Bypassing Doors & Stacked Doors

The Bypass Barn Door System is perfect for areas of your home where a traditional barn door cannot fit. This system allows two barn doors to slide over each other, allowing the track to not be as long as a traditional barn door tack. The Bypass Barn Door System works perfectly with any of our barn door options. This hardware system is available in any of our metal finishes. Handmade in the USA by our expert craftsmen.

Bypass Barn Door Hardware: 6 Benefits of a Bypass Barn Door

A bypass barn door is an excellent way to turn an open space into two separate rooms with the use of bypass hardware, a stylish barn door, and a little DIY. Barn doors make unique decorative and functional additions to your home or commercial space. They are both straightforward to install and affordable, especially when you do it yourself.

6 Benefits of a Bypass Barn Door

1. Creates privacy between rooms when needed
2. Affordable floor plan option
3. Easy installation process
4. Unique interior decor option
5. A better alternative to conventional door frames
6. Multiple bypass hardware kit options

Utilizing a heavy duty bypass barn door provides exceptional advantages to your space. You can benefit from additional style and function while having the choice between open floor space and the privacy of two separate rooms when needed. You can use your sliding barn door hardware with any barn door that fits in your bypass opening. There are multiple styles of hardware and barn doors to choose from and endless amounts of creative ways to make your bypass barn door unique.

What Are Bypass Barn Doors?

Bypass barn doors are often the answer for spaces where a homeowner wants the look of a double barn door setup but doesn’t have the wall space to accommodate traditional double barn doors. You essentially get all the benefits of a traditional double barn door installation while using only half the associated wall space. A bypass door typically consists of a setup that allows two barn doors to run along separate parallel tracks so that they can overlap each other. With a bypass setup, you won’t need adjacent wall space to accommodate your barn doors while open. This innovative approach allows homeowners to make the most of space limitations while still enjoying a dramatic and functional design element that adds visual interest to the home.

If you choose to go with a bypass setup, you don’t have to be content with two barn doors. You can configure three or more doors in a bypass configuration, depending on the design statement you’d like to make. Whether you’re looking for closet door ideas, a way to separate an entryway, or want to add a little personality to a basement, a bypass barn door installation can be an aesthetic, practical addition to your home design.

How Does a Bypass Barn Door Work?

While a bypass setup includes two barn doors, it functions differently than a traditional double barn door installation. A standard double barn door operates just like any double door sliding out from the center. The two panels meet in the middle, either interlocking or by allowing each to close against the other’s edge. But with a bypass barn door setup, the door panels overlap each other, allowing one panel to be concealed behind the other.  

Contrary to its close cousin the pocket door, a bypass barn door doesn’t require special accommodations for installation, like a wall compartment or extra side panels. What allows the bypass barn door to function so well is the unique setup of the hardware you choose.

With a bypass barn door, you could have two separate hardware kits that feature a track or rail, door hangers, brackets, door stoppers, a floor guide, and all the fasteners needed. You could also choose a setup that allows both doors to move along the same track. You’ll get greater flexibility using two tracks, but you’ll also need more clearance above your door frame. A pair of bypass brackets is what allows you to install a second track in front of the first one. This configuration allows the doors to overlap when opening. So, you’re essentially stacking one barn door on top of the other while retaining the functionality of both.

6 Benefits of a Bypass Barn Door

1. Creates Privacy Between Rooms When Needed

The leading benefit of a bypass barn door is creating privacy between two rooms or a large multipurpose room. There are bypass barn door implementations that you can use in a variety of rooms.

Master bedroom and bathroom: Bedroom barn doors are becoming more popular due to their use in master bedrooms that owners want to make more rustic and unique. While some use barn doors as headboards or room dividers, you can utilize a bypass barn door that creates privacy between your bedroom and your open bathroom or vanity area. It will allow you to leave it open when you are alone and close it when you need that extra privacy. If you aren’t into the rustic motif, there are many modern and chic sliding barn door options to match any decor style.

Living room and dining room: Many homes consist of a living room and dining room next to each other with no door or wall between the two rooms. Sometimes the openness can be welcome while other times, some privacy between these two rooms is needed. Installing a bypass barn door can give you the option to have an open floor space sometimes and separate the two rooms when you need to create two rooms. It is especially useful if you are entertaining and want to close the kitchen off from the area where your guests are mingling.

Any two rooms: Whether you want to install a sliding barn door to separate bathrooms, bedrooms, offices, kitchens, closets, and pantries from a hallway or open living area, you can do so with a bypass barn door. It can save space, especially in tight areas, compared to a traditional swinging door, and it also gives your home a unique style.

