When choosing an exterior door for your entryway, shed, or patio area, a barn door may not be the first thought to come to your mind. However, an exterior barn door offers plenty of benefits, including the ability to save space and boost curb appeal. Plus, outdoor barn doors come in numerous styles and materials to match your home’s style.
8 Benefits of Exterior Barn Doors
- Save Space
- Boost Curb Appeal
- Weather Resistant
- Convenient Functionality and Installation
- Security
- Hinged and Sliding Capabilities
- Cover Large Spaces
- Fully Customizable
Double barn doors and
sliding glass barn doors are popular in home and office interiors, but they're not quite as common for outdoor use. However, plenty of outdoor barn door ideas have been hitting Pinterest over the last couple of years, boosting the popularity of these gorgeous doors with rustic charm and lots of versatility.
Barn doors were originally designed for barns, of course, but their style has been upgraded to fit a breadth of home styles. These doors can be as rustic, industrial, or modern as you need them to be, making them fit right into your outdoor area's style.
8 Benefits of Exterior Barn Doors
Wood doors, double door sets,
Dutch door styles,
French door vibes—an outdoor barn door has it all. Exterior sliding doors and hinged barn doors can resist weather, cover large and small spaces, and offer security to your home and outdoor spaces. Here are just a few of the most significant benefits to consider when looking for the right door for your outdoor space.
1. Save Space
Because barn doors come in
custom sizes, you can order them to fit your specific needs. This is helpful for tight spaces, like small
sheds, that can only accommodate a modest door size. Barn doors are even available as
pocket doors to suit areas like small greenhouses or a side entrance to a garage.
If you want a new exterior door for your entryway but your entrance area is narrow and difficult to work with, a barn door panel could be the right fit. Rustica's outdoor barn door can come hinged for a front entrance, and is available in heights from five feet to almost 12 feet, with widths as narrow as one foot.
2. Boost Curb Appeal
It's often amazing what a new set of
exterior shutters and a new door can do for your home's curb appeal.
Adding an exterior barn door to your front entrance, garage, or patio can give your home more pizazz. Although homeowners tend to prioritize curb appeal when selling a home, it also has financial benefits for you, even if you'll be staying in it for a while. Sometimes, it takes just a few small tweaks to create an instantly eye-catching home exterior that boosts your home's value and gives you more equity.
Consider playing with the
door color or design to get a unique look that's unlike any other in the neighborhood.
3. Weather Resistant
Exterior barn doors are designed to resist weather—especially beautiful solid
wood doors. Our doors use natural materials to create a stunning look wherever you place them.
But our Outdoor Rated Barn Door is made with FSC certified exterior-grade cedar wood, some of the most durable around, to ensure your door is long-lasting in any kind of weather.
With the extra care put into exterior barn doors, you can expect years of anti-warping, anti-fading, security, and durability to keep your door looking its best throughout every season.
4. Convenient Functionality and Installation
Sliding barn doors are known for their unmatched functionality for spaces that can accommodate them, including
patio area, garages, and sheds. They hang from the outside of the space and slide away from and back over the door opening. Heavy duty tracks and Rustica hardware kits offer smooth and easy sliding, even for the heaviest doors.
Plus, these barn door hardware kits and tracks are relatively straightforward to install, so there may not be a need to hire an expert to do the job. From start to finish, adding an exterior barn door to your entrance or outdoor space can be a no-fuss DIY project to tackle.
5. Security
Barn doors rated for outdoor use are some of the most secure doors you can find. Their heavy-duty construction creates a sound barrier between your space and the outdoors. Exterior-grade materials and sealants ensure that exterior barn doors hold their shape and do not become compromised over time because of weather. The result is a gorgeous door that remains secure for its lifetime.
Also, the hardware included with an exterior rated sliding barn door meets outdoor standards. That means that your track or hinges, screws, door pull, decorative hardware, and locks can all handle the outside elements to keep your family and belongings safe inside.
6. Hinged and Sliding Capabilities
The best part about selecting a barn door is that you can choose the type of door hardware kit you want to use. A sliding outdoor barn door kit with hangers and a track might be the best option for some exterior doors. On the other hand, a
hinged barn door is often the way to go for a front entrance door. Either way, there are many choices to choose from to fit your needs.
7. Cover Large Spaces
Add appeal to your garage, shed, and other outdoor spaces that have large door openings with an exterior barn door. As a garage door, these beauties are both functional and eye-catching. A set of double barn doors on the garage and other outdoor structures add rustic charm that draws inspiration from a
farmhouse barn. Go as rustic or modern as you'd like by choosing your wood texture,
stain, or paint finish, and door hardware that matches your home’s design.
Oversized barn doors can slide or attach to door frames with hinges, allowing you to choose which design works best for your outdoor space.
8. Fully Customizable
Barn doors are some of the most customizable you'll find, especially when you order from Rustica. Our Outdoor Rated Barn Door is available in multiple door design styles, including classic barn door styles, like our
Z Style Barn Door and
Double-X Barn Door. You can also go for a more unique style with the
Rustica Reclaimed Barn Door using reclaimed wood planks, or opt for a modern barn door design with French-inspired barn doors, glass panels, and geometric patterns.
