Sliding doors like. Installation of sliding interior doors - independent installation of a sliding door system

Setting out to create unusual interior, using time-tested and well-known elements, you should pay attention to sliding interior doors. By using them in the interior, you can use the space more ergonomically, dividing it into different zones and at the same time maintaining the illusion of the integrity of the room. In addition, making sliding doors with your own hands is quite simple; you will need an understanding of the process and ability to use tools, as well as knowledge about sliding doors.

Advantages and disadvantages of sliding doors

Before using sliding interior doors in the interior, you need to know their strengths and weaknesses. It will depend on what tasks you face when planning the interior whether you choose sliding doors or not.

Advantages:

• save room space;
• do not close when exposed to drafts, unlike swing doors on hinges;
• simple and easy opening of the doors. The only thing that should be taken into account is maintaining cleanliness and timely maintenance of the roller mechanism;
• can be easily automated if necessary. This is one of the main advantages sliding doors, which can be very easily implemented using modern technologies;
• no thresholds. This advantage is somewhat controversial, since there are sliding door systems that have lower guides in their design, which can act as a threshold or be embedded in the floor.

Flaws:

• low rates of heat and sound insulation. Systems in which a special seal is glued to the end of the door, and the doors themselves slide into a special niche, have somewhat improved sound and heat insulation characteristics;
• impossibility of installation as an entrance door. It is worth noting that if it is a balcony, loggia or country house with a wall of sufficient length, then you can install sliding glass doors leading from the room to the street;
• the price of fittings and locks for sliding doors is an order of magnitude higher than the prices for conventional doors. In addition, prices for sliding doors are also slightly higher, which imposes some restrictions on the choice according to the budget;
• When using a certain type of sliding door, it will not be possible to place any furniture or large household appliances nearby.

Design and types of sliding doors

There are various sliding door systems that differ from each other appearance, but the design itself in its basis and operating principle remains unchanged. The design of sliding doors is a system consisting of roller mechanism,guides And door leaf. The roller mechanism is attached to the door, and the rollers move along guides fixed above the doorway. Various types of sliding doors interior doors may include from two to four or more roller mechanisms, as well as several guides and door panels. In addition, the design of the sliding door includes decorative panels covering the mechanism itself, various special door furniture, platbands and additions.

The picture below shows different kinds sliding doors:

But among all the diversity, the following main types of sliding doors are distinguished:

• sliding compartment doors;
• cascading sliding doors;
• accordion sliding doors;
• one, two, three and four-leaf sliding doors;
• radius sliding doors.

Sliding door fittings

Due to their unusual design, sliding doors require a specific type of hardware. Locks and handles for sliding doors are not the same as we are used to seeing on regular doors. A characteristic feature of the handles is that they are recessed into the door leaf. This is done so that the doors can move freely to the side and, if necessary, enter the niche reserved for it. The locks are also not quite ordinary. If you compare it with a conventional lock, you can see that locking mechanism designed for vertical snapping.

When purchasing a sliding door, the fittings usually come with the door leaf. But if there is a need to install handles and locks yourself, then you need to be extremely careful and choose them correctly. It is best to seek help from a specialist or search by catalog number.

Sliding door mechanism

Sliding doors get their name due to the method of opening, which is ensured by the movement of rollers along guides. The roller mechanism and guides for sliding doors must be selected based on the type of sliding door, the number of leaves and the material of the door leaf. The whole point is that different systems have different weight and create different loads on the structure as a whole. So, if you compare a single-leaf sliding door made of MDF and a double-leaf glass sliding door, the weight of the first one will be much less, and you can choose a simpler and lighter roller mechanism for it.

Also, when installing some types of sliding doors (cascade, accordion, compartment), it is necessary to take into account the number of roller mechanisms and select the correct guides. For example, for a cascade door it is necessary to install 2 roller mechanisms for each door leaf and guides with two gutters. It is especially important to pay attention to the fact that to create sliding doors and cascade doors, it is necessary to provide one groove in the guides for each door leaf.

As noted earlier, the reliability of sliding doors directly depends on the roller mechanism and guide. But sometimes, as in the case of a glass sliding door, you have to install two guides - one at the top of the doorway, the other at the bottom. This is the only way to obtain a stable and a secure door with a large mass of door leaf.

Sliding door installation options

The functionality and convenience of interior sliding doors allow you to implement various design solutions both in rooms with limited space, and in rooms with a large area. Such doors allow you to transform inner space, organically fitting into the interior.

The most popular option is to install sliding doors between two residential areas. Using double-leaf doors, you can zone a room while maintaining its integrity. With the doors closed, these will be two different rooms, and with the doors open, they will be one, but with a large area. For example, by installing sliding doors, you can separate a small office, and with the doors open, it will be a common room for business negotiations.

Another option for using sliding doors is to install them between living quarters and loggia, balcony or terrace in country house. In this case, it is advisable to use sliding glass doors. A large luminous flux will flow through them, and in the warm season, by opening them, you can expand the room indefinitely.

