Large Barnwood door

[Jason Yeager]

Hello all,

I am bidding on a large barn wood door (60" wide by 96" tall) that has some unusual design features. I am planning on building the door with stave core construction, simple square edge two panel door. The trick is the door is in a busy area, and one side will probably have to be cleaned quite a bit, so it needs have a good surface for cleaning (not barn wood). I want to avoid using a different wood on that side, but I am thinking of using a powder coated steel panel on that side (owner is not into two kinds of wood, but is into the rusted metal look).

I am wondering if anyone our there has used any steel in their door construction, particularly in panels, or even laminating (or fastening?) thin gauge steel to the rails and stiles. I know that sounds crazy, because the beauty is in the wood, but we have not found a steel door that fits the size of look requirements (one side should be barn wood).

If you have any ideas, that would be great. thanks.

[Erik Christensen]

I would cover the interior surface with epoxy. You can get mixes that flow and self level for things like bar-tops and coffee tables. That would let you have the look of the barn wood but have a smooth even surface that would be a snap to clean. The epoxy to cover something that size would not be cheap but might not be any more expensive than trying to do a steel clad surface.

[Myk Rian]

MDO and paint. Make it LOOK rusted.

[Timothy Bean]

This is how we kept the "barn" feel to a rec room in our pole barn. Carsiding made it super quick to build, I'm sure you'll want to use fancier joinery, but this was a fun project. - Tim
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[Gary Curtis]

If you ever noticed what the inside of an airliner cabin is made of you will realize that:

a) they use one heck of a lot of the stuff

b) it has to be lightweight

c) has to endure daily cleaning with solvents/detergents

Aircraft interior supply companies sell it. To bad I didn't read your note 5 years ago. My wife's brother had enough surplus cabin skin to wallpaper a 747. And consider if you might want a sliding barn door. Do a google search for the hardware makers of barn door hinges and tracks. A door that rolls to the side has a stronger mounting arrangement than a hinge.

[Jim Andrew]

I've built some big doors, and found that backing up the door with BB form ply is a great start. It will not sag like a door built out of boards. Just fasten the boards to the plywood. And I'd paint the smooth side whatever color the owner wants.

[Harry Hagan]

Back in the '70s I had a customer that wanted a barn wood look around her stone fireplace but insisted on using new materials. She had phobia about bugs and termites. Masonite made a very realistic barn wood paneling back then but the problem was she insisted that the baseboard and door trim in the room match the rest of the house in dimension and contour.

My solution was to sandblast the trim to give it a weathered texture and use some creative staining/painting to match the paneling.

You say:

"The trick is the door is in a busy area, and one side will probably have to be cleaned quite a bit, so it needs have a good surface for cleaning (not barn wood). I want to avoid using a different wood on that side . . . "
You might consider making the whole door out of one wood and then coat one side with a durable finish for cleaning and give the other side a weathered look.