Farming and Agriculture - Barn door track systems

Hi,

I am trying to find suppliers for barn door track systems. I have researched the normal places like TSC and Home Depot among others but they all have a limitation of around 600lbs per door.

I have a couple of doors to make for my barn because I don't want metal fabricated doors. I have not found anything that 'tickles my fancy' so I have decided to make them myself. The doors will be constructed using 1/2" thick plywood 4x8 sheets (these weigh 50lbs each). Just one door is 16ft high by 12ft wide (total weight of plywood alone is 400lbs) so then I have to build the doors on top of this - kind of using the plywood as the backer to make a nice looking door with oak. I have calculated that each door will weigh in at about 900lbs.

I have found one supplier of a track system that can support these (http://delrintrolleys.com/) but they are scarily expensive.. can anybody tell me anywhere else I could take a look at for pricing track systems for a sliding barn door?

thanks

Wayne

First, I peeked at those prices. They are not out of line for retail sales. If you think they are high, we recently purchased two-thousand metric tons of rebar; then shipped it one-quarter of the way around the world. The bill for that would take your breath away and stop your heart. Things are high all-over. (Thank your Congressman and Senator for devaluation of the dollar; then thank your favorite set of females for reelecting the same bunch continually.) (If you don't understand that, you should!)

Innovation, talent, time, and tools, is the road to rock bottom pricing. Along that line you could adapt sliding chain link gate hardware to suit, or use one-quarter inch steel plate for the track and either fabricate or purchase trolleys.

If you're stuck on procurement of that particular track, try begging one of the sales reps for a favor. The manufacturer of the track you saw is in Beloit, WI.

Over on the west coast, in South San Francisco, Ca. there's a company that can assist you greatly. They are able to design, build, or supply, any and all types of sliding doors or track and hardware (barn doors included) for doors weighing over 100,000 pounds. (Want to build an aircraft hanger or an entire warehouse filled with barns(?), these people can help).

Direct links, would probably bend someones nose out of joint. The next best thing is a shove in the right direction. Steel & Plastic. Look to the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes areas. Raw materials and conducive labor practices are key.

For what you are asking, the pricing is not out of line. How do you propose to open these doors? At 900 lbs, you will need some sort of motorized opener, as you won't move a door of that size and weight by hand. In addition, you will need a bottom track for them to run on, as the weight will be too much to "hang" alone. Also, don't forget about wind making an entire mess of the doors should it be very forceful. You will have two 900 lb. sails to contend with.

I can reduce the weight by 100 pounds each. Six sheets of plywood at 50 pounds each is 300 pounds, not 400. Good luck with your project.

http://www.mwicomponents.com/

Don't know if they will be cheaper but they put out a good product.

After going deeper into the website you provided, MWI is a supplier to that web site.

have you thought about a different type of door construction? i have a barn at my place in vermont. although the door i smaller i dont see why this wouldnt work. i used 4x8 sheets of 2" ridged insulation for the core. then applied tung and grooved pine using construction adhesive and black carriage bolts with diagonal braces making that x pattern like a barn door. the door slides by hand im not sure how heavy it is but i installed it myself. door size is 8'x10'

excellent idea.. :thumbup: why did I not think of that :D

That was all I was going to use the plywood for anyway, rigidity. That should give the the extra weight capacity I need and I should easily be able to use the double trolley delrin carriage combined with the standard round track to keep each door below 1000lbs.

thanks for your response, problem solved - :-)

Wayne