If previously only specialists knew how to make sliding doors, they could get the necessary spare parts and install everything in in the right order, then today these opportunities are opening up for simple “homemade” ones. This design can significantly save space in non- large apartments oh, and if you do all the work yourself, you can also save a lot of money.

At first it may seem that all interior doors sliding type are the same, but this is a misconception. Firstly, they differ in . It can be plastic, MDF, natural wood and even glass. Combined elements with wood and glass inserts are in great demand. Secondly, they have different mechanism. The canvas can move only along one guide, located at the top, or along two, installed in both the upper and lower parts. The number of rollers also varies - 2 or 4. The option with two guides is considered more reliable.

Thirdly, the number of doors varies, although single-leaf structures are most often chosen for apartments. If we're talking about about a private house, with spacious rooms and wide doorways, then you can install double-leaf interior doors.

Double-leaf interior doors

You can also find divisions into compartments, radius designs and “accordion”. The first type is most common among apartment residents. Simple design And easy installation allows you to do all the installation work yourself without the help of professionals. In this case, the doors move linearly along special rails. If there is only one guide located on top, then such a mechanism is called suspended, and structures with two parts that ensure the movement of the blade are of the rail type.

Interior radius doors differ in curved shapes. Prominent representatives of this type are shower doors. Despite the amazing appearance, such elements are appropriate only in spacious houses. But the well-known “accordion” will fit perfectly into small rooms. It consists of several panels that fold according to the principle of the tool of the same name. The last plank is rigidly attached directly to the jamb, and all other panels move using a guide and a roller mechanism. To prevent spontaneous opening of such a door, the design provides a special stopper.

Unlike doors that open and close using hinges, these doors move on rollers along guides. The quality and size of the mechanism depends on the material from which the door leaf is made. For example, if we are talking about glass structures, then the rollers should be more durable and reliable. And for more lightweight material, such as MDF, a simple mechanism will do. Sometimes it is even enough to install the top guide.

Rollers sliding doors

The fittings are also somewhat different from the standard ones. Take, for example, the same pens. If we talk about swing doors, this fitting protrudes significantly so that it is convenient for us to grab it and turn it. But having installed such an element on a sliding leaf, you simply will not be able to control it, since the protruding part will interfere with the movement of the sash along the guides. Standard horizontal locks are also not suitable; they should be replaced with vertical ones. The fittings usually come with the selected type of door. But if you decide to make such doors yourself, then you should choose the right additional parts.

We often come across this type of door when going to a supermarket, shopping center, sliding wardrobes are also equipped with such a mechanism, but is it relevant to install them as elements separating rooms in a residential building? Let's look at the pros and cons of this design.

Sliding door type

It is worth noting that doors on rollers look very stylish. A huge variety of designs will allow this item to become the highlight of the room or the entire home. They will look great in spacious houses, and in a small apartment they will be a wonderful solution to save square footage. Another advantage is the durability of the structure. They do not react at all to drafts, unlike swinging specimens. Opens and closes freely and easily. Plus, it becomes possible to automate this process.

For the sake of fairness, we need to talk about the shortcomings of these sliding elements. First of all, the high cost. You will also not be able to hide from extraneous sounds behind such a door, since the sound insulation is at a low level. On the one hand, this design will significantly save space, on the other hand, you will not be able to place furniture in the area of ​​the guides.

At this point we will focus Special attention the practical part, because making sliding doors with your own hands the first time is not so easy.

DIY sliding doors

How to make sliding doors with your own hands - step by step diagram

Step 1: Preparing the Material

It is very important not only to decide on the type, but also to choose the right element in size. The door leaf should be several centimeters wider and higher than the opening being closed. But the length of the guides is twice the size of the door, and there is still a 5 cm margin. By purchasing finished design, you also receive a set of fasteners along with it, but sometimes the fittings may not be included in the price of the system and must be purchased separately. If you want to assemble the system yourself, for this you need to prepare all the components, namely: wooden beam cross-section 4x4 cm, door leaf, platbands, stand, fastening mechanism and lock with handles.

