Interior Doors On Rollers: Varieties, Device, Components, Installation And Operation Features

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-17 22:26

Interior doors on rollers: what are there and how to make

On the web or in a store, you may have heard of interior doors on rollers. Don't worry if this term isn't familiar to you. These are ordinary sliding doors, and they need small wheels to move them. There are a great many roller mechanisms, so if you are planning to buy or make a sliding / sliding door, it is worth finding out how they differ.

Content

• 1 Features of the device of the mechanism of doors on rollers

  1.1 Video: custom interior doors

• 2 Where interior doors on rollers are appropriate
• 3 Varieties of interior doors on rollers

• 4 Production of interior doors on rollers

  • 4.1 Accessories for interior doors on rollers

    • 4.1.1 Sliding door leaf
    • 4.1.2 Carriage for sliding door
    • 4.1.3 Handles for sliding door

• 5 DIY sliding door on casters

  • 5.1 Video: features of mounting a sliding door in a pencil case
  • 5.2 Features of the operation of interior doors on rollers
• 6 Repair of interior doors on rollers
• 7 Photo gallery: interior doors on rollers in the interior

Features of the device of the mechanism of doors on rollers

Despite the abundance of parts of the sliding mechanism, the principle of its operation is simple. The rollers attached to the door leaf roll inside the guide chute or outside the guide bar and slide it behind them. In this case, the wheels and the guide take on the main load from the weight of the door leaf. To facilitate the operation of the mechanism and extend its life, they use insurance from below. This can be done by means of a lower guiding channel (does not allow the door to deviate from the course), a guiding flag (performs the same function for suspended canvases) or additional lower rollers that can hide inside the canvases (only for frame models).

The picture shows the view of the mechanism when looking at the end of the door

In addition to the main elements of the mechanism (guide, carriage with rollers and grippers for the web, belay device below), decorative strips are also used. They are not needed functionally, but they help to hide the construct and unnecessary gaps, especially when such mechanisms do not fit into the interior. In hi-tech and loft, such overlays can be omitted, since the elements of mechanics in these styles serve as an additional decoration.

Video: custom interior doors

Where interior doors on rollers are appropriate

Sliding doors with roller mechanisms look very stylish, but they are not always convenient to use. Let's consider in what cases their installation is justified:

• in places where many people pass at the same time. This example can be seen in shopping centers and shops where most of the doors open automatically. A similar system is appropriate in offices if there are many visitors. At home, a similar structure can be installed in the living room, especially if you are used to receiving many guests;

  

  The doors pushed to the sides will not interfere with bringing a large table into the living room

• where the space around the opening is maximized and the open door will interfere with access to the wall or damage the things behind it. For example, when on both sides of the door in the bedroom the wall is occupied by the storage system, and the corridor is too narrow to open the door into it, you can install a sliding cassette-type canvas (it will hide behind the cabinet);

  

  Only a sliding system allowed the plant and chest of drawers to be placed so close to the doorway.

• in studio apartments, where large canvases are designed, if necessary, to delimit the space into separate rooms. A partition in which the panels slide and stack in a pile at the end of the opening will be the best solution for this case. Such a movable wall (a system of sliding doors on rollers) will provide more privacy and better sound insulation than a fabric screen;

  

  Such wide and massive doors require especially reliable fittings.

• when a door from a narrow corridor leads into a small room. A great example is the doors to the bathroom or toilet. To freely place a washing machine and other necessary items there, the door is usually opened outward, but in a narrow corridor this can be inconvenient and even dangerous. For such cases, a parallel sliding door on the top rail is perfect, which practically does not take up space and does not interfere with the passage along the corridor, either in the open or in the closed state.

  

  Provence style sliding roller doors look quite organic

In other rooms, the installation of doors on rollers is not justified by functionality. They can be used for design purposes, but keep in mind that reliable sliding door mechanisms are much more expensive than swing counterparts.

