If you're renovating your home, you might be in the market for new doors. One that might have caught your eye is a barn door! However, privacy concerns might have you worried. Is it possible to lock bedroom barn doors? If that's what you're wondering, let's find out.
Yes, you can lock bedroom barn doors. Some allow you to lock it from both sides. Most will allow you to lock one side. If you want to keep your privacy, you will need to install a latch hardware kit. The best part about this is that you have various options to lock your barn doors.
Aside from looks, being able to keep your privacy will always be a crucial concern. So, you'd probably like to know what choices you have for locks. Additionally, there's still more to learn about barn doors for your home! If you'd like to find out more, keep reading ahead.
Barn Door Lock Options
Let's take a look at some locks that you can install. Some can help the barn door close tighter. Others, while still a good choice, can leave a gap in between the doors. Without further ado, let's get some ideas rolling!
Hook and Eye Latch
The first option you can consider is a hook and eye latch. As the name implies, you use the hook to latch onto the eye portion. It requires a simple installation. And it's easy to figure out how it works.
If you're big on looks, they also come in different designs to complement the overall decor of your bedroom.
Tear Drop Latch
Click here to see this tear drop latch on Amazon.
Another popular option to consider is the tear drop latch. It works similar to a hook and eye latch. You attach one part to the door jamp and the other goes on the barn door. When you close the door, the teardrop locks into place.
Hasp Lock
Click here to see this hasp lock on Amazon.
Hasp locks work with a slotted hinge plate. You use a loop to pass through it. This way, you keep the doors in place.
Specialized Barn Door Lock
If the options above don't suit you, some manufacturers offer locks specialized for barn doors. Manufacturers like National Hardware offer locks with an emergency release feature. This way, it prevents having to remove the barn door entirely in cases of emergency.
Do Barn Doors Close Tight?
Barn doors use rails to make a room open or closed. They're large and can weigh up to 80 lbs! Therefore, good structural support is a necessity if you want to use a barn door. Without quality hardware, barn doors won't be able to close tight. The slightest bit of unalignment will prevent the door from making a tight seal.
If you can accommodate the door well enough, it can close tight. Though, barn doors won't shut as tightly as a standard door will. To keep an adequate amount of tightness, you can install a lock or catch mechanism to hold the door over the doorway. Additionally, you want to make the door is large enough to cover the entire doorway.
As some recommend, look for a barn door that is a few inches wider than the doorway. This way, you minimize the number of gaps and increase the coverage.
Do Barn Doors Block Sound?
The amount of gaps also impacts how well the barn door blocks sound. As we mentioned, barn doors can weigh up to 80 pounds. Solid-core barn doors do have the potential to reduce noise. They're made of various materials and hold a lot of mass.
As some suggest, the mass of the door plays a huge part in the sound dampening aspect of the door. Alternatively, there are also hollow-core barn doors that you might choose. However, it is not truly hollow. They contain a core of synthetic material to make them less dense. All in all, barn doors retain a good amount of sound dampening qualities.
Additional Soundproofing
If you want to ensure you dampen the sound from the outside, you can take additional steps. Of course, since the barn door is not tightly closing the doorway, you will want to reduce as many gaps as possible. One way to do so is by using weatherstrips to close the gaps.
Sound could also be leaking from the bottom of the door. To reduce it, you can install a floor sweep. Lastly, if you want to reduce as many problems as possible, consider consulting with a carpenter. While installing a barn door is DIY-friendly, carpenters will likely have more experience installing barn doors.
This way, correct and accurate measurements can be used to leave no gaps between the door and the wall.
How Do I Keep Barn Doors From Swinging?
Swinging barn doors are not a good sign. They indicate poor structural support. If you allow them to swing over time, it can end up damaging the doorway and walls. Of course, we don't want that!
So, we have to give the door additional support. A top track is not enough to hold it. It only gives the door a way to stay upright, to open, and to close. Therefore, if you want to prevent the barn doors from swinging at the bottom, they will also need a bottom track.
Bottom Track
A bottom track, also known as a bottom guide, has the crucial role of keeping the barn door snug and close to the wall. It lets the door move in a straight line. Some barn doors may have a groove at the bottom. These kinds of doors are designated for floor guides.
There are four types of bottom guides you should become familiar with:
- Floor mount standard
- Floor mount adjustable U-channel
- Wall mount adjustable standard
- Wall mount adjustable U-channel
The guide you use depends on the material of the door and the panel type.
Is a Barn Door Good for a Bedroom?
Deciding if a barn door is good enough for the bedroom depends on your preferences. Do you want to give your room a unique look? Are you going to make the correct arrangements to utilize the barn door fully?
It has the potential to dampen sound. You get the choice to choose a type of lock to hold the door in place. Overall, it's not a terrible choice for a bedroom.
However, as some have experienced, sometimes barn doors don't meet expectations. How well the door can close can also depend on if the floor is not level. Some users have experienced troubles keeping it shut because of this reason.
Of course, a lock can fix that problem. But, that does raise the point that there are other concerns to address if you want to enjoy the experience of a bedroom barn door.
Should Barn Doors Be on the Inside or Outside of the Room?
Installing a barn door on the inside or outside of the room depends on the situation. Barn doors need a lot of space. Ideally, to minimize gaps, the barn door should be a few inches wider than the doorway.
Regarding the track that will hold the barn door, you will need to double your width measurement. If your bedroom cannot accommodate the size required to hold the open and close positions, you may need to install them outside the room.
In most cases, there will be enough space to accommodate the track and size of the door. So, you will most likely install it inside the room.
Final Takeaway
Barn doors are great to add a unique look to the bedroom. However, since they function differently from standard doors, privacy concerns may arise. Luckily, barn doors can operate just as well as regular ones. We hope you found the information above insightful!
Before you go, do you have other door concerns? Do you need ideas on what doors to choose for your home? We can help. To find out more, check out our post here.
Additionally, are you curious about the width of a typical bedroom door? If you'd like to find out more, check out our post here. Until next time!