Step 2: Assembling the door leaf

We take a wooden beam and make a frame of the given dimensions. In this case, all sides of the element are connected using a tongue-and-groove system. For more reliable fixation, the joints should be treated special glue. Inside the structure we place glass, wood or a sheet made of MDF or plastic. But it's best to give preference for light materials. This will simplify the door control process. In addition, it should be taken into account color scheme, because such an element should decorate the room. You can also combine various options, combining wood and glass, mirrors and laminate. In principle, you can even use swing door leaves, as long as they are the right size.

Step 3: Preparatory work

When installing interior doors of this type, it is very important to fix the guides correctly, otherwise the mechanism will not function as it should. We take a level and check how level the floor is, and if there is a slight slope, you need to attach the top bar taking it into account. You can hide the canvas in a wall niche; for this purpose they make a special “pocket” of plasterboard. All guides are installed in it, and the door slides inward. Of course, to bring this option to life, you will have to work hard, but the aesthetic side will benefit significantly.

Step 4: Marking

Now you need a tape measure. We measure the height of the door and add 20 mm to the resulting value; this gap will be quite enough. Next, you need to decide on the height of the roller mechanism, as well as the guides, add up all the values. After this, we make the corresponding marks on the wall. You can apply markings in another way. We attach the door leaf to the wall and mark with a pencil the places of contact between the left and right top corner. Then we measure the height of the guide and the roller mechanism and step back upward by the obtained value from our marks.

Step 5: Mounting the Rails

Interior doors of this type move along special rails. We fix the top element first, and then the bottom one. Sometimes the top rail alone is enough. Fastening methods largely depend on their design features. Some are fixed with dowels directly to the wall. Others are attached to a specially installed beam or using brackets.

It is necessary to maintain a small gap between the rails and the wall, otherwise the canvas will cling to the platbands while moving.

Step 6: Install the Roller Mechanism

Now it’s the turn of the videos themselves. We install them on the most massive part of the door. It should be noted that in most cases there is no need to cut them into the body of the canvas. But if you want to minimize the gap between the floor and the moving sash, then you will have to do this operation. You can cut out the seats for the rollers with a simple chisel, and you don’t have to worry about ruining the appearance of the product, because the end of the door is not visible. The rollers should be installed at a distance of 100 mm from each edge.

Step 7: Final Stage

Now all that remains is to simply collect all the elements. Place the door leaf on the side on which it is installed roller mechanism, and set the travel limiter. But it’s better not to do this operation yourself; call an assistant, since the door needs to be held, especially if it is too heavy or made of fragile glass. Now you need to decorate the opening and slopes. Special platbands and extensions will help us in this matter. And the fittings are installed last. As you can see, installing interior sliding doors with your own hands is a completely feasible task; you just need to be patient.

Few people want to have an apartment or house without interior doors. But almost everyone has thought about which doors between rooms are best to install. So that it’s both beautiful and functional, and doesn’t take up space.

This is exactly what sliding interior doors are - a slider (diverging, sliding, sliding to the side (into a wall, opening, pencil case) in one plane, i.e. doors that ride on rollers, slides on rails).

Sliding interior doors - pros and cons

From a constructive point of view, there are two types interior doors:

In this case, the door leaf is hung on awnings. Hinged doors are traditional and have proven themselves well. They give the room a rich look, but take up a lot of space, which leads to inconvenience in implementing interior solutions.

2. Sliding interior doors.

A modern solution that allows for more efficient use of room space.

Sliding doors are divided into two subtypes:

Built into the wall(in a pencil case) and working on the compartment principle.

Sliding doors hidden in the wall (sliding into the wall, recessed into the wall) have a mechanism that allows the door to be moved parallel to the wall.

The operating principle of sliding doors built into the wall is as follows: rollers are installed on the door leaf, and guides are installed on the doorway (the door will go into the wall) or above the doorway (the door will go behind the wall).

The rollers move along the guides, freeing the doorway for passage.

.

They consist of small lamellas (wood or plastic), which, when moved, can significantly save space.