Varieties of interior doors on rollers

Rollers are used in various sliding door mechanisms. Among them:

• door leaves with two guides. A simple carriage is placed on top, and the main load falls on the lower rollers, so they are more massive. The system is designed for doors of parallel-sliding, parallel-sliding, compartment and radius type. The design features allow supporting heavy massive doors;

  

  The picture shows not a fragment of the door, but its miniature analogue with full-fledged mechanisms (demo sample)

• door leaves with one guide. Since there are no lower rollers, the upper ones take the main load. In light doors, the carriage is attached at the upper end, in heavy doors - on the front side. The heavier the door, the more massive the carriage and the larger the rollers. Depending on the height of the canvas, you can choose a guide with fastening to the ceiling or to the wall (they differ in the shape of the groove). The main advantage of such a system is the absence of a saddle, which must be cleaned regularly. The main disadvantage is the use in conjunction with frame-panel doors, they do not withstand the load of solid wood for long;

  

  This is a demonstration mechanism for coupé doors on the top rail

• glass door leaves with top guide. The carriage differs from the one described above by special grips that hold the glass without damaging it. Typically this mechanism is used in conjunction with the bottom guide chute (for added safety). For glass doors, there are also open boom carriages with even larger rollers. If the blade is low and narrow, with such a carriage it can only be installed on the upper bar;

  

  This is one of the most discreet carriages that can support the weight of the glass sheet

• folding door leaves of the accordion and book models. Carriages for these doors are smaller and the rollers are often made of softer material. The carriage is attached to each fragment of the accordion, only the outermost one from the wall is not able to move. Since the load on the mechanism is small, one carriage is sufficient for each element of the leaf (usually in sliding doors there are two of them for each leaf);

  

  Please note - the roller mechanism is used here in conjunction with the hinges

There are also models of cascade doors (the canvases move one after the other and stand with an offset when opened), partitions made of separate canvases that can be stacked in a pile in the parking area, radius models (concave or convex as in wardrobes). But in most cases they differ not in the type of carriage, but in the shape of the guide groove / strip.

The mechanisms described above are used with canvases from a wide variety of materials. Of course, due to the high price of the mechanism, they will not hang openly budget canvases on it. But models made of MDF with veneer and corian, wooden or metal with large glazing and lightweight varieties of several types of wood are in great demand.

Even open rollers do not detract from the visual lightness of this door.

Sliding doors with an enlightened glass filling are readily recommended by designers and even more readily by manufacturers. I love glass, so I almost fell for this "chip". But before buying the door, we installed a completely transparent glass partition in the bathroom, with no decor at all. And then it turned out that all the people in our house are terribly inattentive. For the first week, the pets did not notice her at close range and regularly hit her with various parts of the body, although there was enough room for maneuver. After that, I realized that the perfectly transparent glass of the door in my house would not last long. I doubt that other people are more inclined to look closely at the familiar environment of their own home. And when the difference between an open and a closed door is almost invisible, bumps on the forehead cannot be avoided. I picked up a simple frosted glass for my doorsI am still afraid to communicate with the enlightened one, even though over time we got used to the partition in the bathroom.

Production of interior doors on rollers

Sliding interior doors are a little more complicated than swing doors, but it is quite possible to make them yourself. An exception, as usual, is glass canvases, since hardened panels and triplex cannot be processed at home. But almost any doors made of other materials can be turned into sliding doors. It is enough to choose the right mechanism for them and install it correctly.

Please note: this mechanism can be mounted both to the ceiling (top of the opening) and to the wall

The first step to preparation is to study ready-made sliding doors, examine their components and figure out how they "fit together".

Accessories for interior doors on rollers

When buying a sliding door, the manufacturer offers a complete set of the following items:

1. The door leaf of the right size and design.
2. A box for decorating an opening in the wall (in swing doors, a door frame is located at this place).
3. A set of platbands (adjusted to the standard dimensions of the canvas or a set of edging strips with a margin).
4. Guides (only top or top and bottom, depending on the selected system).
5. A decorative overlay for the upper guide bar / strip and two caps for its ends (if a closed model is selected).
6. Roller mechanisms (2 sets per sheet).
7. Guide flag with roller (for thick doors) or without (for thin doors). Important: the flag is only included for models without a guide nut at the bottom. This is additional insurance for canvases that only move along the top bar.
8. A set of bolts and / or self-tapping screws for attaching parts of the mechanism, as well as plugs to them.

For the telescopic door, special hooks are also included, thanks to which the canvases pull each other. Pay attention - the handle for the door is not included in the standard kit, you need to buy it separately, but it's better to pick it up right away. As a rule, the manufacturer has a number of models that exactly match the color of the guide strip or its decorative strip.

There is no need to worry about a slight mismatch between the color of the decorative strip and the canvas - it will be almost invisible in the interior.

If you plan to make the door yourself, you will need all the products from the described set. It is impossible to make accessories at home. Even in the workshop, you can make a more expensive and usually less durable analog. Buy guides and carriages for a sliding door only ready-made, here amateur performance is unacceptable. But platbands, a box and a decorative patch can be made with your own hands.

