Living room sliding door.

[Derek S-H]

Can anyone help here?

This is my living room doorway:

It was like this when I moved in 12 years' ago and looks like there's never been a door fitted, it's always just been a doorway.

I'm thinking of fitting a door, but it can't be a conventional swinging door as the sofa's in the way and can't be moved. It can't open into the corridor either as I would like to mostly leave the opening clear, and only close it when I'm watching something loud.

I've looked at concertina-type and bi-fold doors, but I don't like the designs.

The other alternative is a sliding door and I found this company online who provide it as a complete kit (minus handles):

Internal Sliding Doors - Internal Sliding Door Kits - Direct Doors UK

A fantastic range of internal sliding door kits: sliding glass doors, wardrobe sliding doors and sliding doors as room dividers. The largest range in the UK.

www.directdoors.com

And in this example, the sliding track is actually bolted onto the door frame itself:

Top Mounted Sliding Track & Door - Richmond White Oak Door - No Raised Mouldings - Bevelled Clear Glass - Unfinished

The Top Mounted Sliding Track System is a sliding hardware system with exposed fittings and comes in a finished Black to create a retro look throughout.

www.directdoors.com

Though the track looks absolutely enormous and my door frame is only 89 cm wide.

Has anyone else had any experience of covering up a single doorway like mine? Any links would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

p.s. I know there's a Home Cinema Building DIY Forum on here, but I'm not building a Home Cinema, I just want to cover my doorway!

 

[GarethP]

We have something similar from B&Q as our bedroom door.

Oleni Silver Sliding door track system (L) 200cm | DIY at B&Q

Oleni Silver Sliding door track system (L) 200cm - B&Q for all your home and garden supplies and advice on all the latest DIY trends

www.diy.com

With this door

4 panel Shaker Oak veneer LH & RH Internal Door, (H)1981mm (W)838mm | DIY at B&Q

Will add style to your living space whilst providing privacy and protection from sound and draughts throughout the house

www.diy.com

It works well in a confined space, as long as you have the wall space adjacent to the door, obviously.

Things to note;

It’s heavy. The spacers that came with the track, to move the door away from the door casing, caused the door to drop. Also, we found out our internal walls are nowhere near straight!

The solution was to first fix an 18mm batten to the wall and then the track to that. As our track has a pelmet, this is all covered. It allowed us to use multiple fixings to our stud wall and then screw the track directly in to that.

 

[meduk1]

Does it close fully like a normal door would? I’ve seen a few but they’re almost like solid curtains i.e. they don’t actually close, but just sit in front of the hole.

Might depend on if you’re trying to shut light / sound out vs just create a partition

 

[GarethP]

Ours is pretty close. It has some forward/backward adjustment. Obviously the closer you get it to the frame the more it highlights if your door isn’t perfectly plumb etc.

 

[Derek S-H]

Does it close fully like a normal door would? I’ve seen a few but they’re almost like solid curtains i.e. they don’t actually close, but just sit in front of the hole.

Might depend on if you’re trying to shut light / sound out vs just create a partition

Good point.

No, I'm not looking to create a seal like a conventional door + frame, I'm happy to just have something sit in front of the gap, like you say. It would be open 95% of the time anyway, I'd only close it during film times.

@GarethP - I did look at putting together my own package of separate door, track, bumper stops and handles, and it definitely works out cheaper doing it like that. But I quite like the company that have already done all the work for you that I linked, even if you do have to pay extra for the privilege.

Anyway, nice to know it can work!

 

[DPinBucks]

A simple curtain, or blind?

 

[marfjam]

Our last house, where we lived for over 30 years, had two rooms closed off by sliding doors: the kitchen and the bathroom. It was built like that in the 1960s, so it's certainly not a new idea. The doors hung from a track on the outside of the rooms, with the track hidden under a pelmet. The doorway only had a frame on the inside, so the door closed flush with the wall. When closed, from inside the room it just looked like any conventional door.

I've been trying to find a decent picture, but those doors never seem to have featured in any of the hundreds of pictures we took there! These are about the best I can come up with., both with the door open. They are of the kitchen door. The first is from inside looking out, and the second of the outside, taken from the top of the stairs.

 

[brunation]

It was like this when I moved in 12 years' ago and looks like there's never been a door fitted,

I would say it did have a door: given the bit sticking out from the frame (rebate?). The install of the phone line would make me think some DIY has been done.

Could you adapt to a more expensive pocket door?

ETA:

From a web search ... before anyone asks!

 

[Derek S-H]

I would say it did have a door: given the bit sticking out from the frame (rebate?). The install of the phone line would make me think some DIY has been done.

Could you adapt to a more expensive pocket door?

ETA:

From a web search ... before anyone asks!

I looked at pocket doors, but they are so much more expensive and involve so much more work.

Also, I didn't take a picture from the corridor side, but (looking into the room) on the right is the intercom buzzer and a power socket below, and on the left is a light switch and 26 cm of wall space before we come to another door to my kitchen.

No room!

It was me that did the phone line - the box was in the corridor and I had it extended and moved to the living room.

 

[Derek S-H]

Our last house, where we lived for over 30 years, had two rooms closed off by sliding doors: the kitchen and the bathroom. It was built like that in the 1960s, so it's certainly not a new idea. The doors hung from a track on the outside of the rooms, with the track hidden under a pelmet. The doorway only had a frame on the inside, so the door closed flush with the wall. When closed, from inside the room it just looked like any conventional door.

I've been trying to find a decent picture, but those doors never seem to have featured in any of the hundreds of pictures we took there! These are about the best I can come up with., both with the door open. They are of the kitchen door. The first is from inside looking out, and the second of the outside, taken from the top of the stairs.

View attachment 1590512 View attachment 1590513

We had a sliding door to our kitchen in the family home I lived in in the 70's, very similar to your second photo.

I lost count the amount of times I saw guests try to push it open. I don't know why my parents didn't just put a sign on the door saying "slide left to open".

We also had a crappy bi-fold door to the living room in the next family home in the 80's. You had to push it in the middle to open it and, again, guests had no idea what to do.

 

[Derek S-H]

A simple curtain, or blind?

Thanks, but I definitely want something solid.

What I didn't make evident in my opening post was that I'm doing this for Home Cinema purposes - there's a huge bass dip in the MLP (probably caused by the open doorway), so I'm looking to create more of a "sealed room" experience.

 

[brunation]

It was me that did the phone line - the box was in the corridor and I had it extended and moved to the living room.

Gave you a LIKE for admitting that .....

 

[aVdub]

If you can, brick it, move it and add the door you like.