The principle of the device is interesting, but cheap options are not practical. Instructions for assembling and installing accordion doors are supplied by the manufacturer.

Material prepared for the website www.site

Advantages of sliding doors:

• unusual, non-standard solution;

• absence of blind areas and problems with furniture placement;

• safety. The owner of sliding doors is not in danger of hitting the corner of the door in an unlit room (however, you need to be careful, children can stick their fingers between the wall and the door);

• such a door will not open with a draft.

Disadvantages of sliding doors:

• high installation cost. But by doing the work yourself, the costs are kept to a minimum and are no higher than when installing swing doors;

• poor insulation. The absence of obstacles to the penetration of noise, light, and odors can be eliminated by installing a felt gasket on the end of the door;

• difficulty in caring for the pencil case, i.e. the place where the sliding door goes when hidden design. This problem can be solved in two ways. Using a vacuum cleaner with the attachment removed, remove debris from the pencil case. The second option, more radical, involves removing drywall from one side of the wall. It should be noted that in a residential building, the vacuum cleaner copes with the task perfectly;

• difficulty of repair. When installing a sliding door yourself, you can buy several rollers in reserve to replace them if necessary.

Mechanism for sliding doors – sliding systems

As you can see, the main difference between sliding doors and swing doors is their functioning mechanism, which determines the door movement options.

Thus, the sliding mechanism for interior doors can be:

1. In-wall (hidden mechanism). As the name suggests, this mechanism allows the door to move inside the wall. The system of such doors should be implemented at the stage of wall construction, because a free space– pencil case for a sliding door. Consequently, the wall becomes thicker by the width of the pencil case. This somewhat reduces usable area, but the walls are freed up, near which you can install furniture, hang pictures or put flowers.

2. External (open mechanism). This sliding door system can be installed at any time, because... does not require rebuilding the wall. In this case, the door moves along guides along the wall. Therefore, you need to leave free space on one or both sides of the wall (depending on the number of sashes and the direction of their movement).

It is worth noting that there are quite a lot of door movement options with an external mechanism (see diagram). This allows you to choose the best method for a specific room. Sliding doors consisting of four leaves deserve special attention. Here interior doors open towards the outside. This is especially important when you need to close a wide doorway or niche.

Guides for sliding doors

The last thing to consider before you start installing sliding doors is the guide rails (profiles) along which the door moves during operation. They can be placed on top or bottom, or on both sides.

• top guides. The most popular way. They should be used when the weight is low door leaf. The guides located at the top last longer and are less susceptible to breakage;

• bottom guides. Rarely used on their own as they are easily deformed by simply being stepped on. In addition, the runners will need constant cleaning. And a door without an upper support will not slide smoothly;

• combined. Used for heavy weight doors or to open them more smoothly.

In this article we will look at how to install sliding interior doors with an external sliding mechanism.

1. Material

Knowing everything related to the types and mechanisms of door functioning, you can begin purchasing materials and preparing tools.

We will need:

1. the door itself (leaf, frame, trim);
2. accessories (guide profiles (runners), rollers, handles, locks);
3. timber 50x30 for fastening the guide.
4. hardware for fastening;
5. level;
6. roulette;
7. hacksaw with fine teeth;
8. drill;
9. chisel.

Advice. When the door weighs more than 27 kg. you need to use 4 rollers; for lighter ones, two are enough.

To prevent handles and locks from deforming the wall and spoiling the wallpaper when moving apart, it is worth installing hidden options, i.e. the ones that crash into the door.

2. Preparation

At this stage, it becomes clear where exactly the door will be installed and in which direction it will open. If two sliding doors are installed side by side, then you need to consider the convenience of opening them.

Advice. Sliding doors can be hung on common long upper runners or hidden in one pencil case. In this case, the width of the pencil case should be sufficient.

Can be dismantled if necessary old door, and the doorway is brought into the desired state and the door frame is installed, taking into account the gap between the door and the finished floor.

Advice. For residential premises the gap should be 10 mm. If the finished floor has not yet been poured (laid), then you need to take into account the height of the screed, leveling and thickness flooring.

