A Lock for a Bathroom Barn Door

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Because of the way the sliding barn door operates moving from side to side, we knew we were going to need to use some type of a sliding bolt set up to lock it. By making a couple of hubs that a dowel rod could slide through, that would give us one option to consider. Since the bottom of the door is kept from moving out from the wall by a bracket attached to the floor, the sliding bolt moving into and receiver on the door should work to keep the door from being opened with the bolt engaged.
So back to the hubs for the sliding bolt. I decided to use a typical closet rod that's 1 3/8 inch round. The hubs would just need to have the rod easily slide through them so a 1 1/2 inch hole drilled through the hubs should be great. The rod would need to have a short dowel attached to it to act as a lever to slide the bolt back and forth.
Now the rest of the installation is trial and error. I just need the bolt to slide far enough towards the door to rest inside an incap that will mount to the door. It has a hole that is 1 5/8 inch diameter which will give plenty of room for the bolt to still engage even if the door is not quite lined up exactly.
When you think about how you would get into the bathroom from the outside if it happened to be locked, you could reach in from behind the door with some type of utensil and slide the bolt over. However if you put a small block that required the handle on the bolt to be raised up in order to slide out, this locking mechanism would be very challenging to break into.
Oh well, in the end this barn door latch was the last small project in what was otherwise an absolute transformation of a 1980s pink cultured marble bathroom design. I'm not sure what century or decade to tag to my doorlock, but at least it's a little interesting... even though it is a bit different.
Check out other videos on the tile work from this bathroom remodel in my playlist called "Working With Tile".

[@lh876]

I love the look of this custom lock😍 Looks easy enough to build-I’ll try it. Thanks for the post!

[@RustyDobbs]

It's a fun project, L H! Good luck with it!

[@corujariousa]

Very nice solution. Thanks for sharing.

[@aaronjacobs579]

That bathroom looks amazing, great job.

[@RustyDobbs]

Thanks Aaron! I appreciate the comment!

[@RUZTY1311]

The job itself its good, but the tile choice is very very outdated lol Looks very 90's

[@mauricioariera200]

Excellent solution. And I really like the idea of make the lock yourself

[@RustyDobbs]

Thanks Mauricio! I appreciate you watching!

[@LuisTorres-hj1df]

woow! this is cool!

[@kgaither7614]

Awesome job!

[@RustyDobbs]

Thanks, K! I appreciate you watching!

[@Xplorefiles]

Loved this idea

[@RustyDobbs]

Thanks, Jack! I appreciate you watching!

[@govindrpillai]

Great idea. Thanks for the video.

[@RustyDobbs]

Thanks, Govind. I enjoyed making it.

[@govindrpillai]

You drill a through hole on the door through which you can push it to unlock the door from outside and maybe put small knob to close it when not in use and make it aesthetically pleasing.

[@RustyDobbs]

There you go! Perfect solution for not getting locked out of the bathroom. That idea never crossed my mind.

[@govindrpillai]

I'm glad you did a video on sliding doors for a bathroom. Thanks.

[@williamstubbs9737]

pretty slick! I think I'd drill a small hole where the "latch bolt " is, in the door, and put a decorative grommet in it , so you could push the "bolt" back from the outside. Assuming the owner approves. you could even use a white plug over the hole. Anyway, just my thoughts for an outside emergency release.

[@RustyDobbs]

Good ideas all, William! Thanks for the suggestions!

[@Semi-crazy]

I love they way some people just make things so complicated. Why not just use a nice bolt lock ?

[@Laffy1345]

Good idea. Draw bridge next...😂

[@RustyDobbs]

Maybe so, Wolfman, thanks! Am I to assume you know who the real Wolfman Jack was?

[@kristenmohabeer3026]

Wolfman Jack 2 S R E.r

[@kristenmohabeer3026]

I R

[@livinglargeonasmallbudget1027]

They sell locks for this type of door, I know because I installed one on my bathroom. The lock was needed for privacy reasons and only cost about 10 dollars.

[@bbtorliatt5524]

where did u buy it?

[@livinglargeonasmallbudget1027]

@@bbtorliatt5524 off ebay it was called a sliding barn door lock.