Quite often sliding doors are used For technical premises . So, by installing sliding sliding doors, you can separate a utility room or pantry, while saving precious space.

One of the most difficult and expensive to install are radius doors. This largely depends on the complexity of manufacturing the door leaf and curved guides. But such doors can be seen in shower stalls or rooms with rounded shapes. It looks quite impressive.

Unfortunately, due to their shortcomings, sliding doors do not make sense to install between rooms such as the kitchen, living room, bathroom or toilet. Of course, with the development of technology, new materials and methods of their application appear. And perhaps the disadvantages of sliding doors with the use of new technologies will be leveled out or completely disappear, which will open up new horizons for their use.

How to make sliding doors

Having decided on the type of sliding door and purchased everything you need, you can begin installation. Let's look at the installation process using the example of a single-leaf sliding door. This is the simplest and most common door and the easiest to install. But it should be noted that the description will also highlight key points that are typical for other types of sliding doors.

So, to install sliding doors with your own hands, you need to do the following:

• The first thing is to make markings for the guides. To do this, you can go two ways. The first is to simply measure the height of the door from the floor with a tape measure, adding 15 - 20 mm to it for the gap between the floor and the door. And to this height add the height of the assembled roller mechanism and guide. Then put 2 - 3 marks on the wall and draw a line between them. The second option is similar to the first with the difference that the door leaf is placed against the opening, and marks are placed along the upper edge, to which the height of the roller mechanism and guide is then added.

Important! Before installing the guide, you need to make sure that the marks are strictly horizontal. This can be done using a level. Otherwise, after installation, the doors will spontaneously open in one direction or another.

• Now we install the guide along the previously marked line so that the guide is installed under it. Depending on the guide itself, it can be secured in different ways. Some are attached directly to the wall using dowels, while others can be mounted on special brackets or wooden beams. The guide itself should be at some distance from the wall so that when opening the doors they do not cling to the doorway or trim. It is necessary to carefully select guides and know how to install them. For sliding doors and other sliding door structures that have a height from floor to ceiling, the guides are attached to the ceiling and floor.

Important! To prevent the sliding door from flying off the first time it is opened, the length of the guide should be 2 times larger than the doorway, and another 4 - 5 cm of spare space should be added to this length. It is because of this feature that sliding doors require a lot of free space near the doorway, although they save space when opening.

• Having secured the guide, insert the fastening bolt inside the roller carriage and insert the entire roller mechanism into the guide. For a regular single-leaf door, only two rollers are required, but if we are installing accordion doors or cascading doors, we will have to purchase rollers for each leaf in advance.

• We install brackets for roller carriages on top of the door leaf. They are attached with a distance of 3 - 5 mm from the edge of the door.

Important! For glass doors a different fastening method is used. The fastener itself consists of two metal legs that clamp the glass together and are tightened with screws. In addition, due to the large mass of glass, it is recommended to install doors with two guides: one in the floor, the other above the doorway.

• Now that the rollers and fasteners for them are installed, we put the door leaf in place, lift it and screw the bolts into the brackets at the top of the door. This step of the job is best done with a partner who can lift and hold the door while the bolts are tightened. After this, we check the horizontalness of the door and, if necessary, level it by tightening the bolts.

• The doorway and slopes can be hidden behind platbands and extensions. But we hide the roller mechanism itself behind a decorative strip that is hung on top.

• Finally, we install the door hardware.

Installing a sliding door with a special niche in the wall will be somewhat more labor-intensive. To do this, you will have to create a partition from plasterboard sheets into which the door will slide. But for doors with a track, you will have to cut out a groove in the floor, which will require the use of a hammer drill. In all other respects, installing sliding doors is a very simple and easy task.

To make the most of the useful living space, the owners make sliding interior doors with their own hands. They create unique design, capable of both dividing the living space into separate sectors and combining it in one room.

Attractiveness and disadvantages of sliding structures

You should understand in detail what advantages sliding doors have, as well as possible problems that will have to be solved. One of the advantages is the ability to save space; even in an ordinary apartment, additional meters will appear. Plus, with such doors, any home acquires individuality and is transformed.

This design is not susceptible to drafts. Some options are executed without thresholds, which is important if among the residents there are elderly, disabled people or small children. Installation and subsequent use of the sliding partition is simple. Technologies today provide the opportunity to automate the product, which provides additional convenience.

Disadvantages may appear if the design is used incorrectly. The guides and roller system must be kept in good working order and clean at all times. Dirty mechanisms become damaged and the door leaf jams. Very weak sound insulation due to cracks brings additional inconvenience. Also, odors from other rooms will penetrate into the living rooms through the cracks.

Installing a sliding door is more difficult than a swing door; high precision is required. Moving leaves require precise installation between each other and in relation to the door frame. Many people are scared high prices on sliding structures, which cannot be considered an advantage.

Various design options

All hinged doors operate on the same principle: they do not swing open, but move along the wall and other door panels. The execution has several options:

• traditional using the wardrobe principle;
• cascade;
• in the form of a folding accordion or book;
• doors moving along radial guides.

