Sliding Barn Door

Measure the actual width and height of your door opening, then size the finished door to overlap it by at least 2" on each side and the top so it fully covers the gap when closed. Adjust every rail and stile length in the cut list to match your real opening before cutting — the numbers here assume a specific opening and yours is almost certainly different.

Drill pocket holes in the ends of the top, mid, and bottom rails and join them to the two stiles with 1-1/4" pocket screws and glue, keeping everything square. This front-facing frame is what you'll see once the door is hung, so keep glue squeeze-out to a minimum on the front face.

Hold the long diagonal brace across the assembled frame corner to corner and mark the actual angles directly off the frame, rather than trusting the reference angle alone — your real frame's exact width and height determine the true angle. Cut and fit it, then do the same for the two shorter diagonals that complete the Z. Pocket-screw and glue all three in place.

Screw the two back frame rails and the cross rail to the back face of the door, then attach the plywood panel over them with glue and screws driven from the back only, so nothing shows on the front. This is what gives the door its solid-slab look from the room side.

Sand every edge and both faces, finish as you like, then mount the track hardware to your wall header per the kit's instructions and hang the door. Check it slides smoothly and hangs plumb before calling it done — most sliding-door binding issues trace back to the header not being level.