If you find that your hinged closet doors keep getting in the way of furniture and other items in the room as you open them, consider a sliding door installation. Sliding closet doors run on an overhead track. They are easy to install and only require basic tools you probably already have on hand. Bypass doors, as they are sometimes called, come in a variety of wood finishes, or you can purchase them with mirrors to make your room seem even larger. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Remove the hinge pins on the old closet doors. If you can't remove them by pulling on them, hold the end of a screwdriver under the hinge pin while you tap up on it with a hammer. Set the doors aside.
2. Unscrew the hinge flaps that remain on the doorjamb.
3. Measure the closet door frame for new doors and a sliding door track.
4. Apply paint or stain to the doors before you hang them. Allow the finish to dry. Apply finish to the exposed wood on the doorjambs where you removed the hinge flaps.
5. If necessary, use a hacksaw to cut the sliding door track from a sliding door hardware kit to fit the closet door opening. Attach it to the top of the doorjamb header with screws included in the assembly kit.
6. Slide a pair of door hangers from the kit onto each rail of the door track.
7. Attach a door hanger from the hardware kit 2 inches from each side of the top of the closet doors, using screws from the assembly kit. Seat the screws far enough into the door so they don't interfere with the door's operation.
8. Use a hole saw to cut the hole in the side of the door for the door pull. Follow the dimensions given in the sliding door hardware packaging.
9. Hang the door that goes on the front track by aligning the pins on the sliding hangers with the receptacle on the hangers on top of the door. Close the clips on the door side of the hangers to lock each hanger together. Repeat the process for the remaining door.
10. Slide both doors to the same side of the opening. Set the floor bracket from the hardware kit on the floor. Align its track with the doors. Attach it to the floor with screws from the kit.
11. Open and close the closet doors. If they don't hang plumb with the doorjamb, turn the adjustment nuts on the hangers one-quarter turn at a time, using an adjustable wrench, until the doors hang properly.
Tags: closet doors, sliding door, door track, closet door, door hardware, doors they, from hardware