A Bifold Door Upgrade for an Old Barn

After countless paint jobs, Richard Hanson decided it was time to do something about his barn.

Built in 1889, Hanson’s family originally used the barn as a cattle barn, hay storage, and shelter for the farm’s workhorses. 136 years later, it was time to either tin it, or bulldoze it.

Hanson, who farms 3400 acres in with his son, father, and brother in western Iowa, hired contractor Elmer Salazar to do the work.

“We were talking about something on the doors one day,” says Hanson. “I’m like, I’d really like to put a better door on here. [Elmer] says, ‘Well, I sell doors.’”

Elmer Salazar has been a dealer for Diamond Doors since 2023, selling and installing bifold doors across Iowa. “I like installing doors,” he says with a smile, “and the customer likes Diamond doors, so it’s a good thing.”

But while the hangar-style bifold door was exactly what Hanson was looking for, he wasn’t sure if it was the right fit for his old barn. “That’s an old, old building,” he says. “It doesn’t get much older than that.”

This didn’t concern Salazar, since he installs bifold doors on everything from pole barns to brand new sheds.

Advantages of a bifold door on an old barn

A bifold door offers a few advantages for this kind of project. First, Diamond bifold doors are a good fit for retrofit applications, where a customer puts a new door on an existing building. The self supporting header option provides structural support to carry the weight and loads of the door, which is especially useful for older buildings where the cost of adding the required bracing and support is prohibitive.

The second advantage is the convenient use and operation for the bifold door. Unlike sliding doors, which must be opened manually and frequently jam or become loose in their tracks, Diamond bifold doors are easy to operate with the push of a button.

Finally, Diamond doors offer reliability and easy maintenance. In fact, Salazar says that “from the time that I had to be a dealer, I never had to come back for maintenance or something in the doors, and that’s something that I think makes Diamond Doors special for me. I mean, they work great.”

Hanson is quick to agree. “It’s well built. It’s quiet operation… and you can just tell the way they’re built that they’re high quality.”

Video Transcript

RICHARD HANSON

I farm with my son, my dad, and my brother.

We farm about 3,400 acres, about half corn, half beans, 40 acres of hay, and we’ve got cattle and hogs.

Yeah, this shed was built in 1889.

They used to milk cows on this side – this side was for the workhorses. It was full of hay and the outside needed painting for the thousandth time and so we decided to tin it instead because we either had to fix it up or bulldoze it.

So we decided to straighten it and fix it up and then we put all our working stuff in here for the cattle.

And we were talking about something on the doors one day – I think we went over to the shop to get something.

I’m like, yeah, I’d really like to put a better door on here. He goes, well, I sell doors. I’m like, really?

And we started talking about it. I’m like, well, it was the exact type I was looking at was the hangar style.

ELMER SALAZAR

I hear this customer that where we at right now, Mr. Richard Hanson, he got three doors. So that means, you know, he likes the doors. I like installing doors. I’m a dealer from Diamond Doors, and the customer likes the Diamond Doors, so it’s a good thing.

RICHARD HANSON

And then when we were kind of deciding to just do the barn, I’m like, it’s not a hog barn or anything.

He’s like, no, he goes, I put them on everything. I put them on pole barns. I put them on brand new sheds.

I’m like, well, that’s an old, old building. It doesn’t get much older than that.

And he’s like, well, we can do it.

And there’s plenty of, plenty of lumber in this barn for holding it up. I mean, you know, these old six by sixes are strong.

You don’t have to dig out tracks for a slide door.

All of our pole barns had those, you know, and you get tired of doing that. The wind kind of bangs on those. Eventually they get loose. The nice thing about these is they just, and there is a backup. If there’s no power, you can use a drill to raise it up if you have to. We never have had to do that.

ELMER SALAZAR

From the time that I had to be a dealer, I never had to come back for a maintenance or something in the doors. And that’s something that I think makes Diamond Doors special for me.

I mean, they work great.

Even the first door that we learned how to do it, never have to go back and do anything.