Sliding Barn Door Hardware



Barn Doors have using the concept of sliding door with a track and hangers (or roolers) since the early 1900's. Barn sliding doors with flat track hardware are custom engineered per application and it is a great alternative for a swinging door where space is a concern. There are multiple types of sliding doors and respective hangers.

There are a multiple styles of hangers and several kinds of tracks. With any hanger that rolls on a track, the most important considerations, aside from strength, are the friction of the hanger on the axle, and, if on a fixed track, a practical arrangement for adjusting without taking off the door. The track, also, is nearly if not fully of equal importance with the hanger ; it should be straight and capable of adjustment in case the studding to which it is attached should settle.

In most of the hangers the friction is reduced by permitting the hanger to roll on the axle while the wheels of the hanger are rolling on the track, although several of the latest devices have ball or roller bearings. One of the best combinations of track and hanger for sliding doors that the author has seen is the Coburn trolley track and hanger, the most valuable part of the invention being the track, which is made of steel, the size indicated being that for parlor doors weighing less than 400 pounds. The wheels of the hangers run in this track. The portion of the track over the pocket for a door is supported only at the ends, having in itself strength sufficient to sustain the door between these points. The inner end of the track is supported by the end of a screw bolt resting on a bracket attached to the header over the pocket. The ends near the jamb, which are accessible, are supported by a screw bolts, working in an iron plate, screwed to the header. By turning these screws with an ordinary screw driver the track can readily be brought to a level, so that any settlement of the partition can be overcome. The portion of the track over the opening is also adjustable.



The track can be taken out of the pocket (when the head finish is put up) without interfering with the finish or partitions. It is also not affected by warping or twisting of the woodwork, and there is no possibility for chips or plaster to fall into the track. Another advantage is that this track requires less space between the studding than some other hangers, the space required by the track not exceeding 2 1/4 inches. The width W will therefore generally be determined by the thickness of the door. The wheels run in the round troughs of the track and cannot bind in any way.

Barn doors, when hung at the top, should be provided with one or more stay rollers at the bottom to prevent their being blown in.