2. Affordable Floor Plan Option

Bypass barn doors are affordable when you compare them to solid wood doors or interior wall additions. While you may find some conventional hollow swinging wood doors cheaply, a well-made solid door compares similarly in cost to a bypass barn door and its hardware.

Bypass barn doors can also be more affordable than French doors. As with any DIY project, you can utilize inexpensive materials and your own labor to create an even more affordable option than a conventional door, or you can get very stylized with upgraded hardware and fully-finished interior barn doors. Essentially, there is no need to install a permanent wall and install a door frame into it. You can achieve the same result with bypass barn doors.

3. Easy Installation Process

When considering this DIY project, bypass barn doors can be easy to install with the right tools, door guide, and effort. Once you install your first bypass barn door in your home, you might enjoy it so much that you’ll want to install another. Here are the necessary steps for how to install a bypass barn door, or you can access our detailed instructions and videos here.

1. Measure your opening: Measuring the area where you intend to install your barn door is the most critical step. Get the measurements from floor to ceiling, floor to the top of the opening, and side to side. Consider these measurements when you are choosing your barn door and bypass sliding barn door hardware kits.
2. Match the barn door and hardware thickness: Besides making sure the barn door hardware and barn door will fit your space, you must also make sure the depth of your sliding barn door will fit the hardware. It won’t be a problem if you purchase the barn door and hardware kit together as a package, but it is a must if you are buying the hardware separate from the door.
3. How to install the sliding door hardware: Use your tools to install the sliding door track hardware to your wall. Mark your studs while using a level to ensure your barn door hangs parallel with the floor and ceiling and secure the hardware to the wall. Consider the door weight when securing your sliding door hardware to the wall or when using ceiling mount bypass door hardware.
4. Attach the barn door(s) to the hardware: After making any additions to your barn door to make it unique and stylish, attach the barn door to the hardware via the steel bracket or latch. You might have to drill holes if your barn door was purchased or received separately from the hardware. Make sure your DIY barn door wheels slide or roll smoothly from one side to the other.

4. Unique Interior Decor Option

Bypass barn doors give your home a rustic look when you keep the barn door genuine to how it initially looked. You may decide to use a real barn door that you’ve reclaimed or instead buy a sliding barn door. However, you can give your barn door a style that is unique to you and the décor of your home by adding glass or stainless steel elements. You can decide to make your barn door more or less modern, rustic, contemporary, or country.

One unique addition you can make is installing a barn door mirror. A framed mirror on a barn door can add style and open up the space that you are closing off. Rooms that you are closing off for privacy can appear larger by installing mirrors on your doors.You can do whatever you want to your barn door, including painting, staining, sealing, adding lighting, adding additional hardware, or installing elements like mirrors or windows. Every barn door can be made unique with a few stylistic touches, and there are endless amounts of barn door ideas you can explore.

5. A Better Alternative to Conventional Door Frames

Instead of leaving wide door frames open or installing conventional swinging doors to smaller door frames, you can make your home more inviting with a sliding bypass barn door. Here are the three main choices that can be replaced by sliding bypass barn doors:

Wide-open openings: You may live in a house that contains open spaces between two rooms with large frames that wouldn’t fit a conventional door frame. You can install a rolling barn door in these large openings to give you the choice of an open or closed space.
Swinging doors: Conventional swinging wood doors on hinges can sometimes be a nuisance in small rooms. Even if the door doesn’t get in the way of furniture, you can have a much more styled look with an interior sliding barn door that also saves space compared to a classic wood door.

Interior wall-building:Some people want to create privacy between two rooms or create a barrier in the middle of one large multipurpose room. Instead of building an interior wall, you can install an interior sliding barn door that allows you to leave the space closed for the majority of the time while still giving you the option of opening it up when you want.

6. Multiple Bypass Barn Door Hardware Kit Options

Whether you have a large or small space for your barn door, there are many bypass barn door hardware kits that you can consider. Most hardware kits are created for specific barn doors, but the other option is customizing your own bypass barn door hardware to match the size and style you need.

With customization options, you can choose between the hardware style, finish, sliding door track length, drill style, door guide, rubber or steel wheels, additional closure system, handles, and even locks. These extra options give you almost endless opportunities and allow you to match your hardware to your door and the other elements in the room. No matter what style you choose, your hardware should be heavy duty and built to last.

