apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

If you have the cash, the company Raydoor (www.raydoor.com) makes wonderful sliding acrylic doors in multiple frames and finishes. They are not cheap (around $1600 for a 8'x6' panel with a nice frame), but they are beautiful. I'm planning to use some in my upcoming renovation.

Ikea sells doors for their Pax system that look fantastic. I haven't had a chance to look a the hardware or possible use of them outside of the acutal closet system, but I think with a little ingenuity, they could be very multifunctional. They sell for $300 to $600 depending on the width, height and style.

I'm hoping to use the silver and frosted door for my bedroom door. I also have a bifold door because there isn't enough radius for a full swinging door with a queen size bed. Best of luck!

www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10101&storeId=12&productId=42695&langId=-1&parentCats=10120*10366*10375

www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10101&storeId=12&productId=42694&langId=-1&parentCats=10120*10366*10375

I have had those typical sliding hollow core doors in many apartments and hated them. I finally threw out the ones on my current closet. I now have access to all of my clothes at once, but those doors made a groove in my hardwood floor and another uglier one in the wooden header of my closet. If you can find something more functional and stylish, go for it.

Alright, so I learnt my lesson from the tile grouting thread - not to be too positive and also assume the worst - so here goes

The two separate doors (depending how close they are to each other) will probably have two separate headers on top of their frames (connected to the top of the wall frame by cripple studs). If this is the case you need one long header to span the entire new opening. This is not a complex job but it is a more difficult task than just installing sliding door hardware.

Also, the biggest problem with sliding doors is that, unless your closet is divided exactly where they overlap in the middle then you lose a lot of utility because reaching into the middle section is made more difficult. In addition, some ppl, and Mary already brought this up, don't like not being able to see the whole contents in one go.

I recently saw an episode of Mission Org (which I DVR to catch Maxwell - stalker alert!) where they did remove the sliding doors for exactly those problems and replaced them with a single pull up/pull down concertina blind thing (like ptoo I also like to use the odd technical term) whose up/down operation works like that of venetian blinds. It looked pretty good and did the job perfectly.

If you prefer sliding doors then, as well as the thread linked to above, here is another self made one (with purchased sliding door hardware which I know is not that expensive) with plexi sandwich doors
www.apartmenttherapy.com/main/archives/002715.html

I love this site! You're hitting all my potential reno thoughts. I have ugly sliding mirror doors on my closet and have been thinking some sort of sliding translucent door or doors would be great. Also want to lose that lost center area that's covered up where the doors meet in the middle. I also want to get rid of the wall "frame" around the closet, which makes for some deep corners in the closet.

Hi Pixie.

Sounds like we have the same closet set-up. Be sure to have someone knowledgeable look at your closet. I planned to do the same thing, but learned there were pipes galore and wiring all around my closet. I hope you have better luck!

jamie pup has a good point re; structural issues and the header over the closet(s). Additionally, (and if I recall correctly) if Pixie tries to expand the opening to get rid of the corners, there is typically a double 2x4 at the edge of openings (doors, windows, closets), that would need to be replaced at the edge of the opening. The header would then likely need to expand to the wider opening.

Is there a reason why this page is wider than my closet?!

I think the wideness is due to URLs posted above.

IKEA also has a system similar to Smith & Noble's Panel Track.

I had those mirror sliding doors in my apartment, which I replaced with fir panels hung from ceiling mounted tracks. I used the same fir doors I was using throughout the rest of the apartment, but you could use whatever, really.

The tracks I used were from Richards & Wilcox; track 31, very industrial looking. Easy for a DIY mount and install, and no ugly track across the floor. You will need to install a pin in the floor underneath each door (and router a corresponding groove in the bottom of each door) to prevent the doors from swinging back and forth with pressure, but the pin is invisible. It does limit the movement of the door to about an inch short of its width--i.e., if you have a three foot door, you can only move it side to side about 2'11" to allow for the ends of the routered groove.

