Choosing an correct size for sliding closet doors requires an understanding of how the sliding closet doors will interact with the closet opening. To determine the size of the sliding closet doors that is required to fit within the closet opening, you must first measure the size of the closet opening itself. The sliding closet doors must overlap in the middle of the closet opening to fully cover the opening and to prevent light from entering the closet through the center of the opening.
If the closet doors doesnt overlap, the doors will leave a gap in the center of the closet opening. The width of the sliding closet doors must be calculated based off upon the width of the closet opening. Each sliding closet door panel must be wider than half the width of the closet opening; this is because the panels of the closet doors must overlap in the center of the closet opening.
How to Measure and Fit Sliding Closet Doors
For closets whose opening is relatively wide, three or four sliding closet door panels may be desire. Two sliding closet door panels is one of the most common choices for closet door systems. Such a system is the simplest type of closet door system to install, and it is also the least expensive type of closet door system.
However, the system provide access to only half of the closet opening at one time. For walk-in closets or closets that are very wide in there opening, more than two sliding closet door panels will be required to provide for easy access to the items store in the closet. In addition to measuring the width of the opening, you will also need to measure the height of the sliding closet doors.
Within the measurement of the height of the closet opening, room must also be provided for the closet door track system. For closets whose ceiling heights is eight feet, for example, standard height sliding closet doors can be used to cover the opening. If the closet doors are to be taller than standard-height doors, however, the hardware that is used to support the doors will need to have a more greater weight-bearing capacity.
Taller closet doors will have more of their weight supported by the top hung track system rather than the bottom-rolling track system. The material of the sliding closet doors will also impact the size of the track system that is used for the doors. Closet doors that are made of solid wood or mirror materials will be heavy doors.
The heavy doors will require a track system that are mounted to the ceiling. Closet doors made of hollow core materials will be lighter than solid wood doors. Hollow core closet door systems is less expensive than solid wood doors, but the hollow core doors will dent more easily.
Additionally, more sound will pass through hollow core closet doors than solid wood closet doors. The rough opening of the closet itself must be measured very carefuly. It is easy to make mistakes when measuring the closet opening; many people only measure the finished drywall opening.
However, the measurement must also account for the space that will be required for the header track for the closet doors. Additionally, the measurement will also need to account for the space that will be required for the floor guide or bottom track for the closet doors. If these measurements are not account for when measuring the rough opening of the closet, the closet doors will not fit correctly within the opening.
The installation of the sliding closet doors must occur in a specific sequence in order to ensure that the doors will function correctly once they are installed. The top track must be mounted to the closet opening first. After mounting the top track, the rollers will be attached to the sliding closet door panels.
After the door panels are hung within the closet opening, the height of the panels and their plumb will be adjust. After adjusting the doors, the floor guide will be installed. The track must be level.
Otherwise, the closet doors will drift within the opening. Additionally, the rollers must also be set at the correct height. If the rollers are set too low, the closet doors will scrape against the floor.
Following the installation sequence will ensure that the doors will remain stable and will not require adjustment after installation.
