I am in the process of building this Home http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=241084#Post241084

I need help selecting a good barn door track and hanger system. I have zero experience with them. Any of you folks have them and if so how well do they operate. I plan to create 2 8x8 doors that slide open. I am undecided if I am going to make the doors a false wall out of the matching siding or more of a carriage house look as I have shown below. If I make it a wall I would be looking at a trolley system with hang bolts as opposed to door attach bracket style that have limits on the door width. Thanks in advance.

RT - no experience with building/owning one. Have seen a few with a trolley system and they had problems over time. Also seen one with an auto closer with motor attached to the wall and door (like a garage door opener (bar but no trolley). It seemed to work well.

RT:

I have such a system on my barn. I have no idea how old it is, nor who made it. The barn uprights are actually tree trunks with the branches lopped off. The house was built in the late 1800's and I'm assuming that the barn is the same age or older.

Here's a few problems that I've had wtih mine:
1) If dirt piles up under it and you try to open the door it might ride up on the dirt and come off of the trolley - no fun if you are by yourself and need to get the door back on the trolley without equipment.
2)There is no track on the bottom of my door, and the only thing that holds the door in place is the latch. I added a roller on a post on the outside of the door which stopped the door from bowing out during a wind from the opposide side of the building.
3) I needed to add a roller between the door and the building at the bottom - the door was scraping on the side of the building when opening/closing and gouging the wood.
4) It isn't weather tight at all - no way to weatherstrip around the door, and it will let small animals in if they want in.

If the newer trolly systems were built like the sliding doors are on the mini-vans, then it would work fine. When opening, the door is pulled away from the vehicle body. When closing, at the end it's pulled tight to the body of the vehicle, making a good seal.

What about box track sliding door hardware? We had that on our horse stalls when my folks had that place. The box holds the wheels straight, level, and can be plenty strong to hold up a large door. Little stops mount on the floor to keep the door from coming off the ends and one to keep the door from swinging outwards and had a roller in it to help move it along. It is defintiely not hidden hardware, but in black with natural wood looked pretty nice. I think your door weight may determine what hardware you can use as well.

I am considering the box track it appears to be the most economcial and proven solution but my experience is they are not always smooth which isnt an issue for a big guy like me but I would like it to open and roll easily so that even my grand daughter could handle it if that is possible. Most hangers I have seen thus far will support a 450 lb door. This door or wall will not weigh even half that built from red cedar. I plan to build a false wall on the inside (pocket door design) on one of the units. The other side however will slide open and either closeoff the work/storage area completed or partically depending on how much you open the door. As far as weather tight I am not concerned about that because both of these are under roof. The shop is going to be finished out as and exterior space so that when it its opened up it can be use as a patio or open carport. Here is another option I am lookin g at http://www.betterbarns.com/Hardware.asp I am also still considering rollup doors but a bit concerned about the Aesthetics. It would give it modern look as suppose to traditional cottage appearance. example.....

The rollup solution is much for functional and the easest for me. I'D just pay to have them installed as opposed to having to build them. But something keeps telling me know don't mix the modern rustic however "Modern Western" is the in thing these days. IN the big city anyway not sure about out here in the country.

go hybrid
conventional garage door with suitable artwork
google "garage door art" or "garage door mural"....(no girls in bikinis !)

Bski I am seriosuly considering that for my on barn. My Middle son is a Artist I just need to commision him

My Morton barn built 12/2003 has both overhead door and sliding doors. Overhead is superior to the sliding door. The sliding door hardware seals it ok and it still slides well. You can get nice overhead doors that look like carriage house doors, here is one example that I found with a quick search:

http://www.fimbelads.com/images/full/ae/ae003.jpg
http://www.fimbelads.com/photo_gallery/ae_carriage_house_gallery_1.html

Here's a custom wood overhead door, looks pretty good!
http://www.idcdoors.com/images/custom-garage-door-1.jpg

Thanks loretta, actually I have already priced them locally. They build them using red cedar same as the siding I have already purchased. That is what is drawn on my current plans. They are about double the price of a standard metal or fiberglass door. The problem is they will cludder up the ceiling in the open position. That is why I am looking at a roll up and not a sectional door. I have 10 ft ceilings and 8 to 8.5 high door openings. I have thought about using them and building a false ceiling to hide them when opened.

plus the issues related to times of power outage and allowing access to the manual rope and track trip lever.
hmmm....
(back up generator?)