In any design, the use of one, two or more sashes is allowed.

Sliding doors are among the simplest to make and have many subtypes. It is more reliable to make them with two – upper and lower – guides for moving the sashes. However, this option is complicated, as it requires absolutely precise adjustment of both guides. The bottom rail is attached to the floor, where it forms a threshold, or hidden in a recess. The big disadvantage is that dust and debris constantly collect there, slowing down and blocking the operation of the door. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly clean the bottom rail.

Suspended structures consist of one guide at the top, the bottom is not used. The mounting location for the rails is chosen depending on the height of the door: it can be a wall or a ceiling. The guide closes decorative panel or remains open. The disadvantage of this design can be considered the fact that from the side of the door opening it is problematic to place furniture or something else against the wall.

Cassette doors are made in hanging version or on two rails. They differ from others in that when the partition is opened, the door leaf disappears into a niche. In a private house, it is better to plan such a pencil case in advance; in an apartment, it is acceptable to make it from plasterboard. Of course, the niche will take up useful space, but the losses are compensated by good sound insulation. A lot of alterations will have to be done, and the cost of the cassette will be added to the cost.

The device of cascade doors is made with two guides - from below and from above, each leaf moves along its own rail. The advantages of a system made from sliding doors with your own hands are that you can fence off zones or expand the area into a hall by assembling the panels on one side. For doors, natural glass is often used as a material; the lower guide is sunk into the floor, and the upper one is attached to the ceiling.

Accordions consist of a certain amount cloths on end loops. The width of the canvas is a multiple of the size of the doorway and is limited by the availability of free space. If an accordion-style interior partition is planned, the guides are attached to the floor and ceiling. Significant disadvantage designs: very poor heat and sound insulation.

Radius systems are definitely suitable only for large-area housing. To install it, create a special plasterboard profile semicircular shape or buy a ready-made design. Radius doors operate on two guides; they can be located on either side of the opening or in a cassette. Sound and thermal insulation The designs are excellent, but making them yourself is difficult and you can’t do it without certain skills.

Sliding doors fit organically into any interior. They have an amazing ability to transform living space. On practice sliding partitions used to zone large spaces. Closed door divides the room into separate zones, and the expanded partition returns the original area.

The experience of using sliding partitions between loggias, terraces and living rooms. Particularly impressive is the use of glass, which allows light to pass through unhindered. A partition, open in summer, will immensely expand the area, creating a single space. Sliding doors are also used in utility rooms, keeping usable space. Sliding structures for separating the kitchen, toilet, and bathroom are not used, as odors will penetrate into the living spaces.

Selection of fittings, mechanism and door leaf

The fittings have their own characteristics, determined by the type of sliding door device. The handles are hidden in the door leaf so as not to interfere with the movement of the leaves relative to each other. Recessed handles also allow the door to be easily hidden in the cassette. Locks differ in that they latch the door vertically.

Buying a door leaf in a store has advantages: the product is equipped with already installed fittings or they come separately, but are selected specifically for this model. When searching for handles and locks on your own, extreme attention is required so as not to make a mistake in your choice. It is better to choose accessories from a specialist or from a catalog.

The roller roller mechanism and guides are selected taking into account the following criteria:

• constructive option;
• quantity door leaves;
• door leaf material.

When choosing rollers, take into account the load that the door leaf creates on the entire structure. MDF, for example, weighs much less than glass, therefore, the carriage rollers in the first option are simplified and cheaper. For a heavy door leaf such as glass, it is necessary to install upper and lower guides. Impeccable operation depends on the compliance of the guides and roller mechanisms with the design, their quality, as well as the accuracy and precision of installation. For cascade doors, books, compartments, take into account required quantity rollers and select suitable guides.

Market building materials provides the buyer with a wide selection of canvases from different materials and variety design solutions. The canvases should be as close as possible to the size of the doorway, taking into account the frame. The most acceptable door width is 90 cm, but can vary between 60–120 cm. Standard height 210 cm, but can be up to 250 cm.

When choosing a product, preference is given to those that are light in weight: plastic, MDF, laminate, bamboo. Such interior doors are easier to operate; it is possible to use lightweight roller mechanisms. For structures of large mass such as metal, glass, solid wood, a competent, even professional selection of mechanisms and guides is required. You should not purchase canvas with elements protruding outwards, no matter how beautiful they may seem. Protrusions can interfere with the free operation of the structure.

How to install sliding doors - general rules for any design

The different designs and variety of products do not allow us to dwell on the installation features of each a separate type DIY sliding door. But the main points are the same for doors of any type. Having learned general rules How to make sliding doors with your own hands from one panel, it is not difficult to make a sliding product from a larger number of panels.

