Installation of sliding doors: step by step instruction

Sliding doors - an ideal solution for small rooms. Such designs do not hide space, besides, they look very original and non-standard. In this article we will talk about the features and types of such doors, and also tell you how to install a sliding door with your own hands.

Types of sliding doors

Similar designs can be classified according to different characteristics. For example, depending on the design features, sliding interior doors are divided into:

• cascading structures;
• radial doors;
• door-accordion;
• single-leaf, two-leaf, three-leaf doors.

Doors can also be made of different materials, the most popular are wooden and glass structures. This factor is important in the event that the system is supposed to install by oneself. For example, for mounting the simplest wooden door you need a guide with one groove, as well as two carriages with rollers. In the case of installing a glass door, you will have to stock up on a large number of materials, namely, to prepare many roller mechanisms, since heavy glass exerts considerable pressure on the entire structure.

Glass fabrics with poor fastening risk falling and breaking, so they are recommended to be mounted using two rails: top and bottom. This way of installation will ensure good stability of the door. Sliding mechanisms themselves in this case are fixed between two plates, padded inside with special rubber pads.

Sliding door systems are of two types:

1. The concealed in-wall mechanism provides such a functioning structure, in which it hides in the wall. It is possible to mount such a door only at the stage of the wall construction, since in its thickness it is necessary to provide a clearance in which the doors will be hidden. It should be taken into account that the thickness of the wall will increase, and this will reduce the free space in the room. But the door itself will later save much more space than a conventional swing design.
2. Doors with an open mechanism can be mounted not only during the construction of walls, but also at any convenient time. If there is such a mechanism, the sashes will move along the wall, but for this it is necessary to provide free space on the side to which the door will open.

An external sliding mechanism allows the use of a lot of door movement options, so you can choose the most convenient way. To cover a very wide doorway, it is recommended to use systems with four doors, where the inner linens will open to the outside.

Before installing the sliding door, you should familiarize yourself with their classification by type of fixation. Depending on this characteristic, three types of designs are distinguished:

1. Doors that are fixed on the top suspension.
2. Constructions that are fixed to the lower suspension. With this method of fixing, a small threshold is obtained at the bottom, which is acceptable for cabinets and dressing rooms, but inconvenient for interior doors. You can drown the floor in the floor, but this will require additional time and labor. But the installation of systems on the lower suspension is the fastest and easiest process.
3. Doors that are fixed in the above two ways. This type of installation is considered the most reliable and durable.

Advantages and disadvantages of sliding doors

Before installing sliding interior doors, it does not hurt to get acquainted with the pros and cons of such designs. First, let's look at the advantages:

The advantage of the sliding doors is their originality and non-standardity, attractive and unusual appearance;

saving space - another advantage of such systems. You can not put furniture or other interior items behind a regular swinging door, whereas in the presence of a sliding structure, the entire area of ​​the room can be used with good reason;

an undeniable advantage is considered the safety of such doors, because it is simply impossible to hit a hard corner in the dark;

sliding doors do not swing open from a draft.

Similar designs are not without drawbacks, among which one can distinguish the following:

• is a complex and labor-intensive method of installation;
• if the door is not mounted independently, you will have to spend money to pay for the work of the masters;
• low sound and heat insulating properties can also be classified as flaws;
• if the system has a hidden intra-wall mechanism, it is rather problematic to look after it. If you need to clean the space in the thickness of the wall, just vacuum it with a convenient nozzle, but for a small repair of the structure part of the wall will have to be dismantled;
• over time, some videos may become unusable and require replacement.

Installation of the sliding door

Regardless of the mechanism of operation and attachment, all sliding doors consist of the same type of elements. These include guides, roller mechanisms, as well as the door leaves themselves. In addition, various decorative details, locks, dodgers, as well as various accessories in the form of locks and handles are used. The installation of the sliding system can be described step by step.

