How to keep barn door fastened

[dapper]

Evening all,
Was just coming in from the barn, and was wondering how you all keep your barn door fastened shut? I have a old fashion hook and Eye on mine, just to keep the wind from blowing open. They are sliders, and this keeps them closed together. Problem is how do I open this kind of hook and eye from inside the barn? If I hook it from outside, I have to go around to the walk in door, and go outside and unhook it. (does that make sense?) I need a way to open/lift the hook from inside the barn.
When I was a kid, there were holes in the end of the barn door with swinging covers on them. Just push open the cover, reach inside and unlatch door. Worked great. Now I don't want that big hole in the door. would prefer a way to lock this type of slider when I am out of town also, but want is one thing, and need is another.
Would appreciate way that you use to keep YOUR doors shut.
Thanks.

 

[QRTRHRS]

I use these. The latch is screwed to the sidewall and the "L" shaped bracket to the door. The threaded rod is adjustable and pulls the door snug when canterlevered into the closed position. They are available in with a five or seven inch threaded rod. I like the seven inch.

 

[knute_m]

Evening all,
Was just coming in from the barn, and was wondering how you all keep your barn door fastened shut? I have a old fashion hook and Eye on mine, just to keep the wind from blowing open. They are sliders, and this keeps them closed together. Problem is how do I open this kind of hook and eye from inside the barn? If I hook it from outside, I have to go around to the walk in door, and go outside and unhook it. (does that make sense?) I need a way to open/lift the hook from inside the barn.

We built a new chicken coop this year. As always, I was short of time. I put a large hook and eye on the double doors -- the only doors except for the chicken door.

I went in to feed the chickens and collect eggs. The hook apparently stuck in the up position, the wind blew the door shut, and the hook came down perfectly into the eye.

Now. this was a very heavy duty hook and eye set, screwed into the 2x4 door frames. No amount of kicking would break me out. Plus, I'd cleverly put a 1x4 lip on the inside, so that it was a little more air tight between the doors.

I had to crawl out through the chicken door and down their ramp!

Don't use a hook and eye!

 

[Eagleview]

I used the lock mechanism and key barrel out of a car boot/trunk on the sliding door of the workshop i sold . When the door is closed the striker clicks into the latch , there is a knob on the inside and the car key opens it from the outside . Locked and latched all in one .

 

[Doc_Bob]

I used the lock mechanism and key barrel out of a car boot/trunk on the sliding door of the workshop i sold . When the door is closed the striker clicks into the latch , there is a knob on the inside and the car key opens it from the outside . Locked and latched all in one .

A picture would be wonderful, if you have the time.
Bob

 

[Eagleview]

I have since sold the building that i built as a workshop so i no longer have access to it . But i found a photo i took of the open doorway that shows how the latch and key barrel were situated . Sorry for the poor picture but i had to blow it up quit a bit . Any latch and barrel from an old car will work as long as you get a key with it . The top arrow shows(sort of ) the boot/trunk latch and the lower arrow shows the key barrel out of the car door . In my case the thin metal cladding readily accepted the door lock and retaining clip from the car . I made a little link rod from the door lock that went to the latch . I put a little windscreen wiper knob on the inside so that it could be opened from that side (a metal windscreen wiper knob that has an Allen Key grub screw from an early model car .

 

[CCWKen]

On the drive-through, the double swinging doors center-latch from the inside. I come and go by the entry door on the side. It has the latch/lock on the outside. I ran some re-bar through eye-bolts on the big doors that I use to hold them open/closed. The L shaped rebar will drop into pieces of pipe in the ground when I want to hold the doors open. Or I can drop them into holes in the pad to help keep them closed when it's windy. I also used the same scheme for the top of the doors when closed. Long piece of rebar (L on bottom) engages holes in the door headers.