Sliding door leaf

The swing-type door leaf differs little from the sliding one. The main difference is in size. Since not all sliding canvases are required to fit into the interior opening, they can be made different in size and shape. For example, an arched opening can be closed with a rectangular canvas if the guide will be placed on a wall or ceiling, and not in the opening itself. The main rule is that the size of the canvas should be 3-5 cm larger than the size of the opening, so that there are no visible cracks when the doors are closed.

Deliberately shabby brutal canvases can be made noticeably larger than the opening

With canvases, which still have to be placed inside an existing portal, it is more difficult. They must be selected exactly to the size of the opening. But most manufacturers offer sliding counterparts in all standard sizes (height 1800 mm or 2050 mm, width 600-1400 mm). Therefore, you do not have to measure everything down to a millimeter, it is enough to tell the consultant in the store which door you had before. As for non-standard sizes of roller doors, it is better not to risk it and entrust everything to professionals - from initial measurements to the final installation of an individual design.

First you need to pick up the bottom gutter and the flag and only then start milling the door leaf

The second point in the difference between the canvases is that at the bottom of the door it should be possible to select a groove in which the guide flag should move. Solid wood doors always have a strapping, its thickness and width are quite enough for cutting a groove. An MDF door usually also has an inner frame, but it may be too thin. It is better to install such a canvas together with a guide nut. In such a system, you need to fix the rollers at the bottom end, and you do not need to cut the groove. A plastic door can only be fixed in this way, you should not cut thin fragile material.

Sliding door carriage

The roller mechanism is the main functional part of a sliding interior door. It is he who determines the smooth movement of the canvas, the durability and safety of the structure. When choosing, consider:

• marking according to the weight of the door. The heavier the door, the larger the rollers should be, from 80 kg their number also increases. If you have a glass door in a metal profile up to the ceiling, there must be at least four rollers in the carriage. It is also necessary to have ball or needle bearings;
• material of rollers. The simplest wheels are covered with special rubber, its safety margin is enough for normal operation with light frame-panel doors, for example, made of MDF. Silicone rollers are also soft, but they are able to provide a smooth, silent running of a web weighing 25-30 kg. Nylon rollers are more reliable, they are used with doors weighing 50 kg. ABC plastic and delrin are considered even more durable, they are used in systems with a load of up to 80 kg;
• marking according to the thickness of the door leaf. For a thin door, it is not always possible to choose a roller mechanism with a safety margin, since it has limitations on the minimum thickness of the leaf. This is due to the fact that the strip or bracket that attaches the mechanism to the door must be completely hidden behind the end of the canvas. If you make a sliding door yourself, you can grab a block of suitable width into the store and try on the mechanism by eye;
• country of origin. Traditionally, Chinese mechanisms are the most affordable, but they should be used only for doors with low thickness and weight. For heavier canvases, you should find an Italian or German counterpart.

If you want a quiet mechanism, do not choose solid metal casters

One of the most important characteristics of a roller mechanism is compatibility with the selected profile. Since the roller carriages are of different sizes, they may not fit into every profile. Therefore, it is better to start by choosing a carriage and find out what types of rails are suitable for it. Taking this limitation into account, consider what kind of profile will look best in your interior.

The experience of shopping in stores with a huge selection has shown that the main cause of mistakes is inattention. More than once it turned out that if I had not been too lazy to carefully re-read the label with the characteristics, it would have been possible to avoid long adjustments or replacements. Therefore, I worked out a rule for myself - when I was frankly confused and tired of choosing from a variety of almost identical mechanisms, if I already wanted to grab the first one that came across, I left the store. Another time, with a fresh mind, I will definitely be able to find a suitable option. And even if I miss a discounted product, the saved nerves will say thank you.

To prevent the rollers from crawling off the bar, they always have a recess that wraps around the guide

Please note - completely different carriages are provided for open-type guides. They do not fit inside, but wrap around the guide bar on both sides. If you choose not to close the guide, you should start with it and only then select the carriage. Note that many open bar carriages are only designed to hold glass sheets.

Sliding door handles

Handles for movable canvases should also be selected taking into account the selected opening system. For parallel-sliding, especially cassette, canvases are suitable only for models completely recessed into the door (they are called shells), otherwise the protruding bracket will simply not allow the door to open completely. There are varieties of fittings in which the part of the handle adjacent to the wall is recessed, and the opposite part protrudes. If the opening is wide, you can install doors that slide completely. They will occupy part of the opening, but this will allow you to install ordinary (more familiar, convenient and cheap) handles and save on a bumper (a device that does not allow the canvas to get stuck in the cassette and pulls it out when you need to close the opening).

