Inside the carpentry, on the interior doors of our homes we find the famous sliding doors . Although its use is upward for obvious reasons of space and usefulness, they are still being in the shadow of the traditional ones.
Statistics confirm that every time we live in smaller properties (See article on how to decorate houses small) and therefore, the future of carpentry, for necessity, it will go through the door slider as an essential element in the modern housing.
Actually, while we all understand the potential of sliding doors and we can praise their daily utility, design and ergonomics, in our homes, we continue to use and renew our carpentry throughout the life.
In this article we are going to try to understand all the characteristics and types of sliding doors that we can find on the market to facilitate a consistent choice in a possible purchase.
Content menu:
The flexibility of this type of carpentry before the different types of leaves, materials and their movements, as well as the versatility of its fittings make up a proposal really attractive without wasting a good design.
To practice a coherent classification on the passage systems in homes , first, let's to designate the type of sliding door according to the opening shape of the leaf – door, it is that is, according to their movement... What systems and mechanisms of opening do we have?
The most widely used type of sliding door for interior doors in residential; mainly in bathrooms (See tips for renovating a bathroom), bedrooms or kitchen. A single blade with horizontal movement which can go both ways.
The sliding door can be place both on guides (more economical) and embedded in the own wall that would be the most appropriate way, but the installation price. A leaf is the one that establishes the step.
In this case, there are two facing sheets on the same facing – vertical face of the wall. They are the typical sliding doors doubles widely used in the dining room by power provide a large opening.
Be careful with the lesson for the electrical installation of the light on and off switches. the door not can cover them!
Remember our article on how to decorate a dining room with good ideas and easy. You'll like it!
Here, on the sliding door we have a fixed leaf that It is normally made of glass (it lets light in) and is fixed to the wall. The other sheet is mobile and larger than the fixed.
It is also widely used in transit areas and in the dining room due to the passage of light and the possible need to expand punctually the entrance space.
Each leaf is located on each side of the wall opening. Used in large spaces such as the dining room or the entrance to kitchen from living room.
Their installation is more complicated since they must fit properly so as not to lose both aesthetics and insulation acoustic or thermal.
Little used in residential and more intended for offices, the door leaves they are embedded in the corner. The closure is the vertex of the corner as we see in the attached image.
It is an unconvinced technical solution with fittings and more complex installation raising the price.
Used in residential and in large format, that is, from flush from floor to ceiling to communicate large spaces dimensions. Due to the complexity of the fittings and the size of the leaves, the prices are high.
In these cases, it is not usually used like glass or metal and normally the leaves are made of wood with some kind of plating.
The folding doors normally used in exterior carpentry for your comfort from the living room, are gate style. The leaves are folded in on themselves. same while we pick up the window.
The most used material is glass. In some cases it used in large cabinets with leaves mainly wood.
The system is very similar to the folding ones (Used for outside) but they work like a blind, that is, to folding the entire door, the leaves are driven by a guide.
Although technical advances are providing new materials with capabilities, for example, more insulators in all senses or fire resistant. Mostly we will find in the market four types of materials used in sliding doors which are:
They are the most used for offices and the interior of households; bathrooms and kitchens or in areas where we need a step of light. The crystals must be tempered and safety, in accordance with the European directive.
Being a material that can be treated in a thousand ways we can get doors with transparent glass, with a base rust and lampwork, satin and a thousand colors, even some manufacturers, if we provide them with a design, we will have a custom sheet.
For this type of doors, metal fittings are normally used. seen (without any embellishing element that covers) placed at the top of it. Guide models – normally – they are finished in stainless steel.
As an example of the fittings for glass leaves that we we can find would be…
The glass door actually for a home, it is usually used between the passage from kitchen to living room or when you have a bedroom with a bathroom.
The sliding wooden doors are used for interior. To separate the dining room, bathrooms, bedrooms or passageways. They provide a greater acoustic insulation and airtightness than glass.
In wood finishes, we also have a large versatility in styles that will adapt to all types of rooms and decoration. From exposed walnut hardwood, to cheaper like pine or with more modern finishes like the lacquered ones in white or plywood.
It is evident that wood brings warmth and serenity to rooms. rooms as outlined in the Feng Shui style. Naps looking for cozy space without wasting space, they are perfect.
Although they are not the best known, they do exist for the interior of houses whose premise of the manufacturers is the strength and durability above aesthetics.
Ideal to stand out in industrial design spaces, offices or before a minimalist style. You are usually the sliding doors are aluminum or iron in cases exceptional.
Although the manufacturer plays an important role here, given that each one practically manufactures mechanisms for his own portals, generically, there are two large groups:
It is a type of guide that is integrated into the wall, we managed to hide the door completely . This type of guides embeddable or casenets are compact structures that house the door and the hold.
Although these types of structures work very well, they protect and avoid friction, for its installation it is necessary to carry out works and therefore its price rises. opening systems most common in recessed doors in the wall are:
Depending on how we are going to plaster the wall, here, we will need a small brick house (rendered wall) or for plasterboard. With this you have to be careful and as a example, we leave an image of both types:
Installing a hidden passage at home has its complexity and is normally more dedicated to companies specialized in locksmithing and carpentry, but if you want to learn a little, in The following video explains in detail how to install one hidden door at home.
Here the guides are placed on the outside of the facing – wall, the door is not concealed with a profile seen . No works are required, but the installation is of the metal fittings that will make up the guide for the blade movement. They are hanging sliding doors!
Manufacturers have designed nearly a thousand ways to hold and slide the leaves to open or close them, but, from a aesthetic perspective, we could say that we will find in the market two large groups:
Like the awnings that we put on terraces or other small mechanisms, the installation of a system of sliding step can be done with a little DIY and patience as we see in the following video.
This type of door has a quick and intuitive assembly, with compact systems and absence of guide on the ground to clear the area of passage. Today, the fittings are already Smooth sliding and minimal effort with no-closing blows.
If you liked the article, rate it and share!