Before buying a door leaf, measure the opening in several places and make it according to size wooden box and install it. An installed but not secured box is thoroughly checked for horizontality and verticality and adjusted if necessary. A correctly aligned box is attached to the wall with anchor bolts, and the cracks are blown out polyurethane foam. The desired width of the doorway is 90 cm for one leaf and 120–150 cm for a double leaf door. For larger widths, three or more panels will need to be installed.

Installing a door on rollers with your own hands begins with determining the location for the top rail. To calculate it, add about 20 mm to the height of the door as a gap between the door and the floor and another 7 cm. Two marks are left on the wall above the opening along which a horizontal line is drawn. A beam is attached to the wall, the lower edge of which coincides with the drawn line. A guide is attached to the lower edge of the beam with self-tapping screws, departing from the wall by 7 mm.

The length of the guides is equal to the total width of the door leaves plus 5 cm for normal operation doors.

Next in line is the installation of the roller mechanism; first, the staples are attached to the canvas. There is no need to describe in detail the installation of roller carriages; the process is described in detail in the instructions that come with each purchase. Clip holders are attached to the sides of the door, which are best suited for all models except the folding door, which uses. IN glass products use rubber gaskets to fix the glass. At the same time, you can install handles and locks if they are needed.

Next, proceed to the installation of the sashes. It is better if there is an assistant, then one person holds the canvas, and the second directs the carriages into the profile. Then the result of the work is checked. If the guides are initially installed strictly horizontally, the door should not move anywhere on its own. Using the adjusting bolts of the carriages, the door is set in the exact vertical position, if such a need arises. Check the movement of the web, which should be easy, without jamming. Stoppers are installed in the form of special plugs or pins so that the carriages do not come out of the grooves.

For silent and durable door operation, it is better to choose rubber stops.

So that the entire structure becomes complete and beautiful view, and also to ensure the safety of the mechanical part, which can be damaged by dust and dirt, platbands are installed. Open mechanisms require them; there is no such need for a door in a pencil case.

Making a sliding door with your own hands is not difficult. The main requirement is extreme precision and accuracy in work. By skillfully applying your talent as a master in practice, you can achieve excellent results the first time.

Today you won’t surprise anyone with a sliding door. Sliding structures can be found everywhere. They are used for any type of door, including glass and metal, but are more often used as interior doors and sliding wardrobe doors.

In most cases, cabinets are assembled and installed by hand. The assembly and installation scheme is not very complicated. It is important to choose quality sliding mechanism and strictly follow the chosen scheme.

Advantages and disadvantages of sliding structures

The main advantages of using a sliding structure are the following:

• Space saving.
• Easy to install, allowing you to install them yourself.
• No need to install the box.
• Quiet operation, reliability and durability.
• Reducing the risk of injury.
• Possibility of installation tightly in any size and system automatic control.

The disadvantages include low tightness and the need to install a pencil case (in some cases).

Types of sliding doors

Sliding doors differ from sliding mechanisms. The latter can be folding, in which the doors are folded into an “accordion” or “book”.

Sliding structures differ in opening methods and the number of doors.

• Sliding doors. One or two sashes move along guides parallel to the wall in one or opposite directions. They are also used in Versailles coupe systems.
• Cassette. The difference from the first ones is that when opened, the doors are hidden in a pencil case. It can be made with your own hands from plasterboard, other materials, or purchased complete with a sliding structure.
• Radial. They differ in their original shape, determined by the curvature of the guides.

• Cascade. Each sash has its own guides. They come with one stationary and several movable blades.
• Intra-opening. The device assumes an option when, at the moment of opening, two doors move towards each other, and only part of the opening remains for passage

Sliding system design

Depending on the weight of the canvas, the sliding mechanism may have different designs. In a simplified form, the sliding door mechanism consists of the following structural elements:

• Guide with roller carriages. The number of these elements may vary for different types of doors. Often made from thick-walled aluminum profile, are used for fastening the leaf flaps in them. Polymer rollers on bearings are installed inside the rails, which provide the necessary smooth opening. Attached to the wall, floor or ceiling.
• Limiters or locking mechanisms. Used to hold the sash in the guide.

Types of sliding systems

Depending on the implementation of the design idea, sliding systems can have several guides. Most often one or two. The location of the support rollers can also be different:

• Up. This is the system hanging type. The canvas is suspended only from the upper guide. The load is distributed only on the upper rollers, and the door opens without touching the floor.
• At the bottom. This support system. The entire load falls on the lower guide. The upper suspension is not used.

The mechanisms themselves, according to their execution and purpose, are divided into the following:

• Standard. This is the simplest and most common option, which does not cause difficulties when installing it yourself. Typically non-threshold.

Designed for a maximum load of 40 to 120 kg, the design has bearings.