This is what a properly mounted shell handle looks like.

In TV shows, we have seen models of sliding doors, in which the handle is a protrusion at the end of the canvas. Such innovations seem dubious to me. On the one hand, of course, it is good that everyone can grasp the handle at a convenient height, and such doors look original and impressive. But on the other hand, few of my guests are able to get into the closet in the hallway from the first time, where the doors are opened by pressing, and many of the household are trying to open the doors by sticking their nails into the gap between them. And since there is outerwear in the closet (there is no open hanger), the fronts are constantly decorated with fingerprints. I think the same sad situation would have happened with sliding doors with vertical protruding slats. Most people are accustomed to ordinary handles and already on the way to the door, without looking, they raise their hand to the desired height. And if the handle is not there, the thought of its unusual design comes to mind last. Therefore, I decided for myself - the sliding door should have a clearly visible contrast handle (although I would also not refuse from automation). Better to let the design suffer a bit than spend all days on your knees, wiping your fingerprints off the door leaf.

In the bathroom, you need to pick up handles marked "plumbing". They are specially treated with moisture protection agents. Rust can quickly develop on normal handles under these conditions.

When buying such a set, it is imperative to check for the smoothness and reliability of opening / closing.

Roller sliding door locks are usually fitted with handles. They have a special hook-like tongue, this shape prevents the blade from accidentally rolling away. For glass doors, magnetic locks are often selected, they do not have a tongue protruding from the canvas. Such mechanisms are quite convenient and reliable, due to the absence of moving parts. Magnetic locks are often used with swing doors, so there is no doubt about this innovation.

If the ability to lock the interior door is important to you (for example, to an office or to a closet with home chemicals), you can choose a model of a lock with a key. There are such mechanisms for glass doors, but they are much more massive and noticeable than ordinary handles.

DIY sliding door on rollers

As you already know, a sliding door experiences slightly different stresses compared to a swing door. If the elements of the canvas are not fastened sufficiently well, or there are slight violations of the geometry or imbalance in weight, it will serve much less. Therefore, if you are not a professional carpenter, you should not make a sliding door from scratch.

For beginners, there are two main options - use a ready-made door leaf or buy a blank of the right size. It can be a thick MDF board (for decoration, you can glue it yourself with veneer) or a furniture board (glued solid wood). Since such canvases are full-bodied and require minimal processing, it will be easy to turn them into reliable sliding doors.

This is the easiest roller door hardware set to install

As an example, consider how you can turn an ordinary interior door into a sliding door on rollers. You will need an old blade and a new set of accessories - carriages, a guide bar and a bottom flag with or without a roller. The door frame and platbands can be left old, you just need to remove the hinges and putty the holes from the fasteners.

Let's get to work:

1. Make sure that the length of the guide profile is twice the width of the blade. If the stock is too large, shorten it. Drill holes in the guide strip and use them to attach the mounting angles to the profile.

   

   We fasten the corners to the profile using bolts and nuts

2. Attach the profile above the platbands and install it strictly horizontally along the building level. Take a control measurement and make sure there is enough height to place the blade with the carriage at a short distance from the floor. Raise the profile higher if necessary. Mark the wall through the holes in the corners. With the guide removed, drill out the marks, install plastic dowels in them and finally fix the profile.

   

   At this stage, it is more convenient to work with one or two assistants.

3. Insert the carriage rollers into the carrier profile and make sure that they move freely inside.

   

   Take a closer look at the carriages, some have a different front and rear

4. Trim the bottom guide profile to fit exactly the width of the door. The cut should be perpendicular to its length. Remove burrs with a file if necessary.

   

   The lower guide is thin, even a hacksaw with a metal blade can handle it

5. Cut a groove in the bottom end of the door leaf to fit the profile size and fix it there with self-tapping screws. It is very important that the groove is not too narrow, otherwise it will deform the metal strip.

   

   This groove already exists in the sliding door leaves.

6. Fasten brackets for carriages at the upper end of the door leaf. The optimal distance from the edge is one fifth of the door width. If the door is wider than 80 cm, you can add a bracket in the middle and a corresponding carriage for securing.

