After I designed the baby gate for the stairs for my most recent True Value project, I realized that I could add the same type of door up above and make it into a dutch barn door. I thought that this was a genius plan, after all I do speak Dutch and it was just meant to be that I had my own dutch barn door in my house, I guess. Maybe, I can now put my wooded Dutch shoes by the dutch barn door to finish it off, I will have to ask Cassity for permission first.
Any way, now that we have the top door in addition with the baby gate, it provides some additional privacy for the living room. Since I already showed you the plans for the baby gate here, I wanted to show you some additional tips on how I build the dutch barn door to top it off.
All you need to do with the top door, is adjust the height of the baby gate plan to your desired height. I took the opening and subtracted 1/2” to get the finished height of my door. The width stayed the same as the previous baby gate I built.
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How I Built My Dutch Barn Door
Click Here to Get a Free Printable Version of this Building Plan
I first cut all of the pieces to length, except for the cross braces. You need to have the frame built first and use it as a guide for cutting the cross braces to length. I explain more about that a little later.
TIP: After I had all the pieces cut the the right length and shape, I shaved off all the square edges on every side of the board, with a razor blade, to give it a hand carved look. I thought this turned out nice. This was Cassity’s idea, so I need to give her the credit. It was the perfect thing to do for the look she was going for.
Next, I laid the top and bottom rails face down on the table with the two back side stiles placed at each end, forming the frame of the door. I started with one screw at each corner and made sure that the frame was square while drilling. After all corners where square, I added an additional screw to help keep it square and then measured the space for the front stile, cut it the stiles to length and screwed them in place. I wanted all the screws to be on the back of the door, the opposite side of the cross braces, so I didn’t have to see the how it is fastened together. I only used screws and not glue. For added strength you could add glue in between each board.
TIP: Keep all your screws lined up on the back to keep it nice and clean looking. Make sure you are drilling through to the front pieces to hold it all together but don’t let the screws show through the front.
TIP: When Checking if something is square or not, you can use the tape measure trick. You measure the corners on a diagonal to see if they measure out the same. If they are you the same then it is square. If not, you need to squeeze or pull apart the corners until the measurements are the same to be square.
When cutting the cross braces, I used the square door frame as a guide to mark where to cut them (see below). One side of the board was in the corner of the opening at one end and the same thing on the opposite end. See photo for how I lined it up.
This is how the cross braces turned out after cutting them to shape.
Before I assembled the rest of the pieces, I lightly sanded the edges with a sanding block to take off any little sharp pieces of wood sticking out and made sure that all the back stiles fit in the frame.
Then I started to screw in the back stiles on one at a time with screws only in the frame and cross braces, until they were all in place.
After I had it assembled it, I used an awesome tool called the Dremel Multi-Max MM20. This tool can sand in corners easily… along with a million other great uses, which I have been trying out lately. Anyway I grabbed my new Dremel Multi-Max MM20 tool and lightly sanded off any imperfection with little effort.
Now that it is all assembled, it’s time to stain it. We wanted to go with a gray stain for these doors. We purchased the stain at True Value. It is Minwax Waterbased Wood Stain. It is tintable (you can see the color options here) Cassity chose Charcoal Grey. We had it Mixed at True Value when we picked up the wood.
We applied the stain and wiped off the excess almost immediately, to let the knots show in the pine. We didn’t want to add anything else to it after the stain. We wanted the rustic feel, so no shiny finish necessary! (You could look for a wax if you felt like you needed a finish…)
Stain the back first and be sure not to drip stain through to the front. If you do drip through, wipe it off right away, to avoid really dark spots of stain. Start with one or two boards at a time. I used a foam brush to apply the stain in the joints first. Then I brushed the stain on the length of boards and wiped it right off. This is how it looked with wipe on, wipe off.
Here is how it looked after staining it. Very nice! We wanted the rustic feel and I think this did a great job.
We decided to have outdoor gate hardware for the door that was all black. These we also purchased it at True Value. With this type of hinge, I had to hang it differently then you would a typical door hinge that would be hidden at the end of the door. We wanted to see these hinges so they had to be hung on the outside if the door and on the door jam. You could avoid this if you wanted, by using regular door hinges.
On top of the door I added a ball door catch, similar to what you would see on a bedroom closet door. This helps the door stay closed without needing a latch.
We wanted a simple handle and latch that so we could lock the door by drilling a hole into the door frame. But just by opening the top door you can unlock the door from either side.
In order to open the full door together, I added a small piece of molding on top of the baby gate to push the upper door open at the same time as you opened the bottom gate.
Here is the final door put together in all it’s glory. We really love it and find ourselves just staring at it at times. I know that the trim is not quite done, but that will be coming soonish. As for now having the door up was most important to keep the kids off the stairs.
This is a view from the stairs side.
Kan je echt nederlands praten? I am totally born and raised Dutch! Love the door. And thinking i may need to try that one! Good job!
Actually my husband can speak dutch and I understood what you wrote, but I can’t write anything in Dutch, I need to practice!! Tot Ziens!
Wow, what a good looking dutch door and great tutorial!
Wonderful! I’m a new follower and when I saw the baby gate I to my Dutch born husband I want that & I think you could add a top to make it a Dutch door. Funny coincidence that your hubby speaks Dutch as well Cassity. I don’t speak it but understand quite a lot when I hear or see it. What a small world! I’m loving both components of this project. Thanks!
Prachtig! I fell in love with the baby gate, but adding an upper door really finishes it off! And I’m not just saying that cause I’m Dutch 😉 Thinking about making my own even though we don’t have children (yet). It really adds character to a room.