Then, dive into your specific tastes by choosing the metal type and metal finish, like modern gold or satin chrome. You can even customize the wood species, texture, and finish to wrap up your look and amp up the curb appeal to your home.
8 Places to Use an Exterior Barn Door
An exterior barn door is designed to handle cold, heat, rain, and sunshine, day in and day out, while adding a touch of style to your home. Here are a few places to consider adding an outdoor barn door:
1. Garage
One of our favorite ways to use an outdoor barn door set is as garage doors. Heavy duty exterior barn door hardware kits have a high weight capacity needed for these oversized doors. You can also put them on hinges if it works better for your space. Barn garage doors add a completely unique style to your home and outdoor area.
2. Shed
No matter what size
shed you have, there's an outdoor barn door that will fit it. Use a sliding door to access a shed with a large door opening, or opt for hinges on a smaller area. Barn doors also come in pocket door sizes if you need a door to close a narrow opening.
3. Patio
Patio spaces are perfect for sliding barn doors. Choose between several glass panel barn door options from Rustica. You can even add
privacy glass to your doors to let the natural light shine in while maintaining a sense of privacy.
4. Greenhouse
Glass panel barn doors designed for outdoor use can also work well in a greenhouse to keep that must-have sunshine flowing through. Depending on the door opening size and available wall space, you can add a sliding track or set of hinges to hang the door.
5. Entryway
Your entrance door acts as both an exterior and interior barn door, so you need to make sure it's rated for outdoor use to ensure it lasts. Add a barn door to your home's entrance and see what a transformation it makes to the outside of your house.
6. Door or Window Shutters
Placing a barn door or a set of barn doors on either side of a door or window is a creative twist on traditional shutters. These barn door shutters can frame front porch windows, French doors, or entryways to add a touch of design to a home’s first impression. They can also add elegance to the back of a home, which is an area that is too often neglected. The track and wall mount can easily be installed into the siding with a secure and safe fit, ensuring your handiwork lasts.
7. Sunroom or Enclosed Porch Entrance
Exterior barn doors can play a number of roles in a sunroom or an enclosed porch. Exterior barn doors with glass panels (either partial or full) allow sunlight to flood the interior space, similar to the airy aesthetic that glass-paned French doors create. Other barn doors are solid and can be installed to partially block sunlight as they slide open and closed. This option can limit unwanted sunlight and also provide a large open-air connection from the porch to the patio.
8. Pool House
If you have a pool house or want a pool house this is another reason to just do it! Adding an exterior barn door to your pool house will give it that beautiful rustic and farmhouse look you’ve been dying for! Add a few lights and enjoy a night by the pool!
How to Install Exterior Barn Doors
Before jumping in and purchasing a barn door, you’ll want to learn about the installation process to determine if this is a task you want to undertake alone or with professional help.
The good news is that exterior barn door installation is very similar to installing interior sliding barn doors. But even if you don’t have any experience in installing interior doors, installing sliding exterior barn doors will be easy and simple for you if you follow the how-to guide below. Get an extra pair of hands involved to make it easier and faster. Of course, if you do not feel confident in completing the installation process, you can always hire a handyman or contact Rustica customer service for questions you may have.
Choose Your Door
Just as Rustica crafts well-made interior doors, the company also has a quality selection of exterior sliding barn doors available. As you review your many options, don’t feel overwhelmed with choosing the best door for your home. The type of door is determined largely by where you intend on using it and on your style preference. The
Rustic Exterior Barn Door and the
Ranch Exterior Barn Door are both larger, heavy duty doors while the
Grove Exterior Barn Door and the
Orchard Exterior Barn Door are both slimmer, sleek choices. All Rustica doors are crafted from durable and long-lasting cedar wood that is a natural, anti-warp choice capable of withstanding wind, water, and time. These doors can be purchased as a single door or double door according to your spatial needs and the type of track system you choose: standard,
biparting, or
bypassing.
And don’t think your only choice is a red barn door. Each door can be made-to-order according to your finish of choice, or it can arrive with an
unfinished stain so that it can eventually be painted at home to match your decor preferences.
Choose Hardware
It’s also important to determine which sliding door hardware style you prefer or which one is necessary for your space since the type and amount of hardware will affect the installation process. Rustica, likewise, offers a gorgeous selection of quality hardware for exterior sliding barn doors. As with sliding barn doors,
barn door hardware should also be chosen based on functionality and design, considering not only style and finish but weight capacity and spatial restrictions. Below are a few of the popular choices currently offered:
Flat Track: A simple and classic option generally used for traditional barn doors. Crafted from raw steel, the track is reliable and sturdy.
Box Track: A solid, rectangular track that attaches to the top of the door, preserving the face of the wood from drill holes or design-distracting hardware.
No Show: Choose this system
if standard hardware will not fit within your space or if you want to maximize the exposure of your door’s design. The track attaches to the back of the door so the hangers and wheels are
hidden, leaving only a tiny view of bolts.
Top Mount: This track also attaches to the top of the door but features exposed wheels like a traditional flat track.
