Introducing an easy solution to little ones slamming your barn door! Our new Closure soft-stop system slows you door down before it makes contact with the track stop. This ensures a smooth stop every time. The Closure system has been specially designed to be universal with all Rustica Hardware flat track systems, no matter the length of track this product will work with your flat track system. Product comes with (2) Closure mechanisms (one for each side of the track system) to protect your system whether it's being opened or closed.

Minimum weight capacity: 100 pounds
Maximum weight capacity: 300 pounds
 
This Soft Close system is only compatible with Rustica's Standard Flat Track Barn Door Hardware and is not compatible with the No Show system, J track, Low clearance, Box track or Modern box track.
  Watch Our Closure Soft-Stop In Action

How to Install Soft Close Barn Door Hardware

For homeowners concerned with both noise control and safety, installing soft close barn door hardware can be an effective way to ensure the quiet and safe use of your stylish new barn door while also providing additional operating convenience. While barn doors are highly functional and striking pieces of home décor art, they can also make a lot of noise if your house is filled with people who enjoy enthusiastically closing them.
 
Many barn doors are made of solid wood or other weighty material, which means they can make serious noise—and also cause serious damage—when they’re repeatedly slammed shut over time. And because they have a tendency to be heavy, it’s easy to people to put more effort than they need to into closing them.

You can minimize damage to your door and ensure a much quieter home by installing a soft close barn door hardware kit. While it’s certainly not a new feature, soft close action isn’t automatically included in our classic kits—but it’s a fairly easy installation to make once your door is in place.

How to Install Soft Close Barn Door Hardware

1. Gather Supplies
2. Prepare Door
3. Remove Track Lags and Spacers
4. Add Soft Close Bracket Behind Barn Door Track
5. Replace Lags and Spacers
6. Install Stop Tab
7. Do a Test Close

It might be easier than you think to regulate the speed and smoothness in which your interior barn door slides open and closed. As it turns out, installing a soft close barn door hardware kit is relatively quick and easy, even for those who don’t consider themselves DIY masters.

This kind of barn door kit ensures that no matter how hard your barn door is shoved, when the panel reaches a certain point, it will automatically slow down and gently ease itself closed, reducing the noise to almost nothing. Once your hardware kit is in place, your barn door is better prepared to stand up to the rigors of even the most forceful closing, without making a lot of noise and without smashing into your door frame or drywall; causing damage to your home. With a soft close barn door hardware kit, you’ll have a sliding barn door with functionality equal to its visual appeal.

How Does Soft Close Work on Barn Doors?

Soft close action applied to sliding barn doors makes it nearly impossible for those doors to slam shut. Instead, the hydraulic soft close mechanism employed within the hardware catches the door when it’s roughly two inches from closing, guiding it smoothly and silently into its final position.
 
With a soft close hardware kit in place, even if someone tries to slam sliding doors shut, the soft-close mechanism absorbs the excess force and leaves only enough energy to bring the sliding door into its fully closed position. This offers you, the homeowner, several benefits.

First, there’s peace and quiet. This can be especially important in areas of the home where you may need to focus, concentrate, or sleep—like a bedroom, home office, or study, for example. The soft close action also ensures that your sliding barn door operates safely. The soft close mechanism protects your loved ones from pinched fingers and other possible accidents caused by the closing of a sliding door. This safer operation is especially important if you have little ones in your home. Installing soft close hardware can protect their fingers from pinches, avoiding potential broken bones, nasty bruises, and tearful interactions with your sliding barn door

In addition, installing soft close barn door hardware allows your sliding door to open and close with the use of much less force, making it user-friendly for friends and family of all ages and ability levels.

Finally, adding a soft close hardware means that your door is protected from the tremendous wear and tear caused by repeated slamming against the end stops and your door frame. Your beautiful and high-quality barn door was a significant investment, and pairing it with soft close hardware will protect that investment over time. While every sliding barn door requires regular maintenance over its useful life, this reduction in regular wear and tear can minimize the frequency and complexity of the maintenance the barn door requires to keep it operating like new.

What is the Difference Between Soft Close and Self Close?

It might sound like soft close and self close hardware are exactly the same thing, but they are actually slightly different.  

First, self close hardware, specifically hinges, have a spring built into them so that when you close a door, the spring takes over to pull it completely closed. This usually happens when the door is within roughly two inches of closing. A door with a self close hinge typically closes with a slight tap. Self close hinges are designed to pull the cabinet door closed with only a small amount of force, providing an easy solution for making sure cabinet doors aren’t left open—or that they can be closed easily even if you have your hands full.