Helena, bedankt voor jou commentaar. Ik vind het ook prachtig!
I am in love!
I noticed the hooks you have hanging on the wall — my husband actually put up a piece of trim the length of the stairwell (on the hidden side) and installed hooks on it – 12 to be exact. It’s the perfect place to store and hide coats, jackets, backpacks, and purses. We love it.
Now to beg hubby to make this door for me!
Glad that you love it Ginger. I hope that your hubby will build you one.
Goodmorning,
I supplied a client with doorhardware, they sent me a picture of your door, it looks great. I do the same with recycled scaffold planks in Germany, I have a website which supplies the German market. I have now combined it with doorhardware.
with regards,
Paul Jagerman
Justin and Cassity…….Loved the door!!! Such a very wonderful way to protect your small children. I have always wanted kitchen cabinet doors like this and even doors going in all of our rooms too. Did not know they are called “Dutch” doors. No wonder I could not get a good response when I would Google them. Was a cool thought to put a ledge on the bottom door for the top door to open at the same time. Would like some full-sized ones and will put them on my “Daydream List” and show them to my husband for our “Cabin in the Woods” in Texas. Thank y’all for sharing!!!
Justin, I just decided to “Google” the doors and had a question for you, since you are Dutch…..The design of the doors are “Barn” doors? Right? But, when they are split in half, is that what makes them “Dutch” doors? Grew up at an Elementary school where the doors were like this in our classrooms. We also have them going into our Nursery at church. Thanks again!!!
Yes, they have the look of barn doors and function like a Dutch door.
I really like this door! I’d love to make for my master bathroom. Thanks for sharing!
I think your list is getting longer by the second! good luck with everything you are working on!
Thank you so much for taking the time to provide such detailed instructions! We desperately needed a way to keep our littles out of the kitchen! I will send pictures of our finished project if you would like. I will be building it this afternoon. Our opening is extra wide so i will have to build two that latch together. For the wide opening it is just a walkway, no way to do a Dutch door. However, I will be making the Dutch door for the kitchen to dining room doorway. I also plan on putting a shelf on the lower door to hold serving dishes when the top door is open. Once again, thank you! We sure appreciate the tutorials that allow us to build items that work perfectly for our family! God Bless!
YES! Please send pictures!!! Can’t wait to see what you do, good luck! I am so happy it was helpful to you!
I did it! I built two because our opening was so wide. After messing around with a couple different stains, I finally found a combo that matches our cabinets nearly perfectly!!! I can’t get your email link to work, but I will keep trying! Now to decide if I want a Dutch door or a sliding door on the other opening. 🙂
Amy, that is awesome. I would love to see a picture of how it turned out.
This is exactly like what I’m planning for my kids playhouse doors! Perfect! Could you share what hardware you used to link the door sections together so they can open as one when needed?
Chris, I used a black surface bolt. I added it after this post was published. I attached it to the top door and cut out a notch on the bottom door for it to lock in to. You can get them at most hardware stores. Here is a link for one at the Home Depot.
This is genius! Love your site, and you’re adorable. Can’t wait to read more how to’s. 🙂
We are glad that you love our site! Come back anytime!
Love the door! Would this be applicable for an exterior door? Would love this as my front door! Would love any suggestions.
Love your site : ]
It isn’t air tight, so you would need to modify it and maybe add another layer of wood and make sure whatever wood you use is sealed and can handle the heat and elements that a front door would have to handle. Also really good weather stripping in the door gap. Basically there would be some changes that would have to be made, but it could be done.
Great project. What kind of wood did you use?
Pine 1×4’s.
I am wondering if you can guess how much just the bottom half of the door weighed when completed?
My guess would be twenty to thirty pounds.
Luv your design, the door is absolutely gorgeous…Thank you for sharing this!
Thanks for the comment, Suzan!
I am in love! Thank you for sharing this!!
Thanks for the love, Diana!
Amazing superio% work. Have started my bedroom doors from this. Thank you so much will be following all your hard beautiful work.
I am so glad I found your site. I am remodeling some rooms and we decided to do a Dutch door on one of the rooms. Now that door is in the same area as the rest of the doors. So, I should do them all Dutch doors. To make it look nice. Wish me good luck. Love your site.
Dutch doors for EVERY room! 🙂 We’d love to see pictures when you’re done!
In the pictures it looks like the top half of door is a taller than bottom half. Is that the case? If so, how did you estimate the dimensions for the bottom, it appears to be height is same as width from instructions. I bought the wood yesterday and I am getting ready to cut….
Hi Chery,
The plans for the bottom half are here, since it started as a baby gate: https://www.remodelaholic.com/2012/09/diy-barn-door-baby-for-stairs/
Those plans can be adjusted for whatever height you’d like the top and bottom to be.
Made this today for my front porch entry.for maybe $10.00 using old pallets and 2×4’s. I’ll be painting it to match the exterior house and trim.
I have chickens that come onto the porch and if I leave door open come in….eeeek…..built this not only to keep them out but the dogs and grand babies safely on porch. It’s absolutely beautiful with my homestead/farm. Thank you for tutorial.
Did I mention I am new to wood working and this is my first ever project? Was not hard to read or understand directions and only took 90 minutes. I look forward to many more projects like this.
Lisa P
Northern California
Thank you so much for leaving us a comment, Lisa! What a smart solution for your situation and we’re so glad you found the tutorial helpful. You can send us a picture here (https://www.remodelaholic.com/share-brag-post/) or at hello@remodelaholic.com — we’d love to see your work!