3. Interior doorway

• We determine the dimensions of the doorway - the height and width of the door are measured.

Advice. It is better to take measurements at several points (top, middle, bottom). The door height is replaced in closed and open state. This is necessary to take into account possible unevenness on the floor.

• The beam is installed. To do this, draw a straight line over the top edge of the box. The distance from the box to the line is equal to the width of the guide. The timber is attached exactly to the line. In this case, the middle of the beam should be located above the right side of the interior door frame if the door opens to the right.

Advice. The width of the beam must be sufficient so that after installing the platbands, the door can close freely.

• Upper guide profiles for sliding doors are installed. The runners are installed on the timber and secured with hardware.

Advice. To check the correct installation of the runners, you need to run a roller over them. When sliding smoothly, you can begin further work. If problems arise, it is better to remove them immediately.

• The lower runners (rails) are installed. To do this, you can choose one of several options:

• a part of the subfloor (or parquet, laminate, tile) is selected and the lower guide is inserted there. The lower rollers will move along it;

• the guide is installed directly on the floor (parquet, laminate), and in order not to destroy it, a threshold is installed;

• installation of the guide knife. But, since the system of lower guides is rarely used, if necessary, a so-called packet knife is often installed. Its purpose is to hold the door and prevent it from deviating from the given direction of movement.

The threshold-free sliding door system allows the door to operate without destroying the floor covering (there is no need to lay rails). The mechanism works thanks to carriages with rollers on ball bearings, which move along guides with shock absorbers and a bottom liner. The top guide is hidden behind decorative overlay, in the same color as the door.

4. Assembling sliding doors

We hang rollers (roller mechanism) on the upper end of the door.

At the bottom end, at a distance of 15 mm. Holes are drilled from both edges. A groove is selected between them along the entire length. Its width is 2 mm. exceeds the width of the knife. The depth is equal to the height of the knife and is usually 10-18 mm. The part of the end without a groove will act as a natural limiter for the door travel.

5. Installation of fittings for sliding doors

Installation includes installing handles and inserting a lock. This must be done carefully so as not to damage the appearance of the door. This procedure is often entrusted to specialists.

6. Installation of a sliding interior door

The door is installed in the guides. After the door has been moved, limiters (rubber shock absorbers) are inserted into the runners; they will not allow the door to “fall out” of the guides when opening and will soften the stop.

7. Decorative design of sliding doors

To make the doorway look beautiful, you need to close all structural elements. Platbands are used for this. They are installed on the door frame and top runners.

But it is not required condition, because often structural elements are an integral part of the solution. For example, when using high-tech or modern style.

The installed door in section will have the appearance shown in the diagram (drawing).

Instructions for installing sliding interior doors video

8. Care and operation of sliding doors

To ensure that doors do not create problems during operation, you need to properly care for them. To do this you need:

• avoid getting water on the door to prevent it from leaking (if the door is made of wood);

• keep the guides clean. Debris that gets inside the guides will cause the door to be difficult to close;

• close the door smoothly. Do not close the door with force, this will accelerate the wear of the rollers. In the worst case, the stopper may fall out and the door will “fly” out of the guides;

• Check the condition of the fittings from time to time. It is easier to replace the rollers in time than to deform the guide profiles over time;

• use special means for door and glass care.

Conclusion

Correct installation of sliding doors between rooms and timely replacement of components is the key to the long-term functioning of any door.

Sliding structures are becoming increasingly popular due to their appearance and the ability to save space in the room. They are actively used for zoning space. When deciding to install such a door, you need to know its types and features.

Advantages and disadvantages

The sliding design has both its pros and cons. Positive aspects of use include:

• Space saving. This is very important in small rooms.
• External attractiveness. They look unusual and interesting compared to ordinary swing doors.
• Ease of use. This is especially important for people with disabilities.

The disadvantages include the following:

• Although sliding products save space, they create difficulties when placing furniture next to them. It will have to be placed so that there is no interference when opening and closing the door.
• Low sound insulation. For a single leaf, this problem is solved with the help of an adjacent strip, to which it will fit tightly when closing.

