Sliding doors in the bathroom - space saving and stylish design

How many tasks we solve, making repairs in the bathroom? Probably each of you can name them at least a dozen. One of the most important, perhaps, is the choice Bathroom door. After all, it helps us not only to protect the view of this room from prying eyes, but also to solve design problems that will help to make the interior of the room even more functional and comfortable. Sliding doors in the bathroom will help to solve the problem of small spaces and save space. Their advantage is not only in compactness, but also in the originality of design solutions.

The advantage of the sliding door system, of course, is considered a great saving of useful space. This type of door does not take much space and does not block the passage.

The ideal solution for such doors will be very voluminous openings - this type of door will be able to completely block it. The number of flaps in the sliding mechanisms can vary from one to three, respectively, you can install designs of any complexity. And, most importantly, this door will look very attractive and fit into almost any design.

A serious disadvantage of such doors is a very complicated installation process. Swing doors are much easier and cheaper in this regard.

Lack of room tightness is another of the weaknesses of sliding doors. Due to the peculiarities of the mechanism, the door leaf does not fit tightly to the door opening, so the sounds are poorly isolated. This drawback is very easy to eliminate by putting a special gasket for insulation during the installation of the sliding structure.

The materials from which sliding doors are made, can be divided into two large groups: budget models and doors of the more expensive price segment. Another criterion is the durability of sliding doors. Let's take a closer look at all their variety.

Doors made of fiberboard, chipboard and MDF are quite an economical and good option. And it will last quite a long time, provided the doors are treated with special protectants against humidity and temperature fluctuations or covered with a protective film. Otherwise, such doors can swell, warp and deteriorate. The design of such doors is very diverse in color, shape and texture. Based on this, you can choose such a door model that will fit perfectly into any stylistic design of the bathroom.

Doors made of plastic, glass and solid wood are more expensive, but the quality and durability of such doors is much higher. You can choose from ready-made models or make to order - the quality of any door will not disappoint, as they are subject to careful inspection and inspected visually. Sliding structures made of plastic are very practical, as they do not need to be protected from moisture and temperature fluctuations.

The most popular today are sliding door designs made of glass and wood with glass inserts.

Sliding doors can be made of one piece and have quite a lot of weight and high strength.

But there is also a thinner and lighter version, along with no less durable if made of quality materials - harmonica doors. Which of these models to choose - you decide, as the choice directly depends on the style in which the bathroom will be made.

So, when you have decided on the design, size and number of door leaves, it's time to move on to the purchase of door hardware and guides. The latter comes with two guide profiles (also called rails), a stop, roller mechanism and a stop.

At the top and bottom are the rails along which the structure will move. Also elements are installed that allow you to limit the distance of movement of the entire mechanism. The limiter is fixed to the floor, and the stopper - at the top of the wall.

Sliding structures in the bathroom have special handles, which differ from the classic parts for conventional doors. They should be in special recesses of the door leaf, so as not to impede the free movement of the leaves.

As a rule, the handles are installed by the manufacturer, but if an individual design or built-in lock is needed, the handles can be custom-made.

Less complicated system of installation of sliding structures in the bathroom is the use of overhead system, due to which the doors slide along the length of the wall on special "rails". The disadvantage of such a system is that it is impossible to place something close to the wall, and such doors will not close tightly.

The advantage of such a system is its low cost and ease of installation, which can be carried out independently. This system includes several components - a guide that is installed above the door opening, two rollers, which are cut into the bottom face of the door, and the bottom stop, which does not allow the leaf to move from side to side. This set is enough for the entire system to function properly.

Installation steps of the overhead system for sliding structures:

• On the lower end of the door leaf you need to install the rollers that are included in the guide. This process is quite simple, because it is not necessary to cut the rollers into the door itself. They need to be superimposed and screwed on the self-tapping screws.
• In the lower end of the door structure you need to make a small slot with a depth of 15 mm and a width of 3 mm. To do this, use a circular saw, if you have one, or a grinder, having previously installed a special wood nozzle on it.

• To know at what height to install the rail, measure the height of the door taking into account the rollers plus a centimeter on the distance under the door. You can install the rails in different ways. Sometimes they use angle brackets (but this option is not very reliable) or fix the construction on a wooden bar, which must be installed in advance. The second option is more reliable, and the bar can be disguised by painting it the same color as the door. When choosing a sliding mechanism, pay great attention to its dimensions (the width of the door leaf should be twice its width).
• To install the door leaf on the guide construction, the roller mechanism must be driven into it from the side.
• Then it is necessary to make the adjustment. To do this, we set the stops in the guides so that the door is held in the desired position.
• Now we proceed to install the bottom stop. To insert the stop into the groove on the left and press it firmly to the floor will need to fully open the door. Then push the stop into the groove only 1 cm, it should not go far behind the door. With the help of dowels, fasten the stop to the floor, be sure to align the leaf vertically.

The principles of operation of the sliding door system are described in detail in the following video.

Installation of the sliding structure in the bathroom independently using the overhead system - a fairly simple process. Cassette way sliding door is more difficult to install. This is what we will talk about below. Sliding cassette structures are hidden from view and take up little space, this is their main advantage. The cassette system is installed inside the wall, and it is produced as a single unit (cassette).

Perhaps the only disadvantage of sliding constructions is that you need to demolish a part of the wall when installing them, but this is not possible in all apartments. For example, in houses with an old layout configuration of the bathroom has a beveled shape, so to install a cassette system in such a room will have to change the design of the bathroom to a rectangle.

Installation of the cassette system is performed according to the following scheme:

• First you need to prepare an opening in the wall, corresponding to the size of the cassette, preferably somewhat larger, so as not to interfere in any way with the installation of the door.
• In the prepared opening install the cassette door, attaching it to the entire perimeter. It is very important to align everything clearly, because even small misalignments can have a negative impact on the longevity of the installed door. Given the cost of such a door and the problematic installation, the repair or replacement of the mechanism will cost a lot.
• The last stage - masking the inside of the cassette under the normal wall. The easiest thing will be to build a construction from gypsum cardboard, which from the outside room will be overlaid with wallpaper, and from the inside is lined with tile.

You can learn more about the installation of sliding doors from the video.

Of course, compartment doors are not designed for rooms with high humidity, but sometimes they are used there. It is reasonable to put them in rooms with a large area, where you do not need to save space. All because of the fact that compartment doors are quite wide (one sash length of 60 cm, and they will need two or even three).

The advantage of such doors is their weightlessness and lightness, because they are not so heavy. They are mainly equipped with glass. Due to this, the area of the room is visually enlarged.

Installed sliding compartment door is very simple. In advance, it is necessary to carefully prepare the opening, completing its final decoration. Then mount the rails at the top and bottom and install and adjust the door itself.

As a rule, the failure of sliding constructions occurs due to the fact that as a result of getting debris in the guides, the rollers are out of order. Very often with this problem faced by the owners of pets, whose hair can be clogged in the mechanisms and put them out of operation. Therefore, it is very easy to eliminate problems with sliding compartments, it is enough to thoroughly clean the guiding mechanisms with a vacuum cleaner.