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I'm brainstorming for building a cabin this summer and am wondering if anyone has had luck making a sliding barn door airtight (or at least, pretty airtight).

One cabin design I've been pondering is a south facing shed style structure with a little deck on the front. I'd like to have a way to open a significant portion of the front during non-buggy seasons and am thinking making a portion of the front wall into a sliding barn door on a runner might be a way to do that. The kicker is that I am planning to insulate the place and use it once in a while in the winter, so avoiding drafts would be a plus.

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  • You can get brush type seals or you can design the door to be clamped onto a seal.
    – Solar Mike
    Feb 23 '20 at 12:05
  • Thanks Solar Mike. What kind of a seal material would you use for the clamped set up?
    – 4restg
    Feb 23 '20 at 12:21
  • And also, what kind of hardware for the clamp?
    – 4restg
    Feb 23 '20 at 12:24
  • Clamps can be threaded or over-centre cams - whatever you want or based on what you want to pay... As for a seal - some rubber equivalent that is compressible but not too soft...
    – Solar Mike
    Feb 23 '20 at 15:57
  • Would lift-slide doors do what you need? Or do you really need the overhead style track for aesthetics? I have installed this type that allowed 16' of open wall
    – Jack
    Feb 23 '20 at 16:30
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Here is a good picture showing the bottoms of the lift slide doors I installed. The 16' ones were on another job, these are only offer a 10' opening. The pics showing the upper half are kinda dark.

Is this something that may work for you? Liftslide1

Liftslide2

Liftslide3

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  • What do the lift and slide cost? I've installed some before and they were pricey. The sliding door systems like the eclipse systems run ~$800 per foot but that is the top end. Kind of unclear if the OP is asking for a solid door that would slide or is picturing something that has a window.
    – Fresh Codemonger
    Feb 23 '20 at 17:50
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    I know it does not come cheap, I was installing GU brand, I think But if the OP wants a system that will seal up and operate smoothly, that is the way to go, unless the overhead hardware is a must. I would hope it would be closer to 800 bucks an operable panel
    – Jack
    Feb 23 '20 at 22:45

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