• Open type. It is called so because all structural elements are visible. The hanger is designed for a door with a leaf weighing up to 100 kg. Let's say you can install the pencil case yourself.
• Hidden type. The structural elements are hidden behind the sash leaf. The bottom guide is not used. Not recommended for glass doors. Due to its simplicity, do-it-yourself installation is allowed.
• With closer. A special device ensures smooth movement of the doors. The closer is installed on any type of door and can work in both directions of movement of the leaves.
• Synchronous. The mechanism ensures synchronous opening of the doors in different directions. Designed for doors weighing no more than 80 kg. Additionally, the kit includes tension rollers, cable, fastenings and hooks. It is not recommended to install it yourself due to the complexity of the work.
• Telescopic. The mechanism ensures that the doors open in one direction. There are two parallel rails on which the doors are suspended, connected by a synchronous opening device. Suspension of up to three leaves is allowed.
• Rotary. This is a new type of mechanism for interior designs. It has the advantages characteristic of sliding, swing and swing doors.

What is needed for installation

Do-it-yourself sliding mechanisms are installed on the doors using the following tools and components:

• Drill, screwdriver, screwdrivers.
• Fasteners - self-tapping screws, dowels and screws.
• Roulette.
• Pencil.
• Aluminum profile. For the standard Versailles design, it is enough to purchase a two-meter strip. Selection of lengths for individual opening sizes is carried out using calculations that can be found on the Internet.

• Wooden beam. One or two according to the number of upper guides. The thickness is selected according to the thickness of the blade, taking into account the dimensions of the mechanism. Usually - 4-5 cm.
• Limiters. The number of limit brackets must correspond to the number of rails multiplied by two.
• Guides. The slats should be smooth, and the material should be durable and light.
• Rollers with carriages. The sliding block is the most important part of the system. The service life and functionality of the entire system depends on its reliability and quality. This must be taken into account when choosing.
• Decorative plugs.

After preparing all this, we begin installation on the sashes. Installation can be done either on your own or with the assistance of specialists.

Installation

The installation diagram and procedure are as follows:

• The first step is to mark the position of the guides. The rails are installed 15-20 cm above the door, taking into account the height of the roller mechanism. Height is measured from the floor. Horizontal lines are drawn on the wall and checked with a level.

Irregularities can lead to spontaneous rollback of the sashes, especially when installing the Versailles coupe system.

• Then a beam is attached under the guide rails. It is mounted above the marking lines. Dowels are used.
• Guides are attached to the beam. Sometimes they are placed directly on the wall. Be sure to leave a small gap between the wall/beam so that the sash does not touch it. The length of the rail must exceed the width of the widow's opening.

• A block of roller carriages with fastening connections is inserted into the rails.
• Brackets are installed to lock the roller mechanisms. They are placed 5 mm from the edge of the canvas.

In the video you can see how to install the mechanism yourself:

• Next, the canvas is screwed to the brackets with screws. When installing the Versailles coupe system Special attention focuses on the absence of gaps. In the Versailles system they often appear anyway due to the synchronous movement of the rollers.
• Plugs are placed on the rails at the ends, and the sliding block is closed with platbands or decorative strips.

Installation of a sliding structure and an automatic control system is not so complicated. If you have the skills and follow the diagram, then anyone with little knowledge can install the sliding block with their own hands.

The quality of the components is important. Every element plays a role - sliding block, guide, suspension, stopper and even screw connections. Italian products are very popular, differing high quality. They provide exceptionally easy movement of the canvas and tight closure of the sashes.

The cramped conditions of standard city apartments force their owners to use a variety of devices and structures, the use of which will help save precious living space. By making sliding doors on rollers with your own hands and installing them instead of traditional swing doors, the owner will be able to free up space for installing pieces of furniture or simply increase the free space of the premises. In addition, sliding structures are often installed in large openings between rooms and become a kind of mobile, allowing, if necessary, to divide them into different rooms or combine into one large hall.

Having understood the principles of installation of such a structure, it is quite possible to assemble and install sliding doors yourself, saving on hiring craftsmen, if you have the necessary tools at hand, and the owner himself has solid carpentry and plumbing skills and due care.

Advantages and disadvantages of sliding door structures

The choice of specific models of sliding doors depends on the layout of the apartment, as well as on the design of the rooms. But before purchasing interior sliding systems, you need to learn not only about them positive qualities, but also about their weaknesses.

So, sliding doors have the following positive qualities:

• They provide significant space savings.
• Unlike a swing design, a sliding door will never open and close chaotically due to drafts.
• Such doors even help to visually expand a small apartment space.
• The advantage is the absence of thresholds in some types of similar designs, which is extremely convenient if the apartment is inhabited by elderly people or people with disabilities, as well as small children.
• A sliding double door can divide a room into separate zones, which helps to optimally use the space of a one-room apartment.

• With the right approach, a sliding door is not so difficult to install and is easy to operate.
• A sliding design can add individuality to a standard apartment layout and transform it aesthetically.
• Thanks to modern technologies, sliding doors are easy to automate, and this distinctive feature can be called one of the key advantages over swing structures.