Choose Handles and Locks
Another choice you’ll have to make for your hardware kit is whether you want to include
handles and locks. Since you’re installing an exterior barn door, you will most likely want to purchase a lock. A teardrop latch or rustic hook and eye latch are perfect for spaces where intrusion is not an issue or for areas like garages and sheds where internal locking is not a practical option or need.
Handles are more optional than locks—it just depends on your design and functionality preference. These can easily be installed into any of the sliding barn doors offered through Rustica. These handles can be traditional pulls installed on either or both sides of the door or flush pulls that lay flat against the face of a door that needs to slide in front of a wall or behind another door in a bypassing track system.
Door Assembly:
Once you’ve made all of these decisions, it’s time to decide how you would like your exterior sliding barn door to arrive: pre-assembled vs. unassembled. Purchasing a door pre-assembled makes installation much quicker. For an additional cost, the door will come fully built and attached to its frame. You will only need to assemble the hardware. An unassembled door will arrive exactly as it sounds: completely unassembled. If you choose this option, you will need to start with assembling the door slab.
Assembling Door Slab
For this process you’ll need a drill and a mallet. Everything else you need is included.
Step 1: Layout the frame of your door and line up the letters written on the edges of the beams. These beams are crafted as tongue and groove so that one edge of the wood fits into another.
Step 2: Place dowels into position and attach the top rail to a style, forming the beginning of the frame and creating an L shape.
Step 3: Begin placing panels one on top of the other to create the top half of the door slab.
Step 4: Place the middle rail securely on top of the panels. Use the mallet to make sure everything is secure.
Step 5: Repeat the panel process to create the bottom half of the door.
Step 6: Secure the bottom rail. Insert the remaining dowels and place a few space balls. Finish by placing the final style.
Step 7: If your door calls for support beams, you will finish the assembly process by installing these in place, generally diagonally across the top and/or bottom half of the door.
Step 8: Once your door is assembled, install any locks or handles you may have purchased.
Attach the Mounting Board
After assembling your panels into a door slab and frame, you can take a break from working on the actual door and begin preparing the area on which the track installation will take place. Find your wall studs and use a leveler to attach the mounting board onto your home’s exterior. This will distribute the weight of the system and its door to provide a secure attachment and prevent any unnecessary damage to the siding of the building. This is also a great time to install the floor mount, which is an optional (but helpful) piece of hardware on which your barn door slides. A floor mount prevents barn doors from swinging, creating a more secure and weather-proof fit.
Attach Hangers
Head back to your door slab and measure and mark exactly where your hangers will need to be drilled. Once you have your markings, go ahead and pre-drill your door. Then, put your hangers in place and attach them using the drill.
Install Track System and Hang Your Door
In this step, you will attach your track system to the mounting board. As with your hangers, you’ll want to measure and mark, then pre-drill before actually installing the track onto the board. At this point, you’ll be ready to hang your door and its
rollers from your track system.
How to Secure an Exterior Barn Door
Homeowners sometimes hesitate to buy an outdoor barn door for their home because they don't believe it offers the same security as other types of exterior doors. However, exterior sliding barn doors can be fitted with various types of locks, just like traditional exterior doors. Whether you need a simple locking system with latches for a shed, or a more secure padlock system for your front door, a barn door can accommodate it.
A
sliding barn door lock comes in many forms. Barrel slide bolts and cane floor bolts, which have a lock that slides into a receiving end to secure the door, are popular options for outdoor sheds that don't require hefty security systems. A hook and eye latch can also work for sheds. However, these don't typically offer enough security for front entrances.
Instead, you can try one of Rustica's
self-latching barn door lock systems. The lock mechanism is compatible with most of our sliding barn doors to offer a quick and convenient lock system for reliable security.
With this system, no drilling into the wall or
door jamb is necessary. Instead, the mechanism installs onto the door and track. It's intended for interior use, making it a good option for locking a front entrance door from the inside. Use this self-locking system with another lock of your choice to maximize the security of your front entrance.
If you choose a
barn door with hinges, instead of a sliding track, you can utilize almost any type of traditional security lock system you'd like, including a deadbolt, electronic lock, or a locking doorknob.
Find the Perfect Outdoor Barn Door for Your Home
When you want the perfect exterior barn door for your entryway, patio, shed, or anywhere else in your outdoor area, try Rustica's
Outdoor Rated Barn Door. The solid cedar wood construction includes a warranty to protect against splitting, rotting, and other problems that sometimes occur with exterior barn doors. You'll get peace of mind with your purchase
and a door that lives up to your expectations.
The Outdoor Rated Barn Door from Rustica is an excellent addition to any home. Customize it by choosing the panel type, wood finish, and wood texture. Then, input the height and width requirements to fit your space; Rustica will cut your exterior doors to your exact specifications for a custom fit. A premium baked finish keeps your door looking its best through any kind of weather.
FREE SHIPPING*Most orders over $500 qualify. Free shipping applies to Barn Door Hardware, Barn Doors, and Pocket Doors over $500. Front doors, interior doors, shower doors, any oversized door (wider than 3ft and taller than 7ft) and any special order doors have shipping costs which are calculated at checkout. Some barn door hardware track lengths do not qualify for free shipping.
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