How to Install Dutch Doors on Metal-Sided Barn

Dutch doors allow you to leave the bottom half of the door closed while you open the top half to allow air circulation into the barn. Installing a Dutch barn door is not a difficult task. Instead of one door to level as you hang it, you have two sections. Installing a Dutch door on a metal-sided barn is no different than if the barn has any other type of siding. The project will progress faster if you recruit someone to help you steady the doors as you hang them.

Tape measure
Carpenter’s level
2-by-4-inch lumber
Screws
Screwdriver
Drill and drill bits
Latch kit
Barrel bolt kit

Instructions

- 1
  Measure and mark where the hinges go on the door frame, following the specific dimensions given by the Dutch barn door manufacturer. Use a carpenter’s level to ensure the marks are all straight up and down. Most manufactured doors come with the door portion of the hinge flaps already installed on the door.
- 2
  Reinforce the hinge side of the door frame with vertically placed pieces of 2-by-4-inch lumber, if required by the door’s manufacturer. Install the lumber parallel with the inside of the frame. Secure the 2-by-4s with screws long enough to penetrate into wood in the doorjamb by at least 1 inch.
- 3
  Attach the hinges to the metal-sided barn at the designated location. If the assembly kit doesn’t include self-tapping lag screws, pre-drill holes to make it easier to penetrate the metal-encased wooden doorjamb. Use lag screws long enough to penetrate the door jamb at least 1 inch. Do not completely tighten the screws at this point.
- 4
  Hold the bottom section of the door in position in the doorway. Slide the hinge pins in place to fasten the two sides of the hinges together. Release the door. Set the level on the top edge of the door. If the door is level, tighten the screws on the doorjamb. If it’s not level, raise or lower the door until it is level and then tighten the screws.
- 5
  Repeat Step 4 to install the top section of the Dutch door. If the barn door has a wind stop, attach it to the bottom edge of the top section, using screws from the assembly kit. The wind stop should cover any gap between the top and bottom halves of the door.
- 6
  Measure and mark the location of the latch assembly on the bottom half of the door. Drill pilot holes for the latch and secure it with screws from the latch assembly kit. Repeat the process for the catch portion of the latch on the doorjamb.
- 7
  Mark where the two halves of the vertical barrel bolt go on the inside of the Dutch doors. The barrel bolt holds the two halves of the door together. Pre-drill holes for the barrel bolt, then attach it to the doors with screws from its assembly kit.

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