Sliding structure and its types

Products vary in appearance. Their design could be as follows:

• sliding;
• harmonic.

Each of them has its own characteristics, described below.

Accordion door

Its peculiarity is that when opened it folds several times without leaving the doorway. The leaf of such a door will consist of several identical parts connected to each other by rods or strips. Individual parts can be made from the most different materials with glass or leather inserts. Rollers are attached to each of them to move along the guide.

These doors will be the most economical in terms of the space they occupy. But they narrow the doorway, so it may have to be widened. Such products are actively used for zoning the space of a room; they replace partitions. But it is worth considering that these structures have a relatively short service life.

External sliding door

It can be made from one or several canvases standard size using guides. You can install the product different ways depending on the movement of the canvases, which can:

• walk along the wall;
• hide in the wall;
• hide in a special niche.

A door that moves along the wall when opening and closing is the easiest to make. Its sliding is ensured by guides.

In order to hide the canvas in the wall, the doorway should be twice as wide as the door itself. You can make a pencil case from drywall yourself or install a ready-made metal cassette.

The niche in which the door will be hidden can be attached to a wall made of any material. The easiest way to do it is from plasterboard. But such a niche will occupy useful space in the room.

Installation Tools

You can install interior sliding doors with your own hands if you have necessary tools. These include:

• pencil, tape measure, level;
• screwdriver, hexagon;
• screwdriver;
• self-tapping screws

What you need to know before starting installation

Before purchasing a door, you first need to determine the size of the opening. Its width and height are measured at several points. If the measured values ​​differ from each other, then the smaller of them is taken as the basis. The opening is leveled.

The wall along which the structure will slide must be smooth, without bulges. Otherwise, the canvas may cling to them.

The mounting of the guides must be perfectly level for the door to function correctly.

Installing a door with two tracks

This installation method is used for structures with several canvases.

Don't forget to check that the sliding system is working correctly. The door must move silently, and there should be no gaps between it and the false vertical strip.

Hanging

Another way to install sliding structures is hanging. In this case, the door will not move in the opening itself, but along the wall. Unlike the method described above, here a flag roller is installed instead of the lower guide in order to prevent transverse vibrations of the web. There should be a special groove for it at the bottom end, which you can make yourself using a chisel or an electric router.

Hanging a door has the following steps:

When installing a structure using hanging, you need to take into account its weight and the material from which the wall is made. Hanging on concrete or brick wall will not cause problems, but drywall may not support the large mass of the product.

Installing an accordion door

The accordion-shaped sliding structure is sold disassembled. As a rule, the product comes with instructions with detailed description collection and installation process. Let's list the main steps.

A responsible approach to selection and installation will guarantee that the sliding door will serve for many years.

Exist different systems opening doors, one of the most convenient is sliding doors. Such a system can save space in the room, since it does not require a large opening area and can fit well into any interior. Making sliding doors with your own hands - interesting activity, which can save money on the purchase of a finished product.

Advantages of a sliding design

• Sliding doors have many advantages, the main one being the ability to save space.
• Installing such a door is not difficult even for a beginner; it does not require you to carry complex instrument or have special knowledge.
• Installing such a door will take much less time than installing a regular one; Assembling a box for it is much easier.
• You can create sliding doors with your own hands by purchasing suitable fittings and any door leaves that suit your taste.

Where to start?

Before you buy Construction Materials, accessories, tools, you will need to arm yourself with a regular tape measure. Use it to measure the width and height of the doorway. If you already have a door, you can measure it. It is worth noting that an ordinary door on hinges can be turned into sliding structure, using an old canvas from her.

The dimensions of a standard door leaf are usually the following: height - 2 meters, width - 80 cm, less commonly 60 or 70 cm are found, sometimes you can find non-standard door 90 cm.

The main element required to create such a door is a sliding mechanism. There is absolutely no need to invent it: you can purchase a ready-made design at any store that sells door leaves and accessories for them.

