What motivates you when you equip your cozy nest? The desire to stand out, follow fashion trends or just a desire to use space in a practical way? If everything in the aggregate matters to you, then installing sliding doors is the best design solution. Having chosen the type of product suitable for your interior, you will create a real oasis of home comfort where you will want to return again and again.
Design types of sliding doors
Thanks to the ingenuity and ingenuity of manufacturers, the range of sliding products is so large that even the most picky buyer will find a suitable option. Products are not similar to each other in shape, design, dimensions and in the raw materials from which they are made.
When choosing a design, consumers pay special attention to the last distinguishing feature - the material. For the manufacture of products are used:
- wood;
- glass;
- mirror;
- MDF;
- plastic;
- metal.
Natural wood products are, as they say, a classic of the genre. They are able to give an elegant look even to the simplest interior.. From time immemorial, good wood has been a symbol of wealth, luxury. The high cost of the goods is justified by durability, practicality, beauty.
Glass, mirror doors are preferred for small areas. They visually enlarge the room, allowing you to feel much more spacious in it. Choosing these types of products, you do not need to worry about their fragility. They are made of high strength materials not subject to mechanical stress.
MDF products are a budget alternative to wood. Over the years, they do not lose their presentable appearance and impress with their low weight and ease of installation. A significant disadvantage is their instability to moisture. Therefore, such products are not recommended to be installed in the bathroom or toilet.
Plastic retractable structures are no less popular among consumers. They are resistant to deformations, temperature changes, moisture, ultraviolet rays. Doors with a protective decorative coating will last for many years, without requiring special care.
Sliding systems are also made of metal.. Such devices can be found in pawnshops, banks, jewelry stores. However, the imagination of the designers is endless, so they found ways to use such products in country houses and even apartments. At the request of customers, the metal can be decorated with drawings that give the product lightness, texture.
Installation methods
Sliding systems are divided into two large classes: sliding-folding and parallel-sliding. In folding structures, the flaps do not travel along the wall, but move to the side and fold in the form of an accordion or a book.
In parallel-sliding systems, webs move along a vertical surface. The installation methods distinguish:
- compartment doors;
- cassette or embedded;
- cascading.
Sliding doors can be single-leaf and double-leaf. The canvases move along a vertical surface along rails in the same or different direction. Compartments are perfect for bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens, balconies, wardrobes.
Installation of this type of product is quite simple and quite within the power of a novice master. You can put them both during repair work, and after. The main requirements are a flat opening, the ability of the wall to withstand the expected load.
Along with a huge number of advantages, this system has negative aspects. Given that the paintings move tightly along the wall, it is impossible to put furniture near it.
In addition, compartment products do not protect the room from sounds and smells. This is due to design features. To prevent the flaps from touching the vertical surface, small gaps are provided on both sides.
Cassette products, as well as compartments, can be from one or two wings. A feature of this model is the presence of a niche in the wall where the canvases roll up. The cassette design provides a high degree of sound insulation due to the fact that around the perimeter of the opening it is possible to put seals.
If we talk about the shortcomings of cassette doors, the most significant of them is the installation of the structure only during repair. The second minus of the model is the installation of a false wall under the pencil case at the expense of additional centimeters of area.
Cascading structures consist of one or more wings and are considered a type of compartment door. The number of guides corresponds to the number of canvases that, when opened, are collected from one side of the vertical surface.
Installation of this model is not easy. It includes many parts that require precision mounting. Only experienced masters can handle this work, because there is practically no right to make a mistake.
Classification by mechanism type
There are two large groups of devices.
Suspension system
A suspension device is called a supporting beam, to which a U-shaped guide is fixed. It is on it that the web or, in the technical language, a suspended door moves on rollers.
Installation of such a door assumes that the flooring remains intact. Only on the right or left side of the opening is the bottom mounted roller. He rides a groove made in the lower end of the canvas. The main function of the roller is to prevent vertical movement of the product during movement.
Install a suspension system is not difficult. Installation is carried out in several steps:
- fixation of the upper guide;
- mounting the roller device on top of the front of the door;
- installation of the sash in the guide;
- fixation of limiters designed to prevent the web from coming off the rails.
- making a groove in the lower end of the product, fixing the roller.
Suspended structures fulfill the purely symbolic role of the interior partition. They do not protect the room from odors and do not provide proper insulation from noise.
Rail sliding system
Rail structures are used in cabinets, walk-in closets, bedrooms, living rooms. This type of mechanism is represented by two rails located above and below.
This design is characterized by durability. The door is firmly fixed in a vertical plane and does not allow odors and noises. The imperfection of the system is difficult to clean, as the lower rail is periodically clogged.
Having weighed all the pros and cons of each of the systems, choose the most suitable one for yourself and begin the process of step-by-step installation.
Necessary tools and materials
When assembling sliding structures, make sure you have the right tools and materials. For work you need a whole set:
- electric drill or screwdriver;
- a puncher, if necessary, to extract the inner layer of the wall;
- Phillips screwdriver
- patch strips - 2 pcs. One of them is mounted at the top, and the other is opposite the side on which the wings open.
- anchors;
- self-tapping screws;
- handles on the canvas - 2 units;
- finish nails;
- two extras;
- the rack to which the sashes are adjacent, being in the closed position;
- accessories: castors, fasteners, aluminum rails;
- the canvas. To determine its size, measure the height and width of the opening and add 70 mm to them from above;
- wooden beam with a section of 50x70 mm. The length of the beam is 2 times the width of the sash plus 5 centimeters.
