Few doors in a home get as much of a workout as our closet doors do. Bifold closet doors are fairly flimsy considering the amount of use they get. It is not hard for a bifold door to get out of trim with the closet door jamb, slide off its track or even for the track itself to bend. If a bifold door is not working properly, consider a do-it-yourself repair before buying a new door. Chances are the repair will be easily accomplished in less than an hour with tools every homeowner should already own. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Understand the anatomy of your door and how it functions. The panel closest to the vertical door jamb is affixed to the closet jamb (the frame around the closet opening) by pins at the top and bottom. These pins allow the door to pivot with the edge of the door as the axis. The edge nearest the hinge swings freely. The other panel is affixed to a header track at the top of the jamb at the edge farthest from the hinges by a guide pin that either has a horizontal wheel attached to facilitate sliding or fits into a roller mount that slides along the header track.
2. Examine the door assembly to find any damaged parts. It is not necessary to take the door off to do this; a broken pin or one that has slipped out of place will be obvious by visual inspection. However, if any pins do need replacement, removing the door is required. Also check the header track for any warps or bends. The roller mounts or guide pins can fall out of a bent track. Damaged or bent hinges might have to be replaced.
3. Repair any broken pins by first removing the door from the header track. In most cases, the bottom pivot pin is spring-loaded, so simply push down on the door, and slip the top pins from the header track and roller mount. Replacement hardware can be found at most local hardware or lumber stores.
4. Fix a bent header track by placing a thin piece of wood in the track and tapping the sides of the track back into place with a hammer. The wood will prevent you from making the track's opening too narrow for the guide pin or roller mount. An alternative method of straightening the track is by using pliers.
5. Put the door back in place if necessary. Fold the door, and place the top pivot pin and guide pin or roller mount in place before putting the adjustable lower pivot pin in place.
6. Check the alignment of the doors, and make any necessary adjustments. The doors should be parallel to the jamb and to each other. In a typical bifold door, the top guide assembly can be raised or lowered by adjusting the height of the pin with a wrench. At the bottom the pin fits into a slot and is secured by a screw. This screw can be moved laterally until the door is parallel.
Tags: header track, roller mount, bifold door, closet doors, door jamb