The variety of hardware kits include single track bypass barn door hardware, double bypass barn door hardware, triple bypass barn door hardware, exterior bypass barn door hardware, and sliding bypass barn door hardware. These various kits allow you to utilize multiple exterior or interior barn doors and one or more rails to slide your DIY barn door on rollers across a flat track. You can also use double track bypass barn door hardware for large areas that require the additional rail.

Regardless of your interior design, you can choose from a variety of styles of bypass barn door hardware and give your space a unique look and feel that you desire.

Where to Use Bypass Barn Doors?

As with most design choices for your home, where to use bypass barn doors largely comes down to personal preference and your space considerations. The beauty of the bypass barn door configuration is that your doors can be set up over any door frame that’s wide enough to accommodate double doors. This makes them ideal candidates for a sliding closet door, pantry doors, entryway separations, a unique office door and more. Bypass barn doors are especially useful in areas where wall space is too limited for a traditional double door setup.

One of the most common applications of the bypass barn door is for bedroom closets—the space around closets is often more limited, making an outward swinging door (or doors, depending on the door frame) undesirable. The same can be said for kitchen pantries—space is often at a premium in the kitchen, and installing bypass barn doors helps update the kitchen aesthetic to something sleek and modern while avoiding the wasted space associated with swinging doors.

How Does a Bypass Barn Door Work?

To understand how a sliding bypass barn door works, let’s break down a typical bypass barn door hardware kit and explain the function of each piece:

1. Bypass Tracks

Every bypass barn door hardware kit consists of two tracks: an inside track and an outside track. These tracks are mounted to a header board above a door frame. The tracks allow the traversal of the hangers, which are used to mount the wooden door panels. The tracks are also used to mount door stoppers. Bypass door tracks are almost always made of metal.

2. Bypass Brackets

While the inside track is mounted directly to the header board, the outside track is suspended parallel to the inside track from the bypass bracket. The bypass brackets are mounted to the header board above the inside track at a precise measurement so that they overlap the inside track. When the outside track is mounted on the bypass bracket, both the inside and outside tracks should be level, so that one sliding door panel doesn’t hang lower than the other.

3. Wheels

The wheels in a bypass door hardware kit allow the panels of the bypass barn door to slide back and forth along the tracks. Two sets of wheels are affixed to the tops of the hangers, the bottoms of which are, in turn, mounted to each door panel. The wheels are commonly made of polymer, allowing for smooth, frictionless traversal of the bypass tracks.

4. Hangers

The hangers are used to attach the door panels to the wheels. Hangers are mounted to the door panels by screws or bolts. Because each hanger is mounted on a separate track, they bypass each other, creating a double sliding door that can open from both the right and left.

5. Door Stoppers

The door stoppers are exactly what they sound like. Often made of metal with a rubber pad, door stoppers are mounted on the bypass racks at the location where the user would like the door panel to stop. When a door panel meets its corresponding door stopper, it ceases to slide.

6. Door Panels

The door panels of a bypass door kit are most likely what you picture when imagining a bypass barn door. These are the two large, typically wooden panels that together form a double sliding door. The door panels are attached to the hangers so that they are allowed to slide left and right along the bypass tracks without bumping into one another.

7. Floor Guide

The floor guide is attached to the floor and slides between a groove routed along the bottom of its corresponding door panel so that the panel doesn’t sway when sliding.

8. Door Handle and Door Lock

While not always included with a bypass barn door hardware kit, barn door handles and locks can provide the functionality to a bypass barn door while also serving as accent pieces that round out the bypass door’s appearance. Often, to accommodate the closeness of the door panels, the door handle is inset, low-profile, or ring-styled.

How to Measure for Bypass Barn Door Hardware

Before you measure your chosen entryway to begin mounting your bypass barn door hardware, there are a few items you will need. They are as follows:

1. Tape measure

2. Pencil

3. eight-foot level

After you have these items, follow these five simple steps below to measure for your bypass barn door hardware:

1. Measure Left to Right on the Door Opening

To get a proper measurement, it’s important to maintain consistency. Always measure from the left of the door opening to the right.

2. Find the Center Point of the Inside Track

Begin by measuring from the floor to the center point on the header board where you plan to mount the inside track. Mark this center point with your pencil on the left edge of the header board. Take the measurement again at the center of the header board, then take the measurement one last time on the right edge of the header board.

3. Make a Guideline for the Inside Track

Align your eight-foot level so that the bottom edge runs along all three of the points you’ve previously marked on the header board. Make any necessary adjustments to ensure that the points are level. Using the bottom edge of the level as a guide, draw a line with your pencil.