A less expensive option would be to hang some other form of panel from the track. The tracks are dirt cheap, unless you go for the stainless steel version. The galvanised looks almost as nice, at about 10% of the cost.

I've looked at IKEA's Pax Stordal system in person. It's a very cool look. And the hardware and construction look sturdy enough for everyday use. You certainly can't beat the price.

The previous owners of my place resolved the same issue very stylishly (I think). They replaced the standard hollow-core sliders with something they fabricated themselves--2 shoji-style sliders backed by frosted plexi, and hung on a track. Within the framework of the each slider were smaller panels to create an offset rectangular pattern. Pieces of plexi were to fit behind each panel. I'm not sure what kind of wood they used, but the framework was given a golden walnut stain (which complements the the frosted plexi nicely).

Panel Track! What an excellent idea! I've been looking at this very problem in a bedroom I'm redoing. Thanks!

The shoji idea is good too. I recently did a hall closet with half a shoji. Just watch out the dimensions listed are accurate before you buy. They can vary by up to 3/4 in. You need to find doors that fit including added hardware. Johnson Hardware makes a whole range of bifold hardware that runs from good to industrial strength, and their website has drawings so you know exactly how much space it takes up, but again, watch the screen you're buying is really the size they say it is. Some of these characters drop ship from someone else's warehouse, so they may not even know. The only downside on shojis is they tend to be rather lightweight, so they don't stay completely vertical when you open/close them, allowing them to miss the cutout in the molding if you're not careful--but they look great.

Would anyone know where to get old style (1920s?) sliding door tracks? I saw it once a magazine, but the designer found them in the house after tearing a wall down. They were exposed type: something like a rod and sliding elements with a slab door attached to them, similar to curtain rods. Very neat.

I am building a house and will have solid wood floor in the upstairs living area. Large and heavy aluminum framed glass sliding doors seperate the living area from an outside balcony/deck with similar wood floors. I would like the rails in the floor to be as unobtrusive as possible and to be level with the floor. Any bright plans or ideas are welcome.

Looking for ways to quiet down my many wooden sliding closet doors. Are their rails system that use hard rubber (ie quieter) than plastic?

Any ideas on how to make the sliding closet doors almost noiseless?

Thanks

John

I'm trying to construct a 3 sliding piece wall that I can slide in my office, each sliding wall is around 3ft wide and approximately 9ft high.
The thickness of each wall could be anywhere from 1" to 3" and made of heavier material like wood panels or framed wood with chiprock or even somekind of light metal/plexiglass. Two of the sliding walls could be on one rail as I only need an opening of 6ft. in the middle.
Is there any supplier or anyone out there that can turn me on to a supplier of such a railing system and hardware?

Robert, I am doing a similar project. We are creating a L-shaped livingroom by taking down a 12 foot wall of closets between the existing livingroom and a small bedroom next to it. We want to use the space occasionally for overnight guests and are building a moveable wall to replace the existing wall. Check out www.hafele.com! It is for trade only but if you can find an architect or interior designer you can order online. There are showrooms too that everyone can visit. They have lots of solutions for sliding doors and moveable panels that are used in restaurants and large conference rooms etc. to break the space into smaller ones. The moveable panels are stacked to the side for maximum opening. Good luck.

I have a stationary wall that is approximately 63" long. As a room divider, I have installed 2 solid oak panels each (44"W x 94"L x 1.5"D). The panels hang side by side on a ceiling track. There is no floor track and when the doors are pulled close they swing and hit the stationary wall. I have worked with several contractors who don't seem to know about this type of installation. The ceiling track is now coming loose. I am desperate! I have spent a lot of money on the doors and installation. Can anyone suggest qualified professionals to help me resolve this problem? Please help.

I'm really interested in the DIY shoji closet doors. Does anyone have pictures of their results?