Step 1: Assemble the

guide profiles The first step is to mark the wall in the places where the structure will subsequently be installed. Orienting on this marking, on the surface are fixed guides for sliding doors. If the system will have lower suspensions, they can be cut into the floor to get rid of the sill. In this case, in the thickness of the floor covering will have to make a gap, but it is possible to provide everything in advance and fix the guides on the concrete screed even before the floor is finished.

Important: during the installation of profiles, it is necessary to check their horizontality using the building level.

The next step is to install the upper guide profile. This profile must be fixed strictly above the lower one, and its position can be checked by means of a control line. The height of the installation of the upper profile should be equal to the height of the door itself and take into account a small increase of 1.5-2 cm. This increase is necessary to provide gaps between the door leaf and the ceiling and floor surfaces. Please note that the guides must be mounted horizontally, so that the structure is level and does not move spontaneously.

With regard to the length of the guide profile, this figure should be equal to the double width of the blade and take into account the increase of 5 cm for normal door travel. If there is a door closer in the system, you need to leave a stock for it.

When installing a conventional wooden structure, the profiles can be fixed with brackets, but if it is a heavy door made of glass or a massive board, it is better to further strengthen the system with a wooden beam. First, such a bar is mounted on the wall, and later the guiding profile is fixed on it.

If the wall in the house is lined with brick or consists of cast-in-place concrete, then dowels should be used as fixing elements. In the case of a plasterboard wall, in its frame it is necessary to equip an additional profile in advance, and the installation of the guide must be carried out directly on it. In work it is recommended to use anchors for plasterboard.

Step 2: fixing the holders and fittings

The next step in the installation of sliding doors is the reinforcement on the cloth of the brackets that will hold the door on the roller carriages. These brackets are mounted according to the instructions and are located on the sides of the upper end. The optimal type of holders for all types of sliding systems, with the exception of the accordion design, are clamps that are attached to the sides of the door. In the case of a glass cloth, metal fasteners with rubber gaskets are used, between which glass is fixed. Such clamps eliminate the need to drill holes in the glass door for fasteners.

When assembling an accordion door, special brackets with a swivel roller are placed on each section of the door.

During the installation process, the door holders can also be equipped with handles and locks, if necessary. Then, when the sliding system takes its place and is adjusted, it will be possible to install the locking mechanism of the lock. Take into account that when installing hidden systems, handles and other accessories must be deepened into the thickness of the door leaf.

Step 3: hanging the door

The next step in the installation of the sliding door with your hands is the direct installation of the door flaps. This work is better done together. One person will hold the door until the second one drives the carriages into the grooves of the guide profiles. If the door acts as an interior partition and the profiles are mounted from wall to wall, the rollers for the sliding door are pre-inserted into the groove through a specially designed window. After this, the bracket-holders on the end of the canvas are joined to the anchor that extends from the carriage.

Step 4: Installation of door closers and limiters

To ensure that the carriages with the rollers do not fall out of the grooves of the guide profiles, it is necessary to put limiters. As such limiters are used special plugs for the shape of the profile, as well as pins, which are installed in the guide in designated places.

Tip: make sure that the door does not make loud noises when opening, select the limiters with rubber stops. Such details also will not allow the moving parts of the system to deteriorate too quickly.

Step 5: Assembling the gates and casing

The casing for the sliding door is mounted to protect the mechanism from dust and various contaminants. Another function of such details is decorative. Platbands are used to give a neat look to systems with an open mechanism, for an intra-wall door they are not needed.

Platbands are mounted on the wall using brackets, but you can fix them on the guide profile with special latches.

Step 6: Adjustment of the assembled structure

The last step in the installation of the sliding door is to check the result of the work and adjust the system. If at the initial stage of the door installation the guide profiles were fixed strictly horizontally, the web should be kept flat and do not move anywhere by yourself. In this case, the adjustment process does not take much time. It will be enough to check whether the door to the restraining structure fits tightly, whether the cloth moves parallel to the floor, whether there are any unnecessary gaps in the places of contact of the door with the wall. At the very end of the work, you also need to check whether the flaps are easily and freely moved along the guides, whether the fittings work properly, whether all the details are well fixed.

Sliding doors, photo:

Sliding interior doors.

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