…that’s right…me!  (+ one good friend) (+ one good handyman).

I’ve wanted to put a door across this hallway for years, to separate 2 bedrooms from the master bedroom (both of them off a small landing at the top of the stairs).  Since it’s an arched doorway, it was difficult to put in a traditional door, so I was thrilled when I saw so many great sliding doors on Pinterest.  After much research, I ordered a door kit and sliding track hardware from RusticaHardware.com.  They promised to email me when it was on its way and when I could expect delivery.  They didn’t do that.  Instead, approx. 3 weeks later, in the middle of a 2-day rainstorm, I accidentally discovered this package on the sidewalk outside my gate…

The metal track was encased in plastic but, surprisingly, the wood door kit was NOT.  I didn’t want to contact their unpleasant customer  service supervisor (who promised me a credit that I have still not received), so I left the wood stacked as packed and dragged it into the house to acclimate.  I thought that if I left it stacked it might not warp so badly, and I was partially right.  Two slats warped, but we were able to work with them, and sand off the mildew.

The door goes together with 4 LONG screws and is easy to assemble.  If the slats had not been warped, my friend and I would have been able to complete it.  We did really well and got it 98% finished, but just didn’t have the muscle to force it all the way, even after a trip to the hardware store for a rachet socket wrench.

We called in a great handyman to install the metal track, and he muscled the door the rest of the way and made everything look easy!  You can order the tracks with the holes pre-drilled — they distribute them according to the weight of the door, not necessarily 16″ apart, like studs.  Fortunately, I was able to install in a spot that had solid wood behind the drywall, so I didn’t have to worry about finding studs.  I was surprised, though, that they sent me 2 5’6″ track lengths, when I ordered an 11′ track; there’s a connector, but you have to be very careful about aligning them so the door slides smoothly.  I also had them route out the back of the door where the door pull is inserted, which saved a lot of effort.  Before painting…

Then we used two coats of Behr’s primer+paint, in Polar Bear White, semi-gloss latex.  I was surprised that lots of mill lines showed up after painting.  Nothing we can do about that, I guess.

Also be aware that there were TONS of knots and splits in the wood, so you won’t want to choose this door unless you really want a rustic look.

Bottom Line:  I love it!   I would definitely order their track hardware again, but I would try to find another solution for the door.  Their instructions were pretty simple to follow (much simpler than Ikea), and they sent all of the necessary hardware, but NO extra screws.  One of their screws broke off while installing the floor guide, so I had to hunt through my junk drawer for another (luckily, I keep EVERYTHING).