For owners of small apartments, swinging interior doors cause a lot of inconvenience. This problem can be solved if, instead of these bulky structures located in narrow corridors and small rooms, sliding sliding doors are installed. They will also help when decorating the interior of a multi-room apartment in the same style.
Varieties and features of compartment doors
Among the many varieties of compartment doors, one-leaf and two-leaf models are distinguished. In this case, the door leaf of single-leaf doors moves along the guides parallel to the wall, and the leafs of double-leaf doors move apart from each other in different directions. Their quiet and smooth movement is ensured by ball bearings and silicone coated rollers.
There are also cassette and interior compartment doors (single and double doors), the canvases of which, when opened, are hidden in special niches or inside partitions. Niches can be purchased ready-made with the door or made yourself, for example, from drywall.
Radial compartment doors are extremely rare, the doors of which move along special guides that repeat the radius of the doors.
Regardless of the design, the sliding door must be equipped with a roll-out mechanism designed to move it. These mechanisms are:
- with one guide on top;
- with two guides located above and below.
The ways of fastening the guides, their shape and the number of roller mechanisms are determined by the design, dimensions and weight of the door leaf.
Draw-out mechanism with one guide rail on top
The mechanism with one guide rail on top is designed to move the door leaf along only one rail, which must be located above the door. The set of the mechanism includes:
- steel or aluminum profile;
- roller mechanisms;
- locking elements.
The number of roller mechanisms is determined depending on the weight of the door leaf. If it does not exceed 70 kg, one set will be enough. Otherwise, the quantity must be proportionally increased.
To prevent accidental slipping off of the door leaf from the guide, there are locking elements installed on both sides of the profile. The swinging of the door leaves is prevented by special flags.
After assembling the roll-out mechanism and hanging the door leaf, the door will seem to hang in the air. The advantage of this design is the absence of a bottom rail, which does not impose any restrictions on the installation of the floor covering.
Draw-out mechanism with two guides
A system with two guides located below and above is somewhat more complicated in design. It additionally includes a set of roller mechanisms and a metal profile that is installed on the floor or hides flush with it. After assembling and hanging the door, the roller mechanisms move along two guides. In this case, the door leaf rests on the lower rollers, and the upper guide fixes it in the doorway. Such a kinematic scheme reliably holds the door in an upright position, which is considered an advantage of this design.
The presence of the bottom rail makes it difficult to install the flooring. There is a need for constant cleaning of its chute from debris.
Assembly and installation
Installation of the simplest sliding doors in small apartments can, to some extent, solve the problem of free space. It is not difficult to mount and install interior compartment doors in your apartment with your own hands - anyone who is familiar with the rules of construction and installation work can do this.
Materials (edit)
Door leaves for sliding doors are made of the following materials:
- plastic;
- MDF;
- solid wood;
- veneered chipboard;
- high strength glass.
Glass doors require careful handling, since glass is especially sensitive to end impact.
Leather, bamboo, frosted and tinted glass, stained glass painting, mirrors or even fabric of various colors are used as decorative inserts.
Accessories are supplied with the sashes. If you have to install non-standard doors, it is better to show the installation diagram to the manager at the point of sale. He will tell you how many and which roller mechanisms are needed.
Measurements and calculations
The sizes of door leaves in Russia are standardized:
- the generally accepted door height is 2 m;
- the width of single-leaf models is in the range of 60-90 cm.
Manufacturers make interior door leaves only within the above limits, and therefore the choice of design for installation in a standard opening will not be difficult.
To correctly determine the length of the guides, the width of the door is multiplied by two.
Measurements of doorways are easy to make, especially when sliding doors are installed during construction.
If the door leaf will be installed instead of the old door, first of all, you need to dismantle the existing door frame and finish the opening according to your plan. The opening may require reinforcement. Instead of the collapsed part of the wall, you can install a plasterboard or plywood partition.
In order for the door leaf to cover the entire opening, its dimensions should be 5-6 cm larger than the dimensions of the latter.
Do-it-yourself sliding door installation
It is possible to assemble and install compartment doors with your own hands, regardless of the number of doors, overall dimensions and other parameters, guided by one algorithm with minor adjustments in each case. In general, the work is carried out in the following sequence:
- The upper and lower (if necessary) guides are installed on the ceiling or on the wall. Their number and place of installation depends on the number of sashes. The guides are fixed with dowel screws. You can also purchase special mounting brackets that will somewhat facilitate installation. If the fastening is carried out to the wall, you need to provide a small indent so that the door leaf does not cling to the wall when moving.
- After installing the guides, you must carefully check their position. Any, even the smallest deviation from the horizontal will lead to problems when moving the doors.
- Fix the roller mechanisms on the sashes. Structurally, collapsible options can also be encountered - in this case, the roller mechanism is pre-disassembled and placed in the cavity of the guide. Installation of roller mechanisms on a suspended sash is difficult, so this work is done in advance.
- Each of the door leaves is lifted and the components of the roller mechanism are fastened together. It is impossible to make a mistake here due to the design features of the mechanism. In addition, the process is described in detail in the attached instructions. It is impossible to do this work alone, you need an assistant.
- Having finished hanging the canvases, they begin to finish the doorway. Finishing can be done in any way - platbands, addons or otherwise. One thing is important - the upper guide must be covered.
The bottom guide must be recessed into the floor so that there are no problems with the installation of the flooring and the arrangement of the threshold.