Should know: when selecting sliding mechanism you need to know exactly the length of the door (for example, 80 cm). The length of the mechanism should exceed it twice. It's okay if you buy a longer mechanism - it can be easily shortened, but problems may arise with a short product. It will be impossible to lengthen it, and if it is not long enough, the doors will not open all the way.

You can install any mechanisms for sliding doors with your own hands. If you want the door not to open simply from a push, you can install handles with a special lock on it. This type of device can be useful if you want the door to be locked or to prevent pets and children from opening it.

Using these mechanisms, any door leaf can turn into a sliding door. For more aesthetically pleasing design, you can make a new door frame, specially equipped specifically for the sliding structure.

What is required to create a door frame?

There is no need to buy a frame for the door leaf. It is enough to purchase following materials in order to assemble it yourself. You will need:

• 5 meters of slats; thickness is selected in accordance with the thickness of the wall in doorway.
• Platbands
• A bar used to hide the opening mechanism from view.
• The door leaf itself. You can use both new and previously standing ones.

N The new canvas will not have traces from the installation of standard fasteners, so it will look more attractive.

Do-it-yourself fittings for sliding doors will cost much less than buying a ready-made, assembled door. This applies to even the most expensive fittings: installation does not require hiring specialists, since an amateur can handle it.

Preparations for assembling doors

In order to prepare the door leaf, you will need the following tools:

• Manual frezer; If you don’t have it, you can get by with the tools below.
• Chisel.
• Bulgarian.
• Drill.

Any tool is suitable for the work, but if available hand router the work goes faster and more accurately. Preparation of the canvas includes the following points:

• You need to start work from the bottom end of the door leaf. You will need to cut an even groove clearly in the middle, the depth of which should be 3 mm. This recess is necessary so that the lower guide can work. It will serve as a stop for the door, which will prevent the door from swaying during operation. You can cut a groove using a hand router or grinder, on which a special wheel for working with wood will be installed: it must have a fine tooth.
• The sliding mechanism kit includes rollers and brackets. They need to be connected to each other. This is easy to do using nuts. The elements have special holes for connection.
• After fixing, the elements need to be attached to the top of the door leaf from the end side. There is no need to screw them on right away: you will need to trace the contours, then measure the thickness of the metal from which the elements are made, and make grooves equal to this thickness.
• After this, you can screw the rollers to the canvas.
• Making sliding doors can be made a little easier by not cutting staples into the door itself. The rollers can simply be screwed to it. This will be reflected in the external characteristics of the future door, but if you have little experience and only have a chisel and a hammer in your hands, it is better not to make grooves for the rollers at all.
• Once the mechanism is almost ready, you can proceed to installation door lock. This design element is optional and is installed solely at personal discretion.
• It will be convenient to use the design if you install handles. If you install regular ones, the door will not open all the way and the handles will hit the doorway. In order to avoid this, you will need to embed a special set of handles. For them, grooves are made on both sides, then a through hole is drilled. The outline for the handles will need to be marked in advance. It is most convenient to cut out places for them using a jigsaw.

Installation of the sliding mechanism

The design of sliding doors, as you can see, is not very complicated. Once the canvas is ready for installation, you can proceed to further steps.

Before you can install the leaf in the doorway, you will need to mount the door opening mechanism. To do this, you need to properly secure the guide profile: it must be positioned strictly horizontally. When installing it, you must use a level; the guide is placed on the floor. If it is uneven, you will have to carry out work to level the surface. If the profile is crooked, the door will not be able to open easily; if the slope is large, the door may not be able to move along the guide at all.

Guide installation features

Guides for sliding doors with your own hands must be installed in accordance with certain rules, otherwise the structure cannot be expected to work correctly.

• Make sure that the edge of the guide extends 50mm on one side of the opening. On the side where the door will roll back, the profile should not protrude. Its length must clearly coincide with the dimensions of the door leaf. If the mechanism is too long, you can always shorten it with a grinder.
• It is necessary to correctly calculate the height to which the door mechanism will be raised. It can be calculated taking into account the following factors: the gap under the door, the resulting height of the leaf taking into account the rollers already installed on it (the gap can be from 10 to 20 mm, it depends on how flat the floor is).