 

[dapper]

How do I explain?
first let me post a couple of pics. First one is of the main barn door. It shows the catch I need to open from the inside.♠
Second pic is the side door which opens right across from the shop. ( on left in third picture)
As you can see, i go from the shop to the main barn threw the side door all the time, and I can not open the main door from inside. I need to come back out and go around to the fount to open the latch. Surely there is a way to open this latch from inside. Remember the doors slide, so there can be nothing that sticks in to the barn as sliding it would tear it off, or the door wouldn't open.
Iron Horse's idea is good, but I am not sure that I could unlock this one from inside either, and I don't think it would modify well to 3/4in barn siding.
Ken's idea is a good one for the other doors that I need to keep from blowing and only open occasionally, but again needs to be done from inside, and couldn't open from outside.
Qrtrhrs idea is excellent and I used these on the rears door which i only open in rare events, and they work great.
I am kind of in Knute's situation as I do have to walk back around thoughthe side door to get out to open latch.
As for the side door latch, in the picture it shows a lock in the hole for the ♦unlocked position. I keep it there so it doesn't get lost, and it is there if I need to move it to the other hole in the latch to lock the barn. Granted not much protection, but works in my situation.
Thanks for all the ideas, and keep em coming.

 

[tractorsanmore]

put a latch like you have on your second picture on the inside of your double sliding door and take off the hook on the outside . Then add the latches like qrtrhrs showed in his pic to the ends of both doors . That's how I did ours anyway .

 

[dapper]

Tractors,
Wouldn't I have the same problem with that type of latch only from the outside? I wouldn't be able to open from the outside to get truck out. Or am I missing something?
Don't have to keep the hook and eye, just need something that I can latch and unlatch from both inside and outside.
thanks.

 

[AMP762]

Drill a hole an inch or so above the hook,run a string through it to the hook,pull the string, the hook lifts.

My simple minded .02

 

[FrogLick]

Drill a hole an inch or so above the hook,run a string through it to the hook,pull the string, the hook lifts.

My simple minded .02

I like this idea since it's kind of how I think - cheap, easy & quick.

 

[dapper]

Amp,
Good idea, and will certainly work. Like Frog said-Cheap-easy-quick. Thanks.

 

[tractorsanmore]

Dapper , sorry I missed the part about opening from the outside too . We have a walk through door

 

[wolc123]

I lean a big pry bar or length of pipe against my barn doors to keep them shut. The heavier the pipe, the better it holds in a stiff wind. I have a couple old combine rollers that work real good and are definitely my favorite "door holders".

 

[capt jack]

I use these. The latch is screwed to the sidewall and the "L" shaped bracket to the door. The threaded rod is adjustable and pulls the door snug when canterlevered into the closed position. They are available in with a five or seven inch threaded rod. I like the seven inch.

I also have 3 large barn doors with these, They work GREAT!!!! even in strong Texas winds.
Jack

 

[MikeD74T]

dapper, I have a friend that "hides" in his shop by locking the door with an outside hook & eye. The pivot bolt for the hook is welded to the hook and extends thru the door. An elastic nut on the inside keeps the bolt tension and an attached knob turns the bolt raising the hook. The casual observer would think it impossible for anyone to be in the shop with the door locked on the outside.
My sliders lock from the inside with a hasp on the outer edge of each door and another where the two meet. I drop in bolts instead of locks. MikeD74T

 

[schmism]

Ive got 2 of the latches as seen in the second post on the outside edges.

the middle were the 2 come together has 2 sloped metal bars with a chain that is connected to one, and a hook on the other side so that the chain keeps the two doors from spreading. the slight slope on the 2 bars allows you to push the chain down and draw the doors up tight.

at the bottom in the middle is a metal plate set in the ground that matches a grove in the doors keeping the bottom of the doors from flopping around

 

[dapper]

Mike, Like that idea! Weld the hook to the eye, turn the eye. Think I can make that work. Cleaver. Don't think it will fool many here, as I am in the next barn anyway, but it will sure keep the door closed, and latched, and allow me to open from either side. That is the whole point of this post. opening the door from either side.
Schmism, my neighbor has the same set up your talking about on his barn also. works fine, and he opens his from the inside. Is this the way yours opens also? from the inside only? His works fine, doesn't seem to cause any problem as long as he keeps his tires from ripping off the door... OOOPPPSSS!!!!