When I read the original question that started this thread, I thought someone had looked at our remodeling plans. We are also looking to remove the wall that sits between two 5'-wide side-by-side closests, as well as the 1' soffit that forms the balance of the wall over the door openings. While we found some excellent pricing for 96" high X 32" wide 6-panel doors, we haven't found any 10' long hanging door track; everything seems to end at 96".....and we don't want the wheel-trolleys to roll across a seam if we can help it. Does anyone know of any track manufacturers?

I was looking to build a translucent wall..After reading through all of this I decided to use Ikea (Billy) wardrobe doors to make the wall:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99253840@N00/103458283/

Very easy to do, cheap, and looks pretty nice! thanks all.

I'm doing exactly the same project as Steven, combining two side by side closets into one. I"m trying desperately to find a carpenter who can help me, but I'm having a hard time! I have a small craftsman bungalow, so the doors need to fit the house. I can't even decide what kind of doors to use, but I think it'll have to be sliding.

Does anyone have any suggestions on a carpenter,( I'm in LA) or on closet doors that would look kinda period in a 1916 cottage?

Thanks!
madeleine
madhatads@adelphia.net

Great information here! Thanks. I have a pantry that opens right into the kitchen; it has two ugly bi-fold doors that get in the way and never stay closed. I looked into Shoji and found a good site with basic info and paper for sale (http://www.konashojidesign.com/). The Johnson Hardware site noted above is excellent for door parts (www.jhus.com/). So my plan now is to make three Shoji panels on a three multi-pass tracks. (I just can't afford having someone else do it.) I still have to figure out how to get them to hang without swinging and without a floor track. Weights? Hmm...

The IKEA PAX glass door system is a great, inexpensive way to create translucent moveable panels between living areas. I've done it.
BUT THE NEXT STEP I want to try is to use an entire PAX unit as a moveable partition by mounting the whole thing on wheels, a la some techniques used by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban. Has anyone managed to do this, or to build similar closet/storage units using, say, 3/4-inch birch plywood and stock mirrored sliding closet doors, and mount the units on wheels so space can be enlarged, enclosed, reduced, et cetera?

Thanks for all your comments. I actually went to explore all the options listed, but I ended up with a different solution.
I looked at the IKEA Pax system for my closets and I found 2 problems. One is that comes only in fixed sizes, and it did not fit my space, unless I had to do a costly remodel. The other is that since I was looking for sliding doors to create an additional storage space (I am building a set of sliding doors along the wall of my bedroom, and we are creating behind it an area that we are going to use as a closet), the Pax system has a rail on the floor which makes it unusable for the purpose.
Raydoor has only wood panels, and I wanted a combination with some aluminum.
I looked around online and I found Modernus.com (http://www.modernus.com). They have beautiful doors, and all their sliders are fully suspended. Their sizes are totally custom, which fits my bill.
They are a little bit more, but I really think that considering the different quality, they are totally worth it.

Matt:

I am looking to build a "glass wall" to section off my home office. its about 8'5" height and 8' wide. is this close to the size of yours? can you give me an idea how much did modernus cost you?

You may want to consider NY Sliding Door, which manufactures standard and custom sizes for closet doors and room dividers.

The product is aluminum and tempered glass and is very cost effective.

www.nyslidingdoor.com

I had a similar predicament of having a rather wide closet opening and wanting an aesthetic that is customized to my liking. What I did was research my local listing for a company who specialized in closet doors (in Las Vegas, there are only a handful) and inquired with each one if they make custom closet doors. All but one (www.closetdoorsdirect.com) only did standard doors and standard sizes.

My idea was to convert two really handsome, antique (early 1900's I believe) doors, which are decorated with lovely ornaments, into four sliding closet door panels which spanned roughly 12 1/2 feet wide. It turned out fabulously! It looks much nicer than the standard closet door treatments.

Since you asked about a movable wall, check out T-Concepts. (www.t-concepts.com)

They have all types of translucent sliding doors, closet doors, and panels. Their products are really modern and cover a few different price points.


www.T-Concepts.com