Barn Door Bookcase/Pantry

Despite relatively high ceilings, we have a small, pantryless kitchen and needed more shelf space. Couldn't be happier with how this turned out. Besides taking off 2 inches in width to make sure it would fit in the space, I followed the measurements exactly.

Made just one modification with the instructions involving the face frame. I first assembled it together per the instructions, but it was just not lining up with the carcass well at all when I went to attach it. Before the glue got too dry, I made the quick decision to take the face frame apart and just apply the individual pieces of it one at a time to the carcass. I figured this could maybe leave some very small gaps where the face frame pieces joined each other, but that seemed better than what it would look like leaving it as is, with almost no section flush with the carcass. This ended up being the absolutely right choice. Everything was very very close to flush and there ended up being virtually no gaps. If I ever built again, I would do the same and attach each piece like that.

My only other struggle was at the very end attaching the barn door hardware. Nothing wrong with the hardware or the instructions, I just ended up installing the rail too high up on my first attempt. Because this piece has a top that slightly overhangs and gives that nice little lip, it means there is a maximum height which you can't go above when installing the rail hardware. If you go too high, like I did, the rollers that are attached to the door will physically not fit on the rail, b/c that lip will be in the way. This might be very obvious to most people but I thought I'd mention it. Once things clicked, I just had to get some new measurements and redrill the holes a bit lower(but not too low b/c then you will have a gap!).

I decided to leave the door natural wood after seeing someone else's finished piece posted here and given how dark my stain was, I also left the plywood back panel natural. It's still a bit light now and it may even take 2 or 3 years, but I know pine can do a decent job darkening up.

Lastly, I did put a whole quart of satin polyurethane on this over 5 coats. Each coat but the last was cut with %50-%25 paint thinner applied with a foam brush. Yes it did take a long time but seeing it up close, it was absolutely worth it. I would recommend it for anyone making this project.