However, it is equally important to know the “disadvantages” of such doors, since, having installed them, you will need to comply with some conditions for their operation:

• The roller system and the guide rail along which the door leaf will move must always be maintained in good and clean condition, otherwise they may fail, and one day the door will jam in one position.
• Typically, a standard sliding design, unlike a hinged one, is unable to properly soundproof separated rooms, since between door frame and the door leaf will remain at least small gaps.
• The door will not be able to contain odors from cooking if it is planned to be installed at the entrance to the kitchen area.
• All parameters of the structure during its installation must be well measured, and its elements must be installed perfectly accurately vertically and horizontally, otherwise the door may jam. However, this requirement probably applies to any type of door structures.
• Installation of a double leaf door - more difficult process than one consisting of one leaf, since the movable leaves will need to be very precisely adjusted not only to the doorway, but also to each other.
• The high cost of sliding structures also cannot be considered an advantage.

Types of sliding doors

There are several types of sliding doors. They differ from each other in design, appearance and installation of the working mechanism.

All types of sliding doors have general principle work, which distinguishes them from swing structures - they move along horizontal line, along the door and wall. But these systems are divided among themselves into Various types and could be:

- traditional sliding;

— cascade;

— folding - “accordion”;

- radius sliding.

Any of existing structures can be single-leaf or multi-leaf. Thus, a multi-leaf system can include from two to four door leaves.

If the door has not yet been selected, then it is worth considering the features of each type, and only after that decide on the design.

Traditional sliding doors

Traditional sliding doors are divided into hanging, cassette hanging, and having two guides - upper and lower.

• Bottom and top guide design

This type of sliding door is the most common and is most often chosen for installation in apartments, as it is considered the most reliable, of course, with the guides correctly positioned and secured. In this design, one or more doors move along upper and lower rails.

It should be noted right away that this type of sliding door is quite complicated for independent installation, since it is necessary to perfectly fit the upper and lower guides to each other.

Find out a completely doable task from a new article on our portal.

The disadvantage of this system is the fact that the bottom rail is mounted on the floor surface, that is, either a threshold will be formed, or a recess will have to be cut out. In the guide profile, which is installed in the floor, dust and small debris will certainly collect, which can hinder, slow down, and sometimes even block the movement of the door leaf, so you will need to constantly monitor the cleanliness of this unit very carefully.

• Hanging sliding doors

Suspended structures are also quite popular, since they do not require the installation of a rail in the floor and do not have a threshold, but move only along the upper guide.

The rail is fixed to the wall above the doorway or to the ceiling, depending on the height of the selected door and room. The guide can be located openly or covered with a masking or decorative casing.

The door leaf in this design option will be in a suspended state, at a distance of 10–15 mm from the wall, so you need to take into account that it will not be possible to place one of the pieces of furniture against the wall towards which the door will open.

Depending on how the interior will be decorated, the false panel that will cover the upper guide can be fixed only on the segment of door movement or from wall to wall, and sometimes a similar “border” is placed along the entire perimeter of the room. In the latter case, she will fulfill the role decorative element interior and will also serve as a disguise for curtain rods. The option of attaching a border along all the walls of the room is possible if the door guide is located high enough on the wall.

• Hanging sliding cassette doors

This version of sliding doors can have a suspended structure or move along two guides. Its main difference from previous varieties is the location of the rails and canvas inside the doorway. That is, when the door moves along the guides, it will go into a niche built in the wall specially for this purpose.

If selected similar design in a private house, it is usually provided for in advance, when constructing walls or partitions. Well, in an apartment such a niche is formed from a plasterboard structure, but in this case, you need to take into account that the size of the room will decrease by about 100÷120 mm.

The advantage of this option is a tighter fit of the end side of the door when closing it and the absence of an open gap between the wall and the leaf, which means that the sound insulation of the rooms will be an order of magnitude higher than in any other sliding structure.

In addition, by installing this type of door, you can free up the wall and the space in front of it, adding aesthetics and comfort to the interior.

However, given all the modifications that will need to be made when installing cassette sliding doors, it is clear that the total cost of installing them will be quite high, even if you do all the work yourself.

Cascade sliding structures

The cascade version of sliding doors is designed on the same principle as the traditional one, with upper and lower guides, but differs in that it consists of several panels, each of which moves on its own separate rail. Therefore, such a system can be moved apart in the form of a partition, dividing the room into two zones, or it can be assembled near one of the walls and cover the room only by the width of one panel.

Such systems are usually used as partitions, but they can also become a wall with a door if only one of the panels is moved. Such sliding structures are most often made from natural or polymer glass different shades, and has a height from the ceiling to the floor, so the lower guides are built into the floor, and the upper ones are fixed to the ceiling.

Very often, such systems are used to create glazed verandas or terraces - there is always the opportunity to turn the room into an open one summer zone recreation.

How can you rationally use a veranda or terrace?

Modern window and door designs allow full use of the premises of the house or extensions in winter time, and in summer period transform their open, cozy seating areas. An example is, which is described in a special publication on our portal.

Sliding design - “accordion”

The accordion sliding system can serve as a partition or door. It consists of several canvases connected to each other by end loops.

This is enough complex design For self-made, and assembly is best carried out with the invitation of an experienced specialist.

