A single barn door installation is the simplest type of hardware kit you can install. The door is pushed to either the left or right hand side of the doorway when opened. For wider doorways, two doors are often mounted on the same track and each door is pushed to it’s respective side of the doorway when opened. These options are great, but what do we do when there is insufficient clearance (wall space) on one or both sides of the doorway? Enter, the bypass barn door hardware kit!
Single Track vs Double Track Bypass Barn Door Hardware Kit
Single Door
Perfect for narrow doorways. Requires at least one door width of clearance on one side of the doorway.
Double Door (Bi-part)
Works well for wider doorways. Requires one doors width of clearance on both sides of the doorway.
Why Use a Bypass Kit?
Bypass barn door hardware kits are a great option when you want to install barn doors, but don’t have enough clearance on either side of the doorway for a regular single or double door hardware kit. If there is enough clearance on one side of the doorway, then both doors can be pushed to the same side, opening the entire doorway. If there isn’t enough (or any) clearance on either side of the doorway, then the doors can be “stacked” on top of each other, which will open up one side of the doorway or the other. When the doors are pushed to the right side of the doorway, the left side is opened and vice versa.
What is a (Double Track) Bypass Barn Door Hardware Kit?
A double track bypass barn door hardware kit uses two tracks, with one door on each track, to allow the doors to slide past each other. The inside track is mounted to the wall with a set of wall spacers, whereas the outside track is attached to a set of bypass brackets. The Bypass brackets mount to the wall and and go up and over the inside track track, cantelevering the outside track in front of the inside. For wider doorways, three or four doors can be mounted to the tracks, providing greater coverage for your doorway.
What are the Advantages of a (Double Track) Bypass Barn Door Hardware Kit?
Here are the main advantages of a double track bypass kit, compared to the single track bypass hardware kit:
- More Dynamic - As there are two tracks, each door is on it’s own track and can move independently from the other. This is different from the single-track bypass kit as both doors are on the same track and cannot be pulled apart. This allows you to open one door while keeping the other door stationary. It’s also easier for children and elderly people to open the doors as they are only moving one door at a time. You can also limit the range of motion for one or both doors by moving the door stops on each of the tracks to the location where you want each door to stop. This cant be done on the single-track bypass kit as both doors are on the same track.
- Less Required Overlap Between Doors - Because of the design of the single-track bypass, there is a fair amount of overlap between the bypass doors that is built into the design of the hardware kit. While we do recommend at least 2” of overlap between the bypass doors, with the double-track you can decide how much overlap you want to have. This gives you greater flexibility in the width of door you choose, as you can use slightly narrower doors than what would be required for the single-track bypass.
- You Can “Stack” the Doors - Due to the design of the single-track bypass kit, the doors are always slightly “offset” when stacked on top of each other. This means that one doors sticks out to one side so need to have a little bit of extra clearance on the side of the doorway to completely push the doors out of the doorway. With the double-track bypass kit, each door is on it’s own track so they can be stacked on top of each other, giving you maximum access to your opening.
- Greater Weight Capcity - Double-track bypass kits can accommodate heavier doors because the combined weight of the doors is spread over two tracks. With the single-track bypass kit, all of the weight is supported by a single track, so attention must be paid to the weight of the doors. This is particularly important when mounting heavy doors or multiple doors (3 or 4) on the same hardware kit.
- Triple Bypass Compatible - The Triple Bypass Barn Door Hardware kit is a combination of the dual track bypass kit, combined with a set of single-track bypass hangers which allows all three doors to stack on top of each other. This option gives maximum access to the opening for wider doorways. This only available with the double-track bypass kit and not the single track bypass.
What is a Single-Track Bypass Barn Door Hardware Kit?
A single track bypass kit allows you to mount two doors on the same track, while having the outer door “bypass” the inner door. The inside door is mounted to the track with a set of straight hangers that allows the door to hang down below the track. The outer door is mounted to the track with a set of bent hangers, which cantelevers it in front of the inner door, allowing the doors to pass in front of or behind the other door. Watch this short explainer video which demonstrates how it works:
What are the Advantages of a Single-Track Bypass Barn Door Hardware Kit?
These are the main advantages of the Single-Track Bypass Barn Door Hardware Kit, when compared to the Double-track bypass kit:
- Requires Less Overhead Clearance - The double-track Bypass kit uses bypass brackets to mount the outer track, so it requires more clearance (space) above the doorway to mount the hardware. Because the single-track bypass kit doesn’t use bypass brackets, less overhead clearance is required. This useful in installations where you may have limited space between the top of the doorway and the ceiling.
- Clean Look - Some people find the bypass brackets on the double-track bypass hardware kit to be too “busy” and that there is too much hardware above their doorway. This comes down to personal taste, but the single-track bypass kit does have a cleaner, simpler aesthetic, as it doesn’t require a much hardware to mount.
- Simple Installation - Although all of our hardware kits come with easy-to-follow installation guides and videos, the double-track bypass kit does require the mounting of bypass brackets and a second track, which adds a more steps to the installation process. While this shouldn’t be the deciding factor which style of bypass kit you choose, the simpler installation is an advantage the single-track bypass kit has over the double-track bypass kit.
- Fewer Floor Guides Required - The single-track bypass kit includes a guide that is mounted to the front of the inner door that fits into a groove in the bottom of the outer door. Because of this design, a floor guide is only is only required for the inner door, which means fewer floor guides in the doorway and potentially less tripping hazards.
- Lower Cost - As there is less hardware required for a single-track bypass kit, they are less expensive than the double track bypass kits. This can be deceiving though, as single-track bypass kits typically require wider doors for the same size of opening, as there is more overlap between the doors. Doors are often more expensive, so any savings on the hardware could be offset by the additional cost of the doors.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, both styles of bypass kit are effective in allowing you to close off your doorway with barn doors, despite limited clearance on either side of the opening. We typically recommend the double-track bypass kit if the customer has sufficient overhead clearance as this style of kit tends to be easier to use and satisfies most customer’s requirements. That being said, each person has their own preferences and needs for their unique situation, so consideration must be given to each type of kit before deciding on one. It’s always a good idea to look at the long term use of the hardware kit when making your decision as opposed to shorter term considerations such as price or ease of installation as these hardware kits will be used for years to come.
If you have any questions about which type of bypass kit would work best for your installation, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team of barn door experts at 1-800-997-5085 or info@rusticrollingdoors.com!