Wardrobe with sliding doors

[oakfield]

I have a wardrobe with full height sliding doors to make.
I have never done one before - I have done plenty with hinged doors.

I normally make a carcase and the doors hang from that or a face frame, scribe sides and top with fillers and either fit skirting or recessed plinth to the bottom.

How should I go about building a wardrobe with sliding doors?
I will be building carcases, rather than shelving directly into the alcove.
Should the doors be hung completely independently from the carcases, with the top track fixed to the ceiling and the bottom one on the floor?
I was thinking of fixing a bit of 2x2 to the wall and packing it level for the door to close against and then fitting L shaped trim over this scribed to the wall.

Has anyone got some helpful hints for me?

Thanks,
Mark.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

I have only fitted commercially available sliding door kits so the following is simply my thoughts on what I observed if I did it again:

1. The doors ideally should be hung from a top track. It they run in the bottom track they tend to jam due to build up of dust, fluff etc which will sit in the bottom track unless cleared regularly. My track runs on bottom rollers and is poor!

2. The top track needs to be fixed very securely to take the weight of the doors as any later sag will cause the doors to jam. Don't assume the ceiling is completely flat as any deviation can simply cause the track to deform slightly. This translates into a swinging motion not a simple up and down as the doors tend to have rollers at each end for stability - a 5mm undulation in the top track could lead to a "sway" of 20mm at the bottom (assuming 600mm wide by 2400mm high.

3. A commercial track should have the ability to adjust the height of the rollers so that the doors can be properly "squared". If not any small difference in roller height is immediately obvious in the gap between adjacent doors.

Good luck

Terry

 

[MrYorke]

When cutting up your sheet material for the wardrobe, instead of cutting the top/bottom pieces the same size as the sides, extend them by the size of the tracks and fix the track to them. You can then have an infill above the wardrobe scribed to the ceiling.

Hope that makes sense

 

[oakfield]

Thanks for those points.
I was planning to use a bottom runner system as it just seems more sensible having all the weight onto the bottom track, rather than hanging from the top. - I will think about your suggestion though and see what other systems I can find. - this is the one I was planning to use: http://www.ironmongerydirect.co.uk/prod ... 0kg/369220

MrYorke - that does make sense, and is exactly how I was initially planning to do it but then changed my mind - I will have to think about changing it back again now!

 

[davin]

I have made a few sliding wardrobes and used the same running gear (bottom running). To be honest it seems a lot of money for a few wheels and an aluminium track.
I make a base for the wardrobes with adjustable feet set into beech blocks. At least this way I can get the base absolutely level and firm, so at least I know the doors are running level on the track, and then fit the sides back and top. As long as the top is parallel to the base I can "sway" the unit to get the doors to slide flush with the sides. (if that makes sense!) To me it seems easier than trying to get a top track level 2 metres off the ground. I know the doors have adjustment but not much.
I must admit I don't like making sliding wardrobes as the doors have only to be a few mm out and the gap just stands out. I make the doors in tulip wood with mdf panels.
You have to account for about 75 mm for two doors and track from memory, so you must account for that in the depth of the wardrobe.
Good luck, and for me as well as I have just ordered 15 sheets of mdf to start making more wardrobes tomorrow!


http://www.castorsunlimited.co.uk/rigid ... able-feet/

 

[MrYorke]

Davin, where do you get your running gear and tracks from to make your sliding doors?

Cheers

 

[davin]

Hello there.

Used this company.

http://www.doorstuff.co.uk/sliding-door.php

To be honest it looked identical to Ironmongery direct just cheaper. I also looked at Hafele, maybe I am not very bright but there website confuses me, too many options and diagrams, I also like to see the price, yeah perhaps I am a bit thick...

 

[siggy_7]

I didn't go down the route of carcasses with my build (https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/finished-built-in-wardrobes-t84820.html), I instead affixed a frame to the walls, floor and ceiling for the track to run on. The alternative would be to fix the carcasses in place, fix the door frame and track to the front of the carcasses and then scribe panels to fill in the gaps.

I used bottom running track for mine, I think it was the Mars system from Buller. It's a good system, my only problem was I used 19mm MDF panels for the door and because the weight is all supported from the bottom the panel is in compression, so the doors bowed. You would't have this issue with a top hung system - but if you have a sag-resistant material or your doors are light weight frame and panel, that won't be an issue. I ended up stiffening my doors with 20mm steel box section on the reverse side.