Sliding interior doors are increasingly being installed not only in apartments, but also in country houses, office buildings. Such sections have a number of advantages, the main of which are space saving and an increase in the useful area of the room.
Advantages and disadvantages of interior sliding doors
The choice of this functional element of the interior is due to a number of advantages:
- increase in the useful area of the room;
- do not slam when drafts;
- pets cannot open them;
- the ability to automate the mechanism;
- lack of thresholds.
Sliding systems for interior doors also have drawbacks: first of all, poor sound insulation and the high cost of fittings. The first takes place when embedding the mechanism in the wall. If you place the sliding door mechanism along the wall, the sound permeability will decrease.
Mechanisms for sliding interior doors can be improved by installing special sensors. In addition, when automating sliding doors, access levels can be taken into account. That is, the door can be opened by code, plastic card or fingerprint.
Design and types of sliding doors
Sliding systems for interior doors consist of the canvas itself, guides and a roller mechanism. Different types of doors can include more than two roller mechanisms, several leaves and guides. Consider the principle of operation and the device of sliding doors. The mechanism for a sliding interior door works as follows: the roller mechanism is attached to the canvas, as a result of which the rollers move along the guides, opening or closing the sash.
There are a lot of types of such products, but the following are most popular: sliding compartment doors; cascading sliding; folding type "accordion"; radius. The latter are the most difficult to install. The most commonly used compartment doors are the easiest to mount.
About the quality of components
The mechanism for a sliding interior door is selected based on the following factors: weight, material and height of the canvas, the need to be built into the wall, the number of rollers. The more complex the system, the better fittings should be. So, single-wing interior sliding doors are lighter in weight than double-leaf doors, and components for such a product can be chosen simpler and easier.
Most ready-made kits are equipped with plastic rollers that are not durable. It is necessary to choose a mechanism for a sliding interior door in advance, even in the process of finishing work, so that you do not have to fix the finish of the walls and floor.
Web material
The most commonly installed classic wooden interior doors. Quality material (oak, maple, cherry) is quite expensive, but the most durable.
Fiberboard products are cheaper, do not deform, but are inferior in quality to their more expensive counterparts. These doors are distinguished by low strength and fairly good sound permeability.
MDF sheets are characterized by an average level of quality and durability. The most refined doors are made of solid wood, but such products will cost a lot.
Glass sliding interior doors are becoming increasingly popular. A special safety glass is used for them, which makes them safe during operation.
Glass is tempered during processing during production, so its strength can exceed wood. Products from this material differ in many ways: the thickness of the material, the appearance of the surface, and properties. They can be installed in rooms with high humidity - pools, bathrooms. The glass door is easy to care for and ecologically impeccable.
Plastic sliding doors are better suited for installation in office buildings.
To decorate the interior, preference should be given to a door leaf made of solid oak or tempered glass. Such products can be the highlight of the room and emphasize the status of owners.
Component selection
Accessories for sliding interior doors is of great importance. Poor quality will lead to a quick breakdown of the door mechanism. It is better to give preference to steel or aluminum when choosing a guide material . The roller takes on the main load. Despite the tendency to equip the mechanism with plastic wheels, it is more optimal to replace them with metal ones.
The more metal parts - the more durable the door will be. High-quality components can provide, with proper care of the system, more than a dozen years of service. Accessories for sliding interior doors also include a special cassette if it is planned to mount the mechanism in the wall.
Locks and door handles in the interior doors also differ. They are "recessed" in the canvas, while in conventional swinging they are installed on the surface. Locks and handles, as a rule, are included in the kit and are combined in style with other details.
Steps for installing sliding doors
Fasteners and instructions with step-by-step installation are usually included in the finished kit. Typically, sliding systems for interior doors differ in profile and type of roller system. Therefore, the general principle of installation will be the same.
Installation of a sliding door can be divided into several stages:
- marking and installation of guides;
- installation of brackets for roller carriages;
- installation of a cloth;
- installation of handles and locks;
- decorative finish for masking slopes and roller mechanism.
Information on how to install sliding interior doors is given in general form. When installing a sliding door, two mounting options are possible - placing the canvas along the wall or in the thickness of the opening.
Guides marking
To mark the guides, it is necessary to measure the height of the door leaf and postpone its size on the wall above the doorway. From this point it is necessary to retreat seven centimeters upwards and draw a horizontal line using the construction level .
Rail Installation
The bottom edge is necessary to attach the beam to the drawn line. The size of the timber should be 50 x 50 mm. The beam is screwed to the wall using anchor bolts. Moreover, its position should be strictly horizontal.
In the metal guide, several mounting holes are drilled in increments of not more than fifteen centimeters. This part is attached to the lower end of the beam at a distance of 5 centimeters from the wall. This distance is due to the need for free movement of the door along the wall.
Installing brackets for roller carriages
The rollers are assembled by connecting to the carriages and put into the guide. In this case, it is necessary to check the movement of the rollers along the guides. Wheels should move freely and without excessive noise. The ends are closed with caps that serve as a stopper for the rollers.
On the upper end brackets are installed at regular intervals. In this case, the number of staples should correspond to the number of carriages.
Door installation
The canvas must be hung, while connecting the carriage with brackets, while it should be easy to move and not touch the wall.
If everything is done correctly, you can continue the installation. To do this, the door leaf must be opened all the way and mark on the floor the place where the lower guide element will be mounted. After that, the door is again removed.
Using a milling cutter, a full-length groove is made at the lower end of the web. The depth and width of the groove depends on the size of the lower leash. For free movement on the mechanism, it should be a little larger.
The plumb line is fixed to the top rail. After careful measurement, the most accurate position of the leash is determined, which is screwed to the floor with self-tapping screws.
The canvas is installed in a vertical position and is put on with a groove on the leash. By adjusting the bolts of the carriages, it is necessary to achieve their correct placement. The mechanism for a sliding interior door at this stage can be considered established.
Next, it is necessary to insert a lock and a handle into the door leaf, as a rule, the installation hole is already provided by the manufacturer, and the installation procedure is described in detail in the instructions. Often, a kit comes with a lock and handle already installed.
Decorative finish
Mechanisms for sliding interior doors were installed, and only the final part remained - masking of structural elements. The decorative box is designed to hide the supporting beam. Platbands are installed around the perimeter of the entire structure to give it a finished look.