The width of the door leaves can be different - it depends on the size of the opening and the free space that can be allocated for the structure when folded.

The accordion system can be installed in a standard or wide doorway, and also as a partition dividing a room into zones. When installing it to act as a partition, the guides are mounted on the floor and ceiling.

The characteristic disadvantages of this design include the almost complete absence of sound and heat insulation.

Radius sliding structures

Sliding radius systems add a special charm to the interior of any room, but to install them you will have to create a plasterboard semicircular wall. This type of structure can be used for installation in a doorway or serve as a full-fledged room partition, installed from ceiling to floor.

The radius version is mounted on the upper and lower guide, and can run on the outer or inside walls, and also be built into it, that is, the empty walls inside will become a cassette in which the door leaves will be hidden when they are opened.

A well-made and correctly installed structure of this type can create sufficiently high sound and heat insulation. However, if there is no experience in installing a radius sliding door system and plasterboard structures, but there is a great desire to have such a decorative and functional element in the interior of your apartment, then it is better to entrust its installation to an experienced master – self installation will be extremely difficult.

Manufacturing and installation of sliding doors on rollers

Materials for assembling a suspended door structure

The suspended structure is the most simple option for self-installation, therefore it is worth considering how all the work is carried out and what materials will be needed for it.

• Depending on the size of the doorway, one or two door panels will be required. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the massiveness of the canvases, since this parameter will be used to select the fittings that should hold them suspended.

For a suspended structure, the canvas must have larger size, rather than a doorway.

• The upper guide is a rail along which the door leaves will move using roller mechanisms attached to them. The length of the guide should be equal to twice the width of one or two door leaves.

• A wooden beam equal in length to the rail and having a cross-sectional size of at least 50×50 mm - the guide will be attached to it.
• A set of rollers and fasteners, selected according to the weight and thickness of one or two blades.

• High-quality boards or panels for framing a doorway - making a frame.
• Three trims - two vertical and one horizontal, for the doorway, and a false panel that will cover the beam and guide fixed above the doorway.
• If desired, it can be built into the design; it is installed to make closing the door leaf easier.
• One or two sets of door handles.

• Anchors for securing the timber to the wall.
• Self-tapping screws.
• Fastening elements for installing platbands and false panels.
• Assembly polyurethane foam for filling gaps between the door frame and the wall.

The table below shows the dimensions of the sliding structure with one leaf and the corresponding dimensions of the doorways:

And this table shows similar parameters, but for a double-leaf sliding door:

If you are not sure that the door leaf will be manufactured independently with the required quality, then it is better to purchase it ready-made, since doors produced using professional equipment will look much more impressive.

Tools for work

Now about the tools, without which it will not be possible to make a door system and install it.

The list of minimum necessary items includes the following items:

• Electric drill (hammer) with drills for wood and concrete.
• Circular saw, electric jigsaw and hand saw.
• Screwdriver.
• Building level, plumb line, 1000 mm ruler, square, tape measure, folding meter.
• Electric or regular plane.
• Manual milling machine with a set of necessary cutters.
• Hammer, chisel, pliers.

Manufacturing of door leaf

If the door will be made independently, then you need to know what it can be made from and what models of door panels can be used in this design.

Hanging doors can be solid, paneled or using artificial glass installed in a frame with a varying number of lintels. A solid canvas can be made from solid boards, chipboard or well-treated wooden beam and plywood. It should be noted that all these materials are quite massive, therefore ready-made options hanging door panels are often made using high-quality plastic or metal, which is used as a frame for installing transparent synthetic glass inserts into it.

In any case, whether the doors are purchased ready-made or made independently, the parameters of the door leaf should be selected depending on the size of the doorway. The exact ratios of these sizes can be found in the tables above.

For example, for a doorway with one leaf measuring 865×2175 mm, with a frame installed in it, you will need a door having a size of 900×2200 mm, and when installing a double-leaf structure in an opening measuring 1765×2175 mm, the leafs must have a size of 900+900 ×2200 mm.

If a chipboard panel is purchased as a blank for the door the right size, it can be made lighter by cutting out one or more windows in it, then processing their edges with a router and installing thin plywood or glass in them.

The manufacturing process of glazed or lightweight chipboard is performed as follows:

• To begin with, the panel is marked. In this case, the condition must be observed that in any case it is necessary to retreat at least 150 mm from the edges. Thus, the frame of a door leaf made of chipboard should not be narrower than this size.
• After marking, the internal parts of the panel are cut out electric jigsaw. In order to carry out this process, a hole is drilled in one of the corners of the marking, then a jigsaw blade is inserted into it, and the marked parts of the panel are carefully cut out.
• Next, you need to properly process the inner edges resulting from cutting out the openings, otherwise they will look sloppy. This work can be done in two ways - process the edges with a router or refine it with a relief glazing bead. The bead is cut to the size of the windows, then glued or nailed along the entire perimeter on one side of the panel.