Before you make sliding doors with your own hands, you should check how smooth your walls are. If they are too crooked, this problem will have to be solved. It is easy to attach the guide to a flat wall; all you need to do is drill holes in the wall for it. If the walls are very crooked, you can use a wooden lath; you will have to move the guide slightly away from the wall.

In order to place the finished canvas with rollers on the guide, you will need to insert the rollers on the side. After installing the door leaf, a special stop is placed on the door to prevent it from moving to the side. For this stop, a special groove was cut into the canvas from below.

To prevent the internal guides from flying out, they need to be secured with self-tapping screws. To do this you will need to open the door completely. First, secure the rubber cushion: it is used as a limiter, then you will need to insert a stop into the lower groove of the blade. It is secured with dowels. After this, you can close the door and secure the lower stop completely. If you watch the video, it will be clearer how to make sliding doors yourself .

In order for the installation to be complete, it is necessary to install door frames and a strip that will cover the opening mechanism. It is attached to a rail mounted on the wall. The gaps can be closed with mounting foam or sealant.

One of the compelling advantages that speak in favor of installing sliding interior doors is their quick and relatively simple installation - it’s all about the absence of hinges, a difficult door frame to assemble and no less troublesome installation. In general, if you understand sliding doors thoroughly, you can identify a lot of advantages that make them preferable.

In this article we will look at the question of how to make sliding doors with your own hands and talk about how easy and simple it is to convert old swing systems into more convenient sliding ones.

How to make sliding doors with your own hands: 5 steps

Sliding doors or partitions, you see, are very practical solution in many ways, both for small and large apartments. Zoning of space, saving space, the ability to arrange furniture in a certain way - these are some of the main advantages that are worth mentioning. However, for most, all the advantages come to naught when it comes directly to the cost. I will try to refute the opinion that sliding doors are too expensive, and I suggest you make them yourself.

For work you will need: a door leaf without fittings, wheels, a metal cornice (remember the length of the cornice - it should be at least twice as long as the door itself), metal hinges, paint, nails, screws, drill.
Step 1: Process the door leaf, sand it, paint it in your preferred color.

Step 2: Using screws, screw the wheels to the bottom of the door in two places.

Step 3: We screw in metal loops from above, which should eventually slide freely along the cornice.

Step 4: Attach the cornice to the wall with one side first, then insert it into the hinges and fix the other end of the pipe.

Step 5: For convenience, you can install door handle. The doors are ready!

DIY sliding doors: let's go shopping

Before you go to the store to buy everything you need to make a sliding interior door with your own hands, you need to take a tape measure and take some measurements. In particular, you will need to know the width and height of the existing door leaf - the height, as a rule, is standard and is 2000 mm, and the width can be 600, 700 or 800 mm. Knowing these sizes, you can already purchase everything you need. To be specific, you will need to buy the following.
The most important component, without which the operation of such doors is impossible, is the sliding mechanism. In principle, if you indicate the width of your canvas to the seller, he will select the necessary mechanism for you, but for general development you need to know that its length should be twice as long as the door leaf. You can purchase a slightly longer mechanism - it can be easily cut if necessary.
Fittings for sliding interior doors - handles and locks special design, if there is a need for it.

