The Only DIY Barn Door Bottom Guide You Can Try!

The barn door and its bottom guide need to fit perfectly in order to give a smooth slide all time. But sometimes it gets hard to align due to improper size and depth. Leading the barn door to work improperly. That’s going to cause it damage in no time.

Now, what to do? Well, consider a DIY barn door bottom guide plan to try. This gives a lot more flexibility to customize the design of guide that will align with the barn door properly.

Get prepared as you’ll have to do quite a lot of hard work for making the guide and then install it on the bottom. Start with reading this guide where I show you the exact way!

The Right Way Of Making The DIY Barn Door Bottom Guide.

It will take around 20 minutes to build the DIY barn door guide. Keep your patience high for the procedure as it does get boring at a certain point. And you must grab all the needed tools beforehand. Here’s how to do it yourself.

Required Tools & Materials:

• 4-1/2” Angle Grinder.
• Mig Welder.
• Welding C-clamp.
• Angle Iron (L-shape). 
• Noise Reduction Earmuffs.
• Screwdriver & Power Drill.
• Electric Drill.
• Plywood Panel.
• Putty Knife. 
• Utility Knife.
• Strong Glue. 
• Spray Paint (Optional).
• Safety Equipment.
• Measuring Tape.
• Pencil.

Step 1: Protect Yourself With Safety Equipment.

• Get protective wear and gears from a nearby store.
• Wear the welding beanie and helmet. 
• Secure your eye with the safety glasses. 
• Cover your face with a safety shield.  
• Use the gloves and earmuffs to ensure everything is covered well.

Step 2: Cut The Angle Irons. 

• Pick a safe zone. 
• Put the angle irons in the middle gap of the table so that they don’t escape due to pressure. 
• Measure the depth of the barn door with a measuring tape. 
• Mark the angle iron parts based on the thickness of the barn door using a pencil.
• Use the angle grinder (4-1/2”) to cut the iron slices so that when you connect the 2 parts it looks like the floor guide. In case you don’t own one, get the Angle Grinder 7.5-Amp.

For Your Information: Most barn door thickness is between 1.75” to 3.375” on average.

Step 3: Weld The 2 Iron Pieces Together.

• Take a piece of plywood that matches the depth of your barn door. 
• Place the 2 iron pieces (which you have cut by matching the depth of the barn door). 
• Insert the 2 on top of the plywood piece. Hold the edges with the welding C-clamp and tighten it. 
• Grab the welding machine to weld them together. Be sure to weld them nicely and evenly so that they connect easily.
• Take the angle grinder (4-1/2”) and rounder the edges a bit. 

Step 4: Paint The Iron Guide.

• Grab spray paint of any color you want as a floor guide. 
• Place a paper or tissue and on the top place the 2 iron pieces. 
• Spray the paint so that every inch covers pretty well. 
• Dry them for around 10 minutes. 
• Flip the 2 iron pieces and again spray. Let them dry for 1 hour. 

Step 5: Drill The Iron Guide.

• Take the pencil and mark the 4 spots on the bottom of the guide.
• Turn on the electric drill and make the 4 holes on the guide that will stick it on the floor. 

Step 6: Insert the Felt Bottom On the Iron Guide. 

• Spray a strong adhesive on the surface of the soft felt bottom. 
• Immediately place the adhesive side on top of the iron guide. 
• Use a putty knife to stick the interior soft felt.
• Dry it for 1 hour. 
• Grab a sharp utility knife to cut the extra on the corners. 

How To Install Barn Door Floor Guides

Now that you have successfully built the barn door bottom guide, it’s time to install the part on the bottom floor. Let me walk you to the directions:

• Mark the location where you want to install the guide. 
• Place the guide and again mark the 4 holes. 
• Take the electric drill and insert the right drill bit. Turn it on and make 4 holes. 
• Place the floor guide and insert the 4 bolts. 
• Tighten the bolts using the screwdriver and power drill. 
• Test to ensure the barn door moves without causing a swing. If it’s swinging, then adjust the floor guide again.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many floor guides do you need for a barn door?

You’ll mostly need 1 floor or bottom guide to use for a barn door. It would be enough as most barn doors can work well with a single one. However, some barn door requires 2-floor guides to stop swinging badly.

Do you need a floor guide for the barn door?

Yes and no! If your barn door contains a slot cut in the floor, then the floor guide isn’t required to use. But you might need a floor guide at the bottom of the barn door if it doesn’t have a slot cut.

Where does the floor guide go for a barn door?

The perfect place for your barn door floor guide is on the floor mid-point. As the door needs to move from side to side, it needs to fit on the mid-point so that the bottom can move easily from one side to another without facing a swing.

Overall Thoughts

It’s a little hard to make a DIY barn door bottom guide unless you know how to use the welding machine and grinder or have minimal skill. 

I’ve tried my best to present this guide informative in a simple way so that any skilled person can try the technique. 

Hope you like this guide to acquire knowledge and will try the above techniques to make your bottom guide yourself. Get The Best Result By Doing It Yourself!