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Blog Cabin '08: Barn-Door Style Blackout Shutters for a Media Room Crew members create custom window treatments for the basement Man Cave. Get all the info on DIY's Blog Cabin '08 From "Blog Cabin" episode DBLG-206

Barn-door style wooden shutters block out external light to darken the home theater area.

The Blog Cabin online voters selected a media room for the basement of the cabin. So appropriately, Jason Cameron, the host of DIY's Man Caves, is on hand to help turn a blank space into a manly media room. Jason builds a free-standing custom bar while cabin experts Chris and Simon Hodshon add a rustic alternative to ordinary blackout curtains: track-mounted barn-door style shutters.

It's an unexpected but perfectly suited solution to cut potential glare on the media room's large-screen TV. The "barn door" motif, by the way, is also picked up on in Jason's custom wet bar as well as outside on the garage doors.

Below is a summary of the basic steps as seen in the sliding door project, including assembly and installation, along with a list of tools and materials used.

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Barn-Door Style Blackout Shutters

Materials and tools:

track-mounting system
T-111 plywood
birch plywood
expansion bolts
anchor bolts
screws
nails
wood stain
epoxy
table saw
hammer drill
ratchet wrench
drill
level
measuring tape
safety glasses

Assembling the Shutters

• Measure the opening of the door that will be covered with the shutter. This initial measurement will help you determine the dimensions of the two track-mounted panels.
  

  	Figure A
  	Figure B

• Mark the measurements onto the T-111 plywood and begin making your cuts using a table saw.

• Once the panels are cut to the final dimensions, take measurements of the individual pieces to determine the dimensions for the trim.

• Cut the trim birch plywood and trim to length using a table saw or chop saw.

• Secure the trim pieces into the T-111 panel with wood screws (figure A). We applied trim both around the edges and across each door to create the "barn door" look.

• Sand, stain and let the door panel dry before mounting it to the track (figure B).

Hanging the Shutters

The barn-door shutters are suspended from rollers on a track-mounting system. To help make the most of the man cave's entertainment center, the shutters simply roll shut to provide an almost complete blackout of exterior light in the basement room, making for a true home-theater experience. Since one wall of the basement room actually opens to the outdoors, letting in light simply means rolling the shutters back.

	Figure C
	Figure D

• When hanging your barn doors into pre-cast concrete, a hammer drill is the ideal tool for drilling into the studs.

• Once the holes are drilled, insert expansion bolts in place and tighten them down (figure C).

• Tip: Applying epoxy into the holes before inserting the expansion bolts will add extra strength to hold bolts securely in the concrete.

• Next, mount an anchor bolt into the studs. This will serve as the anchor to hang the barn door.

• Once the track system is mounted and secure (figure D), simply feed the doors' rollers into the metal track.

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