An interior sliding door is a door that slides along a track and provides door access from room to room or the outdoors. Interior sliding doors open horizontally by sliding along a track. They are mounted on or suspended from the track and slide in either direction on roller wheels. There are many different types of sliding doors available to consumers today. They can be broken down into the following four categories:
- Pocket doors – They are most commonly in areas where there is no room for a hinged door. A pocket door will slide into a space or pocket, designed inside the adjacent wall. The rollers are commonly located on an overhead track although floor tracks are also available.
- Arcadia doors – These doors are made of glass and are rectangular shaped. An Arcadia sliding door is mounted on rollers parallel to a fixed glass panel of similar shape. One side remains stationary while the other can move along the track. These doors are used most frequently as a barrier between the interior and exterior of a home usually leading to a backyard or patio area. When used like this an Arcadia door is normally referred to as a patio door.
- Bypass doors – They are set on tracks and designed to open the full width of the frame. They slide past and behind one another when open. When closed they stand adjacent to one another and effectively block the opening or entrance. Common uses for bypass doors are closets and pantries.
- French doors – French doors although, typically swinging are now available in sliding variations to save space. They have the look of traditional French doors but are modified to slide instead of swing forward into a room.
There are some basic factors to consider before installing an interior sliding door. These factors can be looked at from the point view of the merits and demerits accrued from installation of the appliance and how suitable it is to your needs. Let us first look at the advantages:
- Space Saving – As compared to standard doors, interior sliding doors offer a lot of space savings. For example a 3ft wide door requires three sq ft on the opening side for it to open entirely and requires that no obstructions be in those 3 sq ft of space. Items can occupy the space on either side of a sliding door without causing any obstructions in its operation.
- Choices – There are many choices in the design of interior sliding doors. There are a variety of types of sliding doors and the materials used to make them. For example wooden sliding doors are available in many wood tones and mirrored doors can create the illusion of a much larger space.
- Wide openings – Sliding doors generally have a larger opening than a hinged door. This provides easy access from room to room. For example, some large items require disassembly to enter through a hinged door which adds time and extra work in moving items but this will not be the case while using a sliding door.
The disadvantages of interior sliding doors:
- Installation – The installation process is not easy as compared to standard hinged doors. The installation involves putting tracks on both the top and bottom of the door frame and positioning them perfectly so that the door won’t be crooked or difficult to slide. The bottom of the sliding door may also have wheels that you must align to the tracks.
- Sensitivity to dust and grime – Since the track is made up of a series of grooves it can accumulate large amounts of debris. It then becomes an ideal place for mold and mildew to form especially on sliding doors for showers, since the door sits on top of the track for long periods of time and is constantly exposed to moisture.
- Door jams – Over time, a sliding door can eventually develop jamming issues due to dirt or rust from the metal parts. In the case of a door jam the sliding door becomes difficult to move and may not close completely. The door might even jump off of the track which would then require a whole new installation. Therefore you may have to grease the tracks regularly in order to keep the sliding door moving properly but eventually you will probably have to reinstall the entire door if jamming becomes an issue. This is more common in aluminum and glass sliding doors, which are heavy and can be very difficult to move.
Therefore having looked at the above factors it would be best to first consider your needs budget and commitment to maintenance of the interior sliding doors before installing one.