In principle, this is already quite enough to remake the old swing door into a sliding one. But, as they say, everything needs to be done thoroughly and it is not at all necessary to stop there. You should also think about a new door frame (it will require a rail, the width of which corresponds to the thickness of the partition in the doorway - it needs 5 m), platbands, a strip covering the sliding door system and a stop strip if we are talking about lockable sliding interior doors . And, of course, a brand new door leaf will come in handy - only in this case will you be able to make a beautiful doorway.
You can select and purchase everything you need both on the market and in large construction stores. The price of the issue is not that high - at least less than the cost of similar swing doors.
How to make sliding doors: preparing the door leaf To prepare the door leaf of a sliding door, you will need either a hand router or a grinder with a drill, hammer and chisel. What you will work with is, of course, up to you, but I will add that with a hand router all work is done more accurately and, most importantly, more accurately. If we imagine the process of preparing the canvas for the installation of sliding doors point by point, it will look like this.
As a warm-up, along the lower end of the door leaf, strictly in the center, you need to cut a 3mm wide groove - it is necessary for the operation of the lower guide, which at the same time serves as a stop and does not allow the leaf to swing back and forth during operation. This is best done with a hand router, but this work can also be done with an angle grinder, equipping it with a fine-tooth wood wheel. Now we open the sliding mechanism and find a pair of rollers and brackets in the kit. First, we connect the rollers with the brackets - for this, the latter have holes in which the former are secured using two nuts and washers. Now we take the resulting nodes and attach them to the upper end of the door leaf and outline their contours, after which we select grooves with a depth that is equal to the thickness of the metal of the brackets. And then, using a screwdriver and self-tapping screws, we screw the rollers to the canvas. In principle, you can do without inserting staples into the end of the leaf - if you simply screw them to the end, the appearance of the doors will suffer less than if you cut grooves, especially if this work is done with a hammer and chisel.

Now you need to install the lock.

Finally, you will need to install special handles for sliding doors - for them you will also have to cut either two grooves on both sides of the leaf, or one oblong through hole. It will be easier with the latter - drill a small through hole in the canvas, insert the canvas into it electric jigsaw and cut it out seat in accordance with a pre-designated contour.

The work with the canvas is completed, now we move on to the sliding mechanism and installation of sliding doors.

Door installation: installation of the sliding mechanism and connecting it to the door leaf

The sliding mechanism is installed quite simply - all that is required is to secure the guide profile in accordance with the horizon level and the location of the doorway. Here you can highlight just a couple of nuances.
The edge of the guide should protrude 50mm from one side of the opening. On the other side of the opening (the one into which the canvas will open), the profile should extend exactly to the width of the canvas. This point needs to be calculated and the door guide trimmed if necessary. Installation height of the sliding mechanism - calculations are also needed here. This installation size consists of two components - the height of the door leaf including the rollers and the gap under the door, which is 10-20mm (depending on the curvature of the floor).

The installation itself, or rather the distance of the guide from the wall.

Here again, everything depends on the curvature of the walls - if they are smooth, then the guide, without any additions, is attached directly to the wall through pre-drilled holes in it. If the wall is curved, then you may need to move the guide some distance away from it - in this case, first attach it to the wall wooden slats, and only then the guide is fixed on it. You can clearly see the process of installing a sliding door in this video.
The door leaf is installed on the guide quite simply - the rollers are inserted into it from the side. After the door takes the required position, you will need to attach a stop to the floor, for which we selected a long groove from the bottom of the door leaf. We open the door as much as possible so that they don’t fly out, inside the guide we first attach a rubber cushion, which acts as a limiter, using a metal screw, and then we insert the stop halfway into the lower groove of the door leaf and fasten it to the floor with dowels on one side. Now we move the canvas towards the closing side, select its desired position and again fasten the upper travel stop of the canvas again, and then finally fix the floor stop with two more dowels.

In conclusion, I will say a few words about the design of the opening itself - without this stage of work, the installation of sliding interior doors will be incomplete. From a strip 10-20 mm thick and a width corresponding to the thickness of the wall, some semblance of a door frame is twisted, which is mounted in the opening using polyurethane foam. When the polyurethane sealant has dried, platbands are installed on both sides of the box. If you plan to install a door with a lock, then instead of one of the platbands, a thrust beam with a groove for the door leaf is installed. The counter part of the lock is also mounted in the same thrust block.
That's all. All that remains to be added is that the opening itself can be designed in different ways, and a wooden slat is not a panacea. For example, laminate looks quite good in this place (it is also mounted on foam), and harmoniously selected natural stone or regular tile. In general, there is a lot to think about here, and the choice of materials for decorating the opening depends solely on your preferences.