Armed with everything you need, proceed to the next block of work.
Sliding Door Installation Instructions
Only a true professional can deliver a multi-leaf structure, mirrored doors or large-weight products. A novice master, taking such responsibility, is able to do a lot of rash actions, which will subsequently cost a lot.
Therefore, if you are faced with sliding structures for the first time, start with the simplest option - assembling compartment doors. If you purchase a ready-made kit, you will save a lot of time and effort. The kit contains all the components for installing a sliding system, including accessories.
When you get to work, you should be extremely attentive and accurate. The whole process begins with the preparation of the opening. The quality of installation depends on how accurately its measurements are made.
The height of the opening is determined in several places: measure the right, middle and left sides. In the same way measure its width. Then check how perpendicular and straightforward all sides. In the case of installing platbands, the thickness of the vertical surface is measured in several places and in the corners of the opening.
To avoid mistakes when installing the door with your own hands, follow these instructions exactly. Break the whole process into blocks and gradually move from one to another.
Dismantling the old door
Free the box from cashing, remove the old canvas and door hinges, and then dismantle the box itself. However, you can not touch it if it is well kept and does not interfere with the sash to freely ride on rails.
Aperture preparation
If necessary, eliminate the curvature of the walls, seal the cracks and cracks with putty.
The contours of the opening should be smooth, so make sure that no brick or drywall sticks out anywhere.
Check how parallel and horizontal the part of the opening is from above to the floor. The maximum limit deviation is permissible up to 5 mm. This is also necessary for the sides of the opening. Here the tolerance is a maximum of 0.5 cm per 2 m.
After dismantling the old box, a new one is put. It is leveled by small wedges. Adjust the angle of the structure relative to the floor and vertical surfaces by moving or pushing the wedges.
Secure the box with screws. When working with a screwdriver, you must be extremely careful so as not to damage the product.
Mounting the upper rails
After putting the box, attach the door to the opening and mark its upper border. Repeat this action again, placing the product in the opening. This is only necessary if the floor is not very even.
If the line turned out horizontal, measure 0.7 cm from it and draw another line. Subsequently, a wooden beam will be installed on it. To fix the beam, take so many self-tapping screws so that it fits snugly to the vertical surface.
The rail is fixed to the lower end of the beam. At first, it is slightly screwed on one side. To accurately determine the location of the screw, the blade thickness is divided into two and added from 0.3 to 0.5 cm, which are necessary for the smooth movement of the wings. Follow the same principle on the other side.
Before the rail is finally fixed, make sure that the gap between the web and the wall is sufficient. Pay attention to the straightness of the guide. Kinks and curvatures must not be allowed, otherwise the structure will not work properly.
Carriage assembly and limiter installation
When you move on to installing the sliding door rollers, insert the bolts into the carriages so that they protrude slightly from the hole. Run the carriages into the rails prepared for them and make sure they move freely.
Limiters should be installed on both ends of the guides to prevent the web from coming off the rails. At the same time, pay attention to the shock absorbers made of rubber pointing inward.
Making a groove at the bottom of the door leaf
To make a recess in the lower end of the sash, step back from its edge 1.5 cm on both sides and drill one hole each with a radius of 3.5 mm and a depth of 2 cm. Between them, in the center, select the groove for the guide.
The depth of the notch should be 1.8 cm, and the width 0.3 cm greater than the width of the guide, which is a flag or a knife. Taking into account that making a completely even groove is not easy, it is recommended to mount two slats or a profile in the shape of the letter “P”.
Carriage fasteners
Moving two millimeters from the lateral borders of the sash, fix the fasteners to the carriages exactly in the middle. An important point: the cutouts on the brackets in the form of a semicircle should be directed to the wall.
We hang the door leaf
Putting the door alone will not work, so call someone for help. Once you find an assistant, start the following steps:
- Attach the product to the rail and connect the carriage bolt to the right with the cutout on the bracket, while lifting the canvas.
- Insert the end of the bolt into the hole of the adjusting nut with washer.
- Fasten the brackets lightly to the carriage bolts.
- We proceed to the installation of the lower rail into the recess. To do this, slide the bottom of the vertical surface, set the canvas horizontally and move it to the open state.
- Measure the maximum opening length and mark with a simple pencil.
- Set the clearance between the wings and the vertical surface. To do this, move the bottom of the blade and mark the location of the knife. The distance should be no more than 0.5 cm.
- Remove the canvas and tighten the bottom guide to the floor with two screws.
- Align the notch at the end of the web with the rail and hang the product without screwing the nuts all the way.
- Set the clearance between the floor and the product by tightening or loosening the adjustment bolts on the carriages.
- Lock the nuts while preventing the bolts from turning.
Decoration
To hide the rails at the top of the opening, platbands are used for decorative purposes. The lock and handle are installed at the end.
Features of installing cassette-type doors
The above instructions can be used as a guide for the installation of guide rails. When installing this model there is no need for decorative decoration. Instead, an additional false wall is installed.
The distance between the raised wall and the vertical surface is approximately 10 cm. It is calculated based on the thickness of the sash, the gaps on both sides and the size of the profile.
The frame of the profiles does not require reinforcement, since most of the load falls on the wall. But if you want to give rigidity to the structure, then install the wooden bars inside and fix them with screws.
Installation of sliding doors is not a very complicated process, but requires certain skills in the construction business. If you are not confident in your abilities, invite a master better. So you can avoid double work in case of an error or save an extra penny.