I have actual barn doors on an actual barn. Each door is 6' wide and 12' tall, and they are heavy! With twin doors, You could add a 'weather flap' over one door, which would prevent noise and possible lack of privacy through any gap between the doors. It could just be an added piece of wood trim. All doors have a gap at the bottom. I have my huge doors adjusted pretty close to the framing, so I think it could be tweaked pretty close in a house. To secure my doors, I have a toggle clamp on each door which both locks them and pulls them tight to the jamb. That's a rather industrial solution for a house, plus you would have to lock both doors to prevent an accidental walk-in. I'm sure there's some kind of latch to hold the two doors together in the middle, although then the possibility would exist that someone could move the entire two doors at the same time. It would be cool to design some kind of latch that connected the two doors, and engaged the floor or above to prevent the whole thing from moving. I vaguely remember seeing hardware like that somewhere. Our powder room will have a barn door as well. I bought antique barn door rollers, although they are much smaller than would be found on a barn. I was told they may have come off of a rail car. We're going to hang a single antique door. I'll adjust the hardware and trim for a good fit once it is hung. I haven't decided on a latch yet. A question has come up, though. The universal sign that a bathroom is unoccupied is that the door is ajar. My wife isn't sure how she feels about leaving the barn door ajar since it is in our foyer, but I'm afraid that keeping it closed would send the wrong signal to a 'needy' guest.

"I went to work in an office that had a pocket door that never worked right because someone had driven nails into it at some point and it was never the same after" (palimpsest) Yes. This happened to us when DH nailed the baseboard on the wall between the laundry and kitchen. The door came off track. When we renovate I will replace or remove. However, this was builder grade. On our extension I added three pocket doors. The one I had put in for the powder room is a solid core door, not thinner than most doors, as I wanted as much sound-dampening as possible with such a device. We used Johnson Hardware - not the home depot variety which runs $ 40 or so, but commercial grade. Look at the Johnson site under 1500 Commercial Grade and you will also find non-standard size frames (door max thickness 1 3/4"). Use a good carpenter.

yes I can relate I don't think something is wrong with me..I just like to get things right once, and "they" always change what "they" carry. now I finally really need to reupholster dining chairs, and I'd just gladly repeat what they are now because I like it and I get used to things I like, but of course the fabric is discontinued (bought it in Calico Corners) currently considering something from British shop on Etsy..50 $ per meter..which is quite good in comparison to other options I like.. (and for the shipping they want 40 bucks too and what if the photo doesn't exactly captures the background correctly?all four of them? lol) in order to save money, I'm thinking of redoing just two most used captain chairs..I'm okay with worn stuff, very used, lived-in stuff but it becomes more than that, it becomes torn to shreds. Wasn't a great upholstery job either I must say-which contributed to the problem. I also have a favorite pillow..I abused it so much the fabric on it really needs to be changed/repaired. .it being cotton..discontinued of course since I bought it years ago. I'm stuck because it's a very interesting shape..and a very nice combo of colors..and frankly I've no desire to really change it, I just want to snap my fingers and make it whole again. In short it's not me, it's them. lol I'm not mentioning the broken and glued (twice) vintage pendant, which is one of the pair..I already lost hope to find the same, and I put in search on all sites known to me, to get notifications and stuff. So it hangs there missing a piece. Reflects my state of mind probably.. and yes, it can be fun, this quest, but right now feels exhausting..and not something that leaves me excited, currently. It's a chore, something that needs to be done rather than something I want, and that I have to do well-and my chances are small, and limited.

The wall surrounding the opening is proud of the normal wall by I would say 3 1/2" I guess that's what the OP meant. It's not what I'd call an indentation (or the archaic term "indention"), exactly the opposite, but whatever. Regardless, 3-1/2" is a lot! It's already wasting that 3-1/2" piece of real estate in the room. Adding a barn door will make it stand out another 2" or so more. That just doesn't seem to me like a good use of space, but what do I know?