• Next, glass or a plywood insert is cut to the size of the window and installed in it, pressing against the fixed glazing bead. After this, the inserts on the other side are fixed with a second bead.
• The end surfaces of the chipboard door leaf can be decorated with a special decorative thermal tape, which is glued using a regular iron.
• If plywood inserts are installed in cut-out windows, they can be adjusted to fit before installation. overall color by painting, staining or laminating. The glazing beads should also have a color that matches all elements of the door structure.
• Doors can also be made of timber different sizes in cross-section, but the thickness of the frame frame should not be more than 30 mm.

The timber for the manufacture of such a door leaf must be of high quality and well processed.

The timber from which the internal frame lintels will be made must have less or the same thickness as the frame. The size of the bead and the thickness of the panels that will be installed in the formed windows need to be thought out in advance, since the first one should not protrude outward relative to the surface of the entire door leaf.

It should be noted that making a frame door from timber is a more complex process, since all frame elements are fastened together with extreme precision and reliability, otherwise the finished door leaf may “lead”, that is, its frame will be deformed.

• There are several methods for connecting timber, but the most popular are “half a tree” and “in the paw”. They are quite easy to cut, hold the structure well from deformation and reliably fasten the elements together.

It is better if the bars are fastened together not with metal screws, or even more so with nails, but with special wooden dowels, which are driven into holes drilled through to the required diameter in the adhesive joints of the bars. For each of these door frame units, it is necessary to use two dowels installed diagonally.

• In the lower end part of the leaf, across its entire width, a groove is milled for the flag roller or, as it is called differently, the lower door lock.

Installation of suspension system

When the door leaf is ready, you need to attach the fittings to it - these are roller mechanisms, special locks or handles that are different from those installed in conventional swing structures. In any sliding doors, the handles are recessed into the door leaf, as they should not interfere with its movement.

• The first step is to mark the location of the handle on both sides of the door leaf. It should be located at a distance of 35÷50 mm from the vertical edge of the panel.
• After this, the width of the nest and its height are marked from the marked line. Next, from top point When marking, a distance equal to half the width of the future hole is measured - this point will be the center of the circle, which is drilled using a core drill of the required diameter.

• The same process is carried out on the bottom side of the marked socket for the handle. You should get two blind recesses, having a depth to which the handle will be recessed into the canvas.
• Then, the wood between the two round holes marked by the crowns is selected using a router or a chisel and hammer.

• Handles in sliding structures they are fixed in cut-out parts using glue, for example, “liquid nails,” or snapped onto special fasteners that are pre-screwed into the resulting opening.
• The next step on the upper end side of the door leaf is to mark and secure the roller mechanisms using self-tapping screws. Most likely, you will have to use a router (chisel) to select shaped grooves for them.
• The rollers must be fixed at a certain distance from the edges of the door leaf. This parameter is indicated in the instructions included with the metal fittings kit.

• Now you can put the finished door aside for now and start upgrading it, of course, if the door frame is not already installed in it.
• Assembling and installing a frame for sliding doors is much easier than for swinging structures, since it consists of three absolutely even elements - two vertical and one horizontal boards (panels), fastened together using long self-tapping screws.

The box can be made of solid boards or chipboard - this factor does not play a big role in this case, since no load falls on the mounted structure. Its only purpose is to give the doorway a neat and aesthetic appearance.

• The fastened frame is installed in the doorway and wedged with wooden spacers, which are driven between its panels and the wall to achieve ideal vertical and horizontal walls.

The position of the box panels is controlled using a building level and a plumb line. When the structure is installed perfectly accurately, it is fixed to the walls. This can be done by drilling through holes in the boards of the box or by screwing metal plates to the end sides of the boards and to the wall.

• Next, a metal guide for the rollers is attached to the prepared beam, a length equal to twice the width of the door leaf, using self-tapping screws.
• Holes are pre-drilled in the timber through which it will be fixed to the wall.
• After this, roller mechanisms mounted on the door are inserted into the guide rail.

• The entire structure is placed against the doorway, leveled, if necessary, temporarily supported with wooden wedges, and then the beam is “tightly” screwed to the wall.
• Next, the door is moved to one side and the other of the guide to determine the places at the beginning and end of the rail where the travel stops or door stops will be attached. Stoppers in different door models may have different designs.

• The next step ahead open door, in its lower end part, in the cut-out groove, a flag roller is installed and screwed to the floor. It should be perfectly level under the top guide rail.

This lower stopper prevents the door leaf from moving to the side, that is, does not allow it to oscillate transversely.

• Next, the gaps between the wall and the door frame boards are filled with polyurethane foam. After it dries, the excess that appears is cut off.
• Then the beam and guide rail are decorated with a false panel, and the gaps between the door frame and the wall are decorated with platbands.

In the case considered, the installation of the simplest sliding suspended structure, uncomplicated by unnecessary elements, was presented. Therefore, the installation of such a system seems quite accessible to self-execution by any home craftsman, of course, subject to taking into account all the nuances and following technological recommendations.

Video: Another example of installing a suspended roller door structure