Converting normal door to be a sliding door?

[dmc]

Now the new boiler and store is in place, I've ripped out the huge double airing cupboard and now have to sort out the room to be a useful bedroom.

We've ordered a HiSleeper (bed on big legs - big *expensive* legs :-/) and while measuring up today the thought of converting the door to be a sliding door crossed my mind...

I was pondering changing the way the door is hung so that it opened outwards but that isn't great as it's at the top of the stairs - recipe for disaster.

Looking at screwfix they appear to have a "kit" for 25 quid or so - anyone know if it's any good at all? If it's crap, is there a better, more expensive solution? Or should I just forget the idea as sliding doors are all just crap?

the thing I was looking at. No bottom track would be kinda essential.

Looking at

shows a mind boggling range of solutions and prices...

So, anyone done this before? The door is currently a bog standard plain painted door (crap egg box construction) so nothing too heavy.

Cheers,

Darren (now to attempt to repair the sagging lathe and plaster ceiling - I

*really* don't want to take that down!)

[BigWallop]

The simplest sliding door I have made, and is still hung perfectly after ten years, was made with nylon thread bobbins, a length of 1 X 2 inch timber double the width of the door and a length of angle iron the same length as the timber, along with other small bits and pieces for fixings Etc. But nothing fancy.

Screw the 1 X 2 inch timber to the door lintel and wall, so that it sticks out the way you want the door to slide open. Drill and screw the length of angle iron to the 1 X 2 inch timber.

Take two 4 inch screws and cut the heads off. Bend them to ninety (90) degrees about an inch and half from the head end (although you can get ready made hooks of this size off the shelf, we made two from the screws). Screw these bent screws into the top of the door, keeping them to the side that is against the wall. Leave enough sticking out to accept two thread bobbins on the bent end. Now the thread bobbins are ready made wheels to run the door on. Lift the door into position to mount the thread bobbins on to the angle iron. The door now runs gently along the inside of the angle iron with grace. A screw on the under side of the timber batten, stops the door sliding right off the runner (angle iron).

The wheels should be lubricated about once a year to keep everything running smoothly. Also remember to countersink the angle iron to hide the screw heads when you paint the finished product.

Our sliding door to the kitchen is still up there, and working perfectly. Looks just like any other sliding door I've seen. We did have a bobbin (sorry, wheel) break about a year into using the door, but it was a cheap thread bobbin to begin with.

I have also seen sliding door follow this same technique, but used toy car wheels on the top hooks instead of thread bobbins. They worked just as good.

Have fun with your new project.

[The Medway Handyman]

I've installed 3 of those SF kits and they do what they say on the tin. Nothing wrong with the kit & the sliding gear, but they look like crap IMO.

You would need to build a pelmet to cover the sliding gear and build out the door frame to cover the gap when the door closes. Also, you can't really lock a sliding door.

The kit works, getting it to look good is a right PITA.

If a customer asks me, I tell them it's possible to do it, but explain the disadvantages before I take on the job.

[Andy Burns]

[Unbeliever]

That's normal - ugly things.

Again, you would normally cover an aftermaket sliding door gear with a pelmet.

Yes you can if you adapt the frame by planting a piece on the edge to cover the door edge.

See:

get an idea of the hook lock - you can get a better quality that can be fitted in an existing mortice latch housing with some adjustment and utilise a set of mortice lock handles.

That's normal.

Cash

[Tim S]

Unbeliever coughed up some electrons that declared:

I agree that stock sliding doors don't always look the best. There is a variant though, called a "pocket door" and various companies do special frames that integrate into a drywall - but can cost a small bomb.

If I can persuade SWMBO to accept a few sliding doors in the hall, I have an easier solution which I'd like to implement: normal door gear so that the door slides over the hall side of a brick wall, then box the lot in, forming a false drywall over the entire length of the hall which contains all the doors.

I reckon it would look rather neat for the cost of the plasterboard and some battens. The doors have never worked very well in this house due to the fact they would all clash onto one another if opened outwards and inward opening is wasting a lot of space in some not very big rooms.

Cheers

Tim

[Andy Burns]

The eclisse link I posted is for pocket doors, £269 or £275 for metric/imperial sizes, no doubt the ones with glass or curved or telescopic doors *do* cost a bomb.

[Tim S]

Andy Burns coughed up some electrons that declared:

That's not so bad - I'd seen higher prices for someone else's gear - can;t remember where now, it was a while ago...

Cheers

Tim

[Andy Cap]

How about a bi-fold door ? I have one on the kitchen and one on a small bedroom and they work well and don't look out of place.

Andy

[dmc]

I was pondering

before I saw the cheaper Screwfix variant.

Hiding the door in the room isn't a problem - bit of plasterboard etc but I can't hide the door in the wall as it's a supporting wall and probably best I don't replace the brickwork with a door pocket :)

I'm just trying to visualise how crap it would look as you come up the stairs

- I suspect it might look wierd with the door seemingly (well, actually) floating "behind" the frame instead of in it.

For 25 quid I'm tempted to get one and have a play tbh :)

Darren

[dmc]

Yes, that would work.

The only bifold doors I have experience of were in a student flat I rented many years back.

Completely crap plastic things! I'm willing to be corrected if decent ones exist (although possibly harder to make look similar to the remaining doors onto the landing I guess...)

Will do a bit more digging.

Darren

[Owain]

Still available in Argos ...

Much easier to make similar to remaining doors, the only visible difference is the vertical join up the middle, and the narrow ridge of the gear at the top on the 'protruding' side. I've got pairs of six-panelled bifolds on my bedroom fitted wardrobes.

Owain

[Bob Eager]

We had a similar problem in the kitchen. The full width door was unacceptable as it wasted a lot of space. The frame was a peculiar size anyway, so in the end I paid a carpenter (carprentry not being my strong point) to make us a custom bifold door to our spec., then install it!

[Andy Cap]

Mine are 6 panel doors which match the remaining normal doors. I think they came from Wickes, but quite a while ago now.

Andy