   

   To distribute the load evenly, the staples must be fixed at the same distance from the edge of the web

7. Now you need to hang the door on the carriages. Tighten the adjusting screw to lock the roller and bracket together. Try to gently move the door and, if necessary, tighten or loosen the fasteners.

   

   To make it easier, it is better to immediately spread the carriages to the desired distance and only after that raise the canvas

8. In the blind area of the door, make a markup for the flag. It should be fixed opposite the extreme point of the door leaf (if the door moves to the right - the flag is on the right and vice versa). Please note that the flag must move freely in the lower guide channel of the door. Secure it with self-tapping screws through the technical holes.

   

   If you are not sure of the correct point, make a temporary attachment first

9. Check the correct position of the door vertically and horizontally. If necessary, adjust the position of the blade with the screws on the carriages.

   

   Do not be lazy to attach the level in several places - this mechanism is extremely sensitive to distortions

10. Place plastic stoppers on both sides in the upper profile and tighten the fixing screws. It is necessary to restrict the movement of the door so that the flag does not slip out of the lower guide and at the same time the pushed back door provides a convenient passage.

    

    If the stopper is completely hidden in the profile, this is normal

11. Check that the door is working properly and make adjustments if necessary.

Such a system is as simple as possible to install, repair and operate, so you will not have any difficulties with it.

Video: features of mounting a sliding door in a pencil case

youtube.com/watch?v=VdMjOs0I70Y

Features of the operation of interior doors on rollers

Installing the door is not the last step. You are about to get acquainted with the new opening system, because our reflexes are already "sharpened" for swing doors. Therefore, in the first days, people, without thinking about everyday actions, try to pull the door towards themselves. Such actions are very harmful for the mechanism, in especially deplorable cases, you can loosen the fastening brackets or rip off the stopper. Therefore, until you get used to the new door, try to use it consciously.

In addition, you need to adhere to basic rules:

• do not allow foreign objects to enter the guides. This is especially true for families with small children and pets who can make a mess in the doorway;
• if there is a guide groove in the floor, it must be regularly cleaned of dust and dirt, do not allow water to get inside during wet cleaning;
• protect the canvas from strong blows (for example, with a ball or the shoulder of a naughty dog). Accidental impacts both the canvas and the mechanism will withstand, but such episodes should not be regular. After all, the swing door in such cases transfers the force to the box and it is evenly distributed, in the sliding door - to the mechanism (it has no other support), which looses over time.

There are no strict restrictions, but we can say that the most comfortable interior doors on rollers will be used by balanced adults.

Repair of interior doors on rollers

If the rules of operation are violated, and even simply over time, the roller door mechanisms will wear out. Cloths usually suffer no more often than in swinging counterparts.

Symptoms	Cause	How to fix	Tool
Extraneous sounds when moving the canvas	Possible roller wear or misalignment	Remove the blade, remove the stopper, remove the carriages from the guide and inspect. If there is no damage, hang the door again, carefully checking the vertical and horizontal levels. If necessary, adjust the distance between the blade and the carriage with a special bolt.	Wrench
The canvas staggers when opened, the distance to the wall changes	Displaced or damaged bottom guide flag	Inspect the flag, fasten it or replace it with a new one.	Screwdriver
The blade moves in jerks	Debris, dust, or foreign objects have fallen into the guides	Clean the guides thoroughly. If necessary, remove the blade and remove any dirt from the inner guide chute.	Old toothbrush
The blade gets stuck, skewed is noticeable	Carriage adjustment is broken	Tighten the screws so that the blade is strictly parallel to the guide	Wrench
Visually noticeable severe damage and deformation of the blade or mechanism	Swipe	Completely replace a blade, guide or carriage that has become unusable.	Wrench, screwdriver, hacksaw for metal

If the described activities did not help, contact the wizard. Perhaps due to a lack of experience, you misidentified the cause or could not completely eliminate it.

Photo gallery: interior doors on rollers in the interior

It is the most neutral model of sliding roller doors that suits almost any interior

Sliding canvases of roller doors can be wound not behind the wall, but behind another door

A rare example of a sliding door with a protruding staple handle

Pay attention to the original design of the rollers - they are practically invisible, despite the large size and the absence of a decorative strip

These colorful open roller sliding doors are a great accent for the modern home.

We hope that now you will not be confused by the wide range of hardware stores and will be able to choose the optimal roller mechanism for your door. The main thing is not to be shy and, at the slightest doubt, clarify incomprehensible points with consultants and even try on the selected carriage to the profile you like. Now the durability and convenience of your sliding roller doors is only in your hands.