How To Lock a Barn Door

Most barn doors are used in central locations throughout homes such as hallways and lounges and don't often require locking, however other locations such as bathrooms and bedrooms may require the use of locks.

Unlike traditional doors where locks can be integrated into a handle, sliding barn doors require a different method of locking. There are several options available from very basic methods such as rope and hooks or simple latches through to specifically designed stainless locks.

Industrial type barn doors used in sheds for example can be secured shut by the use of simple piece of rope secured onto a hook from the inside of the door. These doors can also be locked using a latch and hook type lock often seen on gates. When it comes to locking interior barn doors a more refined locking method is often more appropriate. 

How to lock a barn door from the inside 

The most common lock for barn doors is our Slide Lock which is fixed to the inside of the door frame and a corresponding catch is fixed to the sliding door. This enables the barn door to slide completely open past the door frame as there is no major protruding parts fixed to the door. 

Hasp type locks can be used however if the door is required to go past the opening these may create an obstruction to allow this due the depth of the latch fixed the door.

Barrel locks can be a simple solution to locking a barn door from the inside by fixing the lock to the door frame and engaging into a hole in the barn door.

How to lock a barn door from the Outside

When locking a sliding barn door from the outside the doorjamb is not available to secure locks to so other types of locks must be used.  

Barrel locks often seen on traditional ranch sliders can be used on sliding barn doors when configured correctly. Barn doors locking from the outside require the lock to be mounted above the door with a hole on the top of the door.  Access to this arrangement can be difficult depending on the height of the door so a similar method can be used on the floor where the lock is fixed to the doors edge and a corresponding hole in the floor at the closed position is used.

Hasp style locks can be used - normally designed for fixing to the inside face of the door, these could be used the opposite way around so the latching mechanism is on the wall and the fixed latch is fixed to the edge of the door.

How to lock a bi-parting door.

Biparting or ‘double’ barn doors are locked with relative ease by locking the two doors together. This can be done using a basic hook lock like you see on small gates or by using a barrel lock mentioned above. Really any method that locks one door to the other will prevent the doors from being opened provided there are stops fitted to the track to prevent the barn doors going past their stopped position.

Securing against break-ins when using locks

An important note to mention with barn doors (even those with locks) is a thief could quite easily lift the door up and off the track rail to gain entry.  This is why it is important to use a system that prevents the the door from being lifted enough to remove the roller wheels off the track.

Estrada hardware systems come standard with anti-jump pads which when secured to the top of the door eliminate the ability to lift the door off the track.  This is not only a safety feature but also a security feature.