With the sectional door track, there are 2 different radius tracks available, one that keeps the door further down from the ceiling, and a tight radius corner for more headroom clearance.

3D says "Modern and Western" might work."

I took my first shot at barn door construction over the weekend. Got it built now not sure what to do with it. Much heaver than I thought.
I was wanting to use flat track barn door hardware but after pricing it I decided to create my own design. Apparently architects have been using it in the decor of high end homes thus the high price. I could not bring myself to pay 1000$ for 40 feet of 1/4 x 2 inch bar stock and 4 pulleys so I went with V groove pulleys designed to run on angle iron. We shall see how well it operates. I hope to get it hung this upcoming weekend.

very cool; gotta weigh a ton

Thanks Bski

Just glad I used red cedar. If I would have constructed it out of pine I would be in trouble.

Neat work Rocky.

RT how much does it weigh ? Looks great.

E I am not really sure. The weight of red cedar is shown to be about 22-24 lbs per cubic foot dry. Using that number the door with bracing equals about a 10 x 10 ft sq x .75 inches thick. According to that it should only weigh about 150 lbs but I can assure you it is much more than that. It was all I could do to just slide it along the floor. I built it flat on my shop table and then pushed it off one side. It was then that I realized I had my hands full. I hope it is not from having to green of wood or this thing will suffer from massive shrinkage. I believe it weighs 300 to 400 lbs best guess.

I bet your right. Better have a stout system for it to hang and work on.

Ok success. I am very pleased with the end result. The track system I designed and built works very smoothly. The first image is a short demo of it in action.

Very nice. I especially like that the hardware is inside away from the elements.

Did you put a stopper on the open end of the track...?

Outstanding - 1 finger control - smooth. Looks good too.

Seeing that reminds me that I need to do something about my door and track.....

I installed a wood stop on the wall. Will be installing a wood stop above the track to keep the door from being lifted off.

I'm jealous..... great work! Looks very professional!

Thanks Much. Now that the design is proofed and tested I have to build another one for the other size of the garage. That is when temperatures drop below the century mark this fall.

I can tell by the quality, you wouldn't miss a minor detail like that

I agree, that is some nice work. I do have one question, you mentioned the use of "V" pulleys... are they one piece pulleys, or are they comprised of two pulley "halves", which are riveted, bolted, or welded together over a bearing?

I have seen two-piece pulleys separate, (pried apart), when used under a heavy load in applications similar to yours.

Not trying to find fault, just hate for someone's toes to get flattened.

Excellent fabrication.

100% agreed
stuff like RockyT's craftsmanship are my subtle reminder that he is, indeed, King of the Kooks.
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(and my inspiration)

They are cast one piece wheels rated way behond this application.

rockytopper - Awesome looking setup. Any chance you can post the hardware you used?

Thanks

Barry I replied to your pm with the info you requested good luck. Also please note that the finished product is not pictured. I used cedar lumber to build end stops and above the rollers the entire track length to prevent the rollers from being lifted off the track.

Hi rockytopper- any chance you could send me the same information? I'm very interested! I think your work looks amazing--- what a gorgeous door, mount, and installation! If only I were so skilled! :-) My brother is a bit handier than I am, and he's looking for a solution to install some barn doors in his home but as you mentioned, the cost of track kits is outrageous-- so am wondering if we got more information from you, if he may be able to do something similar.

Thanks for your help- and again, beautiful work! :-)