10 Tips Pre-Sell Engagement Page
Considering a barn door project? With our hardware in thousands of homes nationwide, here are 10 tips from our experience.
1. Header Board vs. NO Header Board: Often a header board is added for aesthetic reasons, but it also solves several other issues. It adds spacing from the wall, which can be necessary if you don't want to remove your doorway trim and/or you have a thick door.
A header also provides more options for where on the wall you can install your rail because without a header, the holes in your pre-drilled rail will need to line up with your studs (typically 16" on-center). The header gets installed right on the sheet rock with screws going into the studs, and then the rail can attach anywhere into the header.
2. Determine Trim/Wall Clearance Ahead of Time: Don't install your rail only to find your door doesn't have enough clearance from the wall, leaving you with nothing but a sturdy clothing rod. We make this simple for our customers with this math:
2 3/16" - door depth - trim depth - 3/16" (recommended gap from door to trim/wall)
If the math above gives you something less than 0, you need to create additional spacing with a header board (as described in #1 above). Whatever the negative number is, that's the minimum thickness you need for your header board. Most of the time a 1" X 4" header solves the issue.
3. Don't Forget Anti-Jump Hardware: These are critical to install for safety purposes. Don't take the unnecessary risk that your sliding door gets bumped off and injures someone. Eliminate the possibility of your door getting bumped off the rail by installing two small round "anti-jump" pieces spaced out on top of your door after it's on the rail. These ensure that the door cannot rise high enough (if bumped or jarred) for the rollers to come off the rail. This works because the depth of the groove in the rollers is greater than the spacing between the "anti-jump" pieces and the rail.
To see how these work, move to the 4:06 mark of our installation video. The rollers must also be installed at the correct height off the door or else these "anti-jump" pieces will be useless.
4. Door Stoppers: Pay attention what kind of door stoppers in the kit you're about to buy. Quality door stoppers are designed with rubber caps to soften (and quiet) the door when it stops AND they have the ability to slide along the rail and tighten down at any point with an alan/hex key.
Many companies include cheap door stoppers that are simply steel brackets that only bolt to the end of the rail. You will appreciate the ability to stop the door exactly where you want on each end of the rail.
5. Nylon Wheels Vs. Steel Wheels: Nylon wheels win for every category. It is amazing how silent and effortless the roll is with nylon, and they blend perfectly with the hanger strap aesthetically so nobody will ever notice a difference.
You often have to pay a premium to upgrade to nylon, so pay attention to what is included standard with the kit and pay up for this option.
6. Shipping Costs: With a package so large and somewhat heavy, this can be a substantial cost added at checkout. Consider this factor when comparing prices.
7. Trim Your Rail To Fit: Most of the time you can actually cut your rail to better fit your space. Simply touch up the end where the cut was made with a black paint. Once caution would be if the kit did not have movable door stoppers. In this case, trimming the ends off the rail would remove the attachment holes for the door stoppers. Another reason your kit should include the right door stoppers!
8. Buy A Single Rail: It is cheaper for the manufacturer to ship two rails with a connector plate, but it is much more difficult to install correctly compared to a single rail. Note that if your kit is much over 8 feet, it will need to be two connecting rails because carriers have limits on the length of packages they accept.
9. Spacing Hack: Need a shade more space between your door and wall? Counter sink the hanger bolt heads flush with the backside of your door to get spacing from your doorway trim.
© Copyright 2017 Industrial By Design. All rights reserved.
