 4 1/8″ wide doors. The space on either side of the framed opening is only 2.75″ wide.
I’ve always said I need only one real life example to justify a solution used in miniature. This past weekend, I went to my cousin’s wedding and ran into just such an example. :D The event was held at Proven Ground Farm, and what an awesome place! The barn and grain bins were preserved and converted into a fabulous indoor-outdoor event space. I foolishly left my camera behind (not realizing the venue ahead of time), but mom lent me her phone which took adequate photos. :]
The door on the left side slides to the left, where it would extend past the building’s edge. The solution used was an elongated board to hold the hardware past that edge. :D
There was someone I didn’t know sitting here, so I had to crop the close-up, but that’s a great old door! :D The hardware gives me some ideas as well.
Before I get to that part, I need to build the barn doors. I’ve made weathered doors before for Baslow Ranch, and those were made from laser cut plywood. You can still get a good approximation starting there, so I used those as inspiration.
I dug through my bins of scrap wood and cut two pieces of 1/8″ thick plywood measuring 4 3/16″ wide by8 3/8″ tall.
I measured and scored 1/2″ wide planks for each door on both sides. I cut, marred and applied strips of basswood to make the supports. Using the same technique as I had for the siding, I made fake nail holes.
I painted the doors to match the barn. Since the wood started as a different color, the barn doors are slightly off from the rest. They are also still wet. We’ll see what they look like after drying.
I added support for the main cross boards.
I then cut the cross boards from the same wood as the doors and added basswood pieces to fill in under the door opening.
Meow. :D
