sliding wardrobe doors ...intallation ideas

[Monkey Harris]

hi guys

this seems ..a good idea..at the moment..

I'm considering moving into the 20th..century...
by fitting sliding doors onto existing 25yr old built in wardrobes
with hinged doors ..

One set are 1930s wooden doors, over an airing cupboard and wardrobe,

lots of Ikea doors are up for sale with "rails"..
does anyone know how retro fit these are. ?

I'm good with tools and woodworking .. "how hard can it be"....
cheers fellas ,,

 

[bricol]

The ones I've used simply have a track screwed to the floor, with a U-section channel screwed to the ceiling/suitable construction down from the ceiling, the doors then simply lifted up into the U-channel, dropping down to run on wheels on the floor track.

Just make certain to get a suitable width of door so that when slid to one side, they allow access into whatever you need access - for example you might need three small doors as opposed to two big ones to get clearance.

 

[DAPPH]

I helped my bro fit three bedroom's & his landing with sliding doors & mirrors , glad i did some serious thinking & checking before he purchase everything as I had to use packing pieces in the top of the wardrobes under a baton to ensure a parallel run . Made a fancy wavy pelmet to hide the top ends .
Some places sell a gentle M track for the bottom runner rail where the outer edges are nicely sloped to stop you standing on sharp edges.

 

[Craig-SM]

I fitted some decades ago in our first house as one my first attempts at DIY and and made a crap job of it. The bottom rail/guide needs to be level. Our house, an old terrace, didn't have level floors, ceilings or straight walls either. I was so proud of the finished job but the doors stuck with varying amounts or resistance when moving them. The in-laws came over and I was proud to show them off. FIL took a look at them, moved the doors and asked if I was happy with them before telling me what was wrong.
I spent the rest of the day pulling apart my work before cutting down a 3m length of 2x3 from 3 to nothing so the rails would be level on our sloping floor. I resented him so much that day but the doors were silky smooth afterwards and I learned a lot from him.

If you're fitting them for existing built in wardrobes then build the frame in front of the existing ones with the hinged doors removed, no need to attach to the wardrobes. As Daphh said the top guide can be covered, we used plaster board to the ceiling and wallpapered over it.

 

[Monkey Harris]

fantastic ...
I knew I was asking in the right place,
I don't mind a bit of studding and plaster board here and there..

I fitted some decades ago in our first house as one my first attempts at DIY and and made a crap job of it. The bottom rail/guide needs to be level. Our house, an old terrace, didn't have level floors, ceilings or straight walls either. I was so proud of the finished job but the doors stuck with varying amounts or resistance when moving them. The in-laws came over and I was proud to show them off. FIL took a look at them, moved the doors and asked if I was happy with them before telling me what was wrong.
I spent the rest of the day pulling apart my work before cutting down a 3m length of 2x3 from 3 to nothing so the rails would be level on our sloping floor. I resented him so much that day but the doors were silky smooth afterwards and I learned a lot from him.

If you're fitting them for existing built in wardrobes then build the frame in front of the existing ones with the hinged doors removed, no need to attach to the wardrobes. As Daphh said the top guide can be covered, we used plaster board to the ceiling and wallpapered over it.

that was a radical slope..

im surprised they didn't roll down the road...

good old FIL ...every days a school day ..

 

[Monkey Harris]

I went and had a peek on youtube...



no way will any of it be this easy ....

 

[Craig-SM]

fantastic ...
I knew I was asking in the right place,
I don't mind a bit of studding and plaster board here and there..

that was a radical slope..

im surprised they didn't roll down the road...

good old FIL ...every days a school day ..

I never actually noticed the slope and I don't think the rails were plumb with each other either so the doors didn't move freely. I can laugh now at my previous DIY attempts but I was so proud. Just as well i didn't have many power tools back then and I can't remember owning a spirit level either, which accounts for a lot.

 

[winchman]

I have done a few excellent value, easy to fit