I want to install a bi-fold door on a closet opening which doesn't have molding. It's a clean drywall opening from out to in. A bi-fold door has the sliding track which mounts to the top and I want it installed flushed with the front wall. Unfortunately, the track will be seen on a plain and clean opening. Anyone know of a way to hide the track without installing a door molding?
Gracias
Don't mount the track flush with the front wall.
Rip a piece of thin stock to the "height" of the track and use construction adhesive to glue it to the face of the track. Mount the track so that the wooden strip is flush with the face of the orginal walls, fill any gap with drywall mud or wood putty, sand smooth and paint to match the walls.
Just make sure your doors will operate properly with the wooden strip attached to the track.
Quarter round might work, depending on the size of the tack. Some installers use that, especially if there is already trim around the opening. They'll use quarter round down the sides too to hide any gap between the opening and the bi-fold door.
If there is no trim, some installers will simply install trim - it could be any type of wood with any type of profile - across the top of the opening, mounting it low enough to cover the track. If it sized and profiled correctly, like to match a head board or piece of furniture, it could add a nice feature to the room.
The method I suggested was to fulfill the OP's desire to keep the "clean" look of the current opening by essentially extending the wall above the opening down to hide the track.
No, invisible paint has been discontinued.
But what's your objection to hiding it with wood? Those tracks are usually in the range of 1/2" x 1". Mount the track toward the back of the opening and nail on a 1x2 abutting and in front of it. Arrange things to leave at least 1/4" space between the molding edge and opening; round over the bottom edge, paint it and it will look much better than a strip of mill finish aluminum.
I haven't seen an extruded aluminum bi-fold track since the '60s, these days they all seem to be made from sheet steel that is folded into a track and painted white. Also if the track is installed flush with the drywall or jamb, the doors will probably sit proud of the drywall or jamb, because most tracks are narrower than a standard 1 3/8" door. Check your actual measurements before proceeding.
Non- symmetrical 1/4 x 1/2 inch quarter-round painted to match the opening should be able to hide almost any track I have seen.
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