[@mohamedcristian8972]

You probably dont give a shit but if you are stoned like me atm then you can watch all of the latest movies and series on instaflixxer. Have been watching with my gf lately :)

[@matthewthaddeus6673]

@Mohamed Cristian Yea, I've been watching on instaflixxer for months myself =)

[@humbughumbughumbug]

Do you have a link? There's a lot of barn latches that will lock but you can't unlock from outside (in case of emergency when the person inside the bathroom can't open the door)

[@ModesteALAHOUNGBA]

Good

[@RustyDobbs]

Thanks for watching!

[@GENECARP]

Nicely executed but a little bulky...I used a metal low profile latch available online..

[@RustyDobbs]

Have to agree with you on the size issue. That was the first attempt. Second one went from 1 1/2" rod to a 1"... however, the larger size did work out well for the picture! Thanks for the comment.

[@barbarajessen5611]

Is there any privacy? In sounds coming from bathroom to adjoining room? It seems the door COULD run closer to the frame, couldn’t it?

[@RustyDobbs]

Hey, Barbara. Yeah, you do want to be careful where you use barn doors if privacy is a concern. In this case, it is in a master bedroom with a large master bath that has a separate room with another door where the toilet is located. Not a good idea for a bathroom next to a living area. The door could be moved closer to the frame by trimming down the thickness of the header that the rail mounts to. It's never going to seal like a regular hinged door would, but it would cut down on the view angle between the door and the door trim.

[@douglasthompson2740]

How did you deal with the issue of someone having a medical problem/children in the locked bathroom? I think I would prefer it to have an actuating mechanism inside and out with a spring loaded lock able to be tripped from the outside. Seems to be a dearth of DIY (metal and wood) lock plans for non standard doors. I just built a super insulated 4 1/2" door and am rather stymied by a lack of ideas. I generally view and modify ideas for applications. Going to have to start from ground zero on this one. Take care. Doug

[@RustyDobbs]

Good question, Doug. In this case, we found that we could access the lock from the side of the door and slide the bolt out of the way with a long implement or knife blade. I had another suggestion from someone to drill a hole through the door from the outside in line with the bolt so that the bolt could be pushed out of the way with an ice pick or awl, kind of functioning like the releases on privacy locks on regular bathroom and bedroom doors. He suggested the hole could be covered or disguised in any number of ways. Pretty good idea, I thought. Thanks for the comment! Sounds like an interesting project you have going there.

[@edbouhl3100]

Also it’s a hollow door so a swift kick from police or fire responders would probably take it down easily.

[@humbughumbughumbug]

@@edbouhl3100 In that case you can just remove the door from the rails by unscrewing the bump stops and lifting it up. :)

[@alankritsharma2764]

can you also make any lock system for double barn door for bathroom?

[@RustyDobbs]

Sure, Alankrit. It's kind of left up to your imagination and what you can envision that will accomplish the purpose. That's what I did in this case.

[@sunchi11]

Idk how to do that

[@tonytech5520]

Is there anything preventing someone from pulling the door outward to bypass the lock?

[@RustyDobbs]

The bottom has a bracket that helps the door stay hanging straight vertically as it is opened and closed. But this style of door and lock system is far from being something that is highly secure.

[@jessicagb3761]

Would you sell one of these to me?

[@RustyDobbs]

I appreciate you asking, Jessica. but that was kind of a specialty project for that job based on what the customers wanted. I would need to do more idea development to make it a practical thing to sell like how to safely unlock it from the outside. So that's the only one I have ever made.

[@mrprimenumbers6448]

nice idea, just is not really safe. there is no way to unlock it if someone is in danger.

[@mrprimenumbers6448]

at least not without destroying the door. which yes safety is always first but thinking ahead an creating a key to unlock the door is always faster than tearing it open.

[@RustyDobbs]

You make a good point, Carlton. In this particular case, I suggested to the homeowners that we could drill a hole in the door to be able to push the dowel out of the way and open the door with an ice pick or stiff wire, but they opted to not have me do that. In reality, you could take a long screwdriver and reach between the door and wall trim to slide the dowel out of the way and open the door as well. There is about a half-inch space to do that. They are an older couple and really only wanted it to be used when their grandchildren might be visiting and they have about 14 grandkids. I think I might want one to! Thanks for your comment.