A soft close hinge, on the other hand, employs a hydraulic setup that pulls the door closed with soft, complete silence. You won’t hear the tap or thump when the door is completely closed. Most hinges that are soft closing are also self closing, but not all self closing hinges are soft closing—meaning they close with the audible tap or thump. Ultimately, self close cabinet hinges don’t offer the same noise dampening features as soft close hinges, which may be inconvenient in a household where people are have a habit of accidentally slamming doors.

How to Install Soft Close Barn Door Hardware

Now let’s dive a bit deeper into the steps you’ll take when installing your soft close barn door hardware.

1. Gather Supplies

It’s always a good idea to gather everything you’ll need for the process and have it close at hand as you begin installation. That way, you prevent the need to stop work and find or purchase something you need to continue.
For this fairly easy installation, you’ll need your soft close bracket, four screws, a step ladder or small stool, and a Philips head screwdriver or a drill. Once you’ve collected everything, you’re ready to get proceed with the installation instructions.  

2. Prepare Door

Your barn door should have an anti jump bracket located at its edge. With the removal of the screws, you should be able to remove this bracket. Doing so prepares the sliding door for soft close bracket installation. If you have a barn door floor guide in place, you’ll want to remove that as well.

3. Remove Track Lags and Spacers

Next, you’ll want to carefully move your barn door away from its railing system’s last two spacers. Doing so makes it much easier to remove the lag and spacers. With an electric drill and the right socket attachment, this process should be quick and easy.

4. Add Soft Close Bracket Behind Barn Door Track

At this point, you should be able to slide your soft close bracket behind the current track. Just align the hole from the soft close hardware with the hole on the top end of the barn door track.
You’ll need to note that there’s a small bracket on the bottom of the soft close sliding door hardware plate. Make sure it’s oriented down toward the bottom of the track. Once it is, you’ll know it’s in place correctly.

5. Replace Lags and Spacers

Now you can grab the spacers you removed and reinstall them, along with the lags and stops. Once again, your drill should make this a quick and easy task.

6. Install Stop Tab

You’re almost finished! The final step is to install the small stop tab hardware piece. To start, go ahead and slide your barn door all the way closed, with the hanger positioned against the stop. Then, place the stop tab at the top of the sliding door or the back of the door—it’s completely up to you. Just make note that if you want the stop tab on the back of your barn door, you’ll need to completely remove the barn door to make that work.

Once you have the stop tab positioned exactly where you want it, you’ll notice a tab that hangs down below the soft close door mechanism. Make sure this tab is angled upward so that it can grab your stop tab. Once it’s firmly aligned, take your Philips screwdriver or drill and install the tab. You can use your drill or screwdriver to adhere the tab with four screws near the top of the door.

And voila—project complete! Now you’re well on your way to enjoying the gentle, quiet, and safe closing barn door.

7. Do a Test Close

Once you’ve finished your installation, you’ll want to make sure the door closes the way you’d like. Go ahead and do a test close—or maybe even a few—to ensure that everything is aligned appropriately and the soft closing system is meeting expectations. If everything is working as it should, you can go ahead and re-install the anti-jump bracket at the end of the door so that it remains safely in place.

Keep in mind that while installing soft close hardware is a fairly straightforward DIY project, it may require some heavy lifting if you have to remove the barn door completely from the track. So, you might want to think about asking a friend or family member to give you a helping hand.

And, as always, if you feel uncertain about your DIY abilities (or you don’t have the right tools or equipment to finish the project), don’t hesitate to hire a professional handyman or contractor. A professional should be able to complete this project fairly quickly.

Soft Close Barn Door Hardware Gives You Peace and Quiet

Adding an interior barn door is a simple way to add both personality and charm to your home, but equipping it for the right functionality is just as important as its aesthetic appeal. With a few simple tools and in a short couple of hours, you can re-establish some peace and quiet in your home, thanks to soft close barn door hardware.
 
Taking the time to install soft close barn door hardware not only brings the short-term benefit of avoiding disruptive and startling slams of the door, but it also ensures that both your door and your home remain in good condition for many years to come.

Artisan Hardware provides many different options when it comes to soft close barn door hardware, so don’t wait another minute. Add a soft close barn door hardware kit today.