How to Pick Flat Track Barn Door Hardware

There are many reasons to install an interior barn door—it saves space, it’s highly functional, it adds a sense of style, and it may even increase the value of your home. One of the ways you can get the most out of your barn door’s addition to your household decor is by choosing the best possible flat track barn door hardware. The hardware you choose not only should function well, but also should elevate the design aesthetic of the room in which you’re using it and express your personal style as much as possible.

How to Pick a Flat Track Barn Door Hardware System

• Define a Budget
• Choose a Style
• Confirm the Weight of Your Sliding Door
• Measure Track Length
• Pick a Finish
• Decide Roller Style=

You have so many choices when it comes to choosing hardware for your interior barn door: stainless steel, cabinet barn door hardware, traditional flat track hardware, soft close barn door hardware—and then some. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed at the sheer volume of options that are available to you. It’s also important to consider that flat track hardware is one of the most popular types of barn door hardware. The more you shop, the more you’ll find that this category of hardware includes hundreds of design options.

What is Flat Track Barn Door Hardware?

Many times, you’ll see the term “flat track” used interchangeably with other types of barn door hardware, but it’s actually its own very specific type of hardware.
By the most technical of definitions, any rail and set of hangers that slide back and forth can be called barn door hardware, but to be considered flat track barn door hardware, the track itself has to be flat.

Corresponding barn door rollers then sit directly on top of the flat track—with hangers attached to these rollers often featuring a flat strap that bolts directly to the barn door.

3 Benefits of Flat Track Barn Door Hardware

There are a few distinct advantages of using flat track hardware over other barn door hardware options, including:

1. Sleek Design

An interior barn door is a great choice for a small living space. When space is at a premium, a sliding barn door can help divide rooms without taking up a lot of space.

Because a flat track barn door hardware system mounts above your door frame, and allows the door to slide open and close along the track, it’s a tremendous space-saver compared to traditional doors that require ample room to swing in and out.

In addition, most flat track barn door hardware is designed to lie flat, emphasizing a sleek aesthetic without jutting out into your living space.

2. Broad Interior Design Style Applications

Flat track hardware is incredibly versatile, and it typically conveys the design one would expect when thinking of the barn door aesthetic.

While you might initially assume that all barn door style options are rustic, that simply isn’t the case—you can find flat track barn door hardware in styles and finishes that range from industrial to farmhouse to sleek and modern. And because flat track hardware is the most common type of barn door hardware, you’ll find it in a wide range of finishes.

There’s no limit to the type of interior décor you can complement with a sliding barn door.

3. Easy to install

Flat track barn door hardware is also fairly easy to install, and super easy to operate once it’s in place. Many DIY homeowners find that they can handle the installation themselves, but even if you decide to hire a professional installer, you’ll find that a flat track barn door and its associated hardware can be installed very quickly.

How to Pick a Flat Track Barn Door Hardware

Now that we’ve discussed what flat track barn door hardware is and its benefits, let’s talk about the options you should consider while shopping:

1. Define a Budget

It may not sound thrilling, but defining what you want to spend on a home improvement project, including the installation of an interior barn door, is always a good idea.

You’ll find flat track barn door hardware available at many different price points, depending on quality and design. Before you fall in love with a cost-prohibitive hardware set, make sure you know what your financial limits are and how much you’re willing to push them. Keep in mind that your DIY level also will influence your budget—if you need professional installation, that will need to be factored into the project’s total cost as well.

2. Choose a Style

Think about where you’ll be using your new interior door, and what kind of design aesthetic you’re going for. Barn doors can fit within any style, including industrial, rustic farmhouse, retro, and modern.

Knowing the overall look you want will help narrow your focus to the flat track hardware that’s most likely to meet your needs. When you combine a tightly defined décor vision with a firm grasp of your financial parameters, you can start narrowing in on the best barn door hardware options for your space. Overall, barn door hardware should complement the door panel itself, along with the space in which the sliding door lives.

3. Confirm the Weight of Your Door

In addition to looking amazing, your flat track barn door hardware has an important job to do—it has to effectively hold the weight of your interior door as it slides up and down the track. And it has to do that consistently and reliably. So, make sure you know how much your sliding door of choice weighs, and confirm that the hardware you’re picking is designed to hold that weight and then some.

For example, a 200-pound weight capacity is usually sufficient for most interior barn doors, but if you’ve chosen a sliding door slab made of reclaimed, solid wood or a natural hard wood, a sliding barn door can weigh significantly more. In fact, a wood door can weigh up to 800 pounds or more, depending on materials and door thickness, so make sure you know the weight you’re dealing with.

Feel free to reach out to BarnDoorHardware.com should you have any questions in regards to barn door hardware and weight compatibility. Our representatives are more than happy to confirm whether a specific flat track hardware system will work for your needs, or recommend a more effective solution if it doesn’t.

4. Measure Track Length

Measuring and understanding track length is closely tied to budget. You’ll find flat track hardware in a wide variety of different sizes. So, it’s important to understand the functional needs of your new barn door, as well as how much track you need, to ensure your new sliding barn door works properly.  

A good rule of thumb is that you should plan for your track to be twice the full width of the sliding door. So, if your sliding door is three feet wide, you’ll need a six-foot track. And if you’re installing double barn doors, your track should be two times the combined width of the doors.
 

5. Pick a Finish

Raw steel. Black. Chrome. Rubbed bronze. Stainless steel. You have so many options when it comes to choosing the finish you want for your flat track barn door hardware system.

You’ve probably already defined the style you want, so choosing a finish should be a piece of cake. Consider the other types of hardware present in the room—drawer pulls, lighting, window panes, other door knobs, and plumbing fixtures—and their existing finishes. While you don’t have to match everything, it’s a good idea to make sure the barn door hardware you choose is complementary. Black is the most popular finish for interior barn doors, but that doesn’t mean you should pick it if something else feels more authentic to your personal style.

6. Decide Roller Style

Your barn door hardware kit will include rollers (also called hangers), which are the pieces that mount onto the sliding door, allowing it to hang from the barn door track. Each roller (or hanger) enables the sliding door to travel smoothly along the track when someone is opening or closing the door.

As with other components of a barn door system, rollers come in many different styles and finishes, which allows you to customize the final look of your sliding barn door. If you’ve already defined your style and finish, choosing the ideal roller style should be no big chore. You can match the rollers to other elements of the door, such as the door handles and door lock, or make them stand out on their own!

If you’re installing bypass barn door hardware, you will need to make sure you purchase bypass barn door rollers to ensure the barn doors can effectively pass each other when in use  

Flat Track Hardware for Barn Doors is Classic and Flexible

Installing a new interior barn door is exciting—you can use them as a room divider, entry door, or even as a closet door/wardrobe door. The choices are nearly endless. And choosing the flat track hardware to complement it is a great way to make a distinct design statement.

No matter your taste, your budget, or your design needs, the team at BarnDoorHardware.com has a wide selection of flat track barn door hardware that can bring your new interior barn door to life. From flat black to rubbed bronze; and from sleek and simple to complex and ornate—we’re confident our team can help you find the right flat track hardware for your design project.