Easy Barn Door Installation Without Removing Door Trim

Article may have affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may earn a tiny commission at no extra cost to you. Big thanks for supporting my small business.

Today I am sharing how to install a barn door and you will be amazed at how an easy sliding barn door installation project can change the look of your room.  We are tackling a barn door installation without removing door trim and this step by step tutorial will show you how to update an original door in your home including closet doors and bathroom doors. 

Do you have a traditional single swing door in your home that when opened, creates a traffic jam?

The sliding barn door that we are installing is perfect for any door opening in your home, especially a basement, closet or bathroom door opening. 

How to Install a Sliding Barn Door Over Existing Trim

We have partnered with JELD-WEN Window and Doors to show you the easiest barn door installation and their amazing new Barn Door Kit.

Barn style doors have come along way over the years. You can hang just about any style door giving you a traditional, modern or farmhouse barn door.

Our barn door cost is very affordable and available in many different styles: rustic craftsman, old world, contemporary, and farmhouse.

Hanging a barn door over existing trim whether it be farmhouse door trim, standard 3″ trim or colonial is a quick way to refresh or update a doorway. 

How to Install a Barn Door 

A barn door installation usually requires removing the trim.

However, removing door trim can be a daunting and an expensive task so this tutorial on how to install a barn door (without removing the trim) will blow your mind!

Why is removing door trim expensive?

Once removed, you will need to repair the sheet rock, re-plaster, sand and paint the area which costs money.

My friend has a beautiful kitchen but unfortunately, their original door below (which leads to their finished basement) swings right into their kitchen island area creating a major traffic jam when the door is in use.

As you can see below, the door swing is completely annoying and not functional at all.

My friend Sophia and Gerry were thrilled when I told them about this opportunity with JELD-WEN and couldn’t wait to tackle the project.

At first when I told Sophia about us sharing how to install a barn door here on the blog, she giggled and said “what?” ha. 

The JELD-WEN Design Glide hanging barn door kit has easy to read instructions and took just a Saturday morning to install.

Step 1: Remove The Original Door

We removed the standard sized existing basement door as well as the door hinges.

The nice thing about the JELD-WEN barn door kit is you can install the door right over your existing door trim.

You do NOT need to remove the trim! It doesn’t matter if your trim is traditional (like my friends trim above),  farmhouse door trim or colonial.  

You will need to use some spackle (we used the quick dry version) or wood filler to fill the area where you remove the previous doors hinges but that is all.

It took about 15 minutes to fill the holes, sand and add touch up paint to the existing door hinge spots.

Be sure to reference JELD-WEN’s site for appropriate sizing as well as tips on measuring the door opening.

Barn Door Installation

Before purchasing a new door, be sure to measure the width of the door opening, the height and make sure there is enough room for the door to slide along the wall.

Step 2: Install Door Header

Once the original door was removed, we installed the pine wood header piece above the door frame.

JELD-WEN also supplied a matching white wood header but Sophia wanted the pine header to match the wall color so she purchased a piece of 3/4 inch pine and had it custom cut to the length we needed.

She added two coats of paint (same as wall color) and we were good to go!

We used the lag bolts and screws that JELD-WEN provide to attach the base/header to the wall.

You can fill the screw holes with wood filler or spackle and touch up with paint.

Step 3: Install Sliding Door Track

The next step was to attach the barn door track to the wall.

Step 4: Barn Door Track Installation

The barn door track installation is pretty simple and the final step before hanging the door. The PDF instructions are straight forward and easy to follow.

Next, we fastened to the door sliding track and soft close feature to prevent the door from slamming open or closed.

The barn door hardware kit comes with a bottom door track and floor guide as well which we opted not to use as it wasn’t necessary for our install.

The Soft Close feature is by far one of the coolest features on this door.

Hanging Barn Doors – An Easy Solution For Tight Spaces

They have two kids and this door leads to their playroom in the basement so you can imagine the slamming that would take place without the Soft Close!

We installed the Soft Close on each end of the track so that if you are opening or closing, the door doesn’t slam in either direction. Hanging barn doors solve so many issues!

The kitchen before with the original door leading to the basement.

The kitchen after we installed a modern sliding barn door.

This modern frosted glass sliding barn door from Amazon is similar! 

Barn Door Hardware Kit

Isn’t the black sliding barn door hardware gorgeous?

The black door handle and hardware coordinates perfectly with the black kitchen island and black stools.

It is truly amazing how the barn door hardware draws your eye to the ceiling (that normally is a white blank space) and creates a cohesive look throughout the kitchen.

My door is out of stock but this white modern barn door is similar from Amazon.  

If you are considering installing a barn door, I highly recommend getting a door that is already prepped for the sliding track.

Barn door hanging kits will make your life easier when it comes to installing the barn door.

Tip: Just be sure to order a track that handle the weight of the door.

Can a barn door go over molding trim? Yes!

Many of you have emailed asking if the barn door trim designs matter when it comes to a barn door installation and the answer is no.

So to answer your question, “should barn doors cover trim,” yes, you can install a barn door over any door trim or molding. 

Barn Door Styles

Sliding barn style doors come in all sizes, shapes and designs. Barn doors can be interior or exterior, a single barn door or double barn doors.

Here are a 3 barn door styles below featuring Old World, Modern Craftsman and a rustic Farmhouse door.

The white barn door is my favorite and I think you are going to love these barn door ideas below. 

Sliding barn doors are great in tight spaces like hallways, a laundry room or bathroom.

Installing a sliding door is an easy to install simple DIY project so you should not need to hire a contractor.

If you don’t like the barn door style, why not convert a traditional door to sliding door?

Personally, I think hanging interior barn doors (convert door to barn door) in your home is a great way to add visual interest to a plain wall and enhances the interior design of the space.

Barn style doors are perfect for a closet, basement door, bathroom door or even a built in bookcase as well as a nice alternative to a pocket door.

Be sure to check out our double interior sliding barn doors we installed to cover a bookcase that we converted to store baking dishes and small kitchen appliances.

Here is the kitchen basement door before we swapped out and installed the new sliding barn door.

Barn Door Installation Cost?

The cost to install a sliding barn door will be between $300 and $1200 depending on what style barn door and track kit you purchase.

The installation cost will be minimum if you are handy and have a little bit of DIY know how.

This white classic modern door (similar alternative) comes in 1 box and everything you need is in the sliding door track kit. White doors with black hardware coordinate nicely together and give a modern clean look.