4. Make a Guideline for the Bypass Brackets

Measuring up from the first line, make two more lines with the level, parallel to the first. These lines will be used to mark the position of the bypass brackets.

5. Mark the Holes for Mounting the Inside Track

Holding the inside track to the bottom line, mark the location of the spacer holes with your pencil.

6. Mark the Holes for Mounting the Bypass Brackets

Holding your level vertically, mark the point on the second and third lines directly above each point on the first line.

How to Install Bypass Barn Door Hardware

If you’ve taken the time to measure correctly, installing the bypass barn door hardware won’t be difficult. However, this is not a one-person job. When it comes to tasks such as leveling and mounting the bypass tracks and hanging the large wooden panels, we recommend seeking the help of at least one other person.

If at any point during the installation process you begin to feel overwhelmed or unequipped to finish the job, seek out the assistance of a professional contractor. If installed incorrectly, you’ll not only sacrifice the visual appeal of your bypass barn door, but also its functionality.

While many bypass barn door kits come bundled with bypass barn door hardware and door panels, in some instances, bypass barn door hardware and wood panels are sold separately. So, always take the time and make sure that your kit comes with hardware and wood panels.

Once you have your bypass barn door hardware and wood door panels, you’ll need a few tools to successfully perform the installation. This includes:  

• Tape measure

• eight-foot level

• Speed square

• Wood clamp

• Pencil

• Electric drill or screw runner

• Socket wrench

Now that you’ve acquired these tools, you’re finally ready to begin the bypass barn door hardware installation!

1. Drill Pilot Holes for Mounting Tracks

Using a ⅛” drill bit, drill pilot holes at the marked point along the pencil lines created in the recent section.

2. Slide Door Stoppers onto the Inside Track

Don’t worry about fixing the door stoppers into place yet. We will do this at the end of the installation.

3. Mount the Inside Track

With the assistance of your installation partner, align the inside track with the first pencil line. Then, place the spacers behind the track. Now, align the spacers with the pilot holes in the track and the pilot holes in the header board.

Using either a hexagonal drill head or a socket wrench, screw the bolts through the pilot holes of the track and the spacers, and into the pilot holes in the header board.

4. Mount the First Part of the Bypass Brackets

Align the pilot holes of the first part of the bypass bracket with the corresponding pilot holes in the two pencil lines above the inside track.

5. Connect the Second Part of the Bypass Brackets

Using the socket wrench, attach the second part of the bypass brackets to the first part.

6. Align the bypass brackets and tighten them

Place the speed square against the edge of the bypass brackets and align them so that they are vertically square. Use the socket wrench to tighten the bolts of the bypass brackets.

7. Mount the Outside Track

Using the track screws and spacers, mount the outside track to the bypass brackets. Next, tighten the screws.

8. Mark the Pilot Holes for the Door Hangers

Using your speed square, mark the location of the pilot holes for the door hangers on the corners of the wood door panels.

9. Install the Door Hangers

Align the pilot holes of the door hanger with the pencil marks. Next, secure the door hanger to the door panel with the wood clamp. Drill the pilot holes, and affix the door hanger with the hex bolts; tighten the nuts on the front of the door panel.

10. Hang the Door

With the assistance of your installation partner, hang the wood door panels on the bypass tracks.

11. Tighten Door Stoppers

Move the door stoppers to the position where you wish the door panels to stop, then tighten the door stoppers to fix them into position.

12. Plumb the Door Panels

Use your eight-foot level to plumb the door panels.

13. Mount the Floor Guide

Once you’ve plumbed the door panels, use the edge of the eight-foot level to mark the desired location of the floor guide. Now, affix the floor guide to the floor by running screws through the pilot holes located on the flared bottom of the floor guide.

Bypass Barn Door Hardware

Sliding bypass barn doors are enjoying a surge in popularity, and it’s easy to see why. They provide a functional and stylish alternative to the conventional door frame or sealing off an open space with a solid wall. You can choose to have an open space by sliding open your barn door. You can use bypass sliding barn doors in tight spaces where a traditional swinging door on hinges wouldn’t fit. You can also have the same privacy as a solid wall by sliding your barn door closed. Installation is so simple that once you’ve done it, you’ll be looking for other places to use sliding barn doors in your home.

The number of instances where you can use your bypass barn door are endless, and so are the creative touches you can add to make your barn door unique to you and the style of your home. If you want privacy that is affordable, straightforward, and stylish, consider getting a sliding barn door kit, find the perfect barn door, and install your very own DIY sliding barn door.