In this article we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of various sliding systems used as sliding wardrobe doors.
Recently, there have been a lot of proposals for inexpensive systems, mostly made in China; in appearance, they seem to be on par with proven analogues, they work well, and do not break. The only difference, at first glance, is noticeable in the thickness and coating of the profile. But is it?
The first thing you need to pay attention to is the profile material. There are aluminum and steel systems for sliding compartment doors. Let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of each of them.
Review of manufacturers of sliding systems for sliding wardrobes
In fact, there are a lot of them lately, and each has its own pros and cons. But the most popular today are systems from the following manufacturers:
RaumPlus
RaumPlus
(Germany) – the company has been operating since 1986, during which time it has earned worldwide recognition thanks to the high quality of components for sliding wardrobes. The products are characterized by a long service life and the ability to install heavy doors with maximum load on the rollers.
A high-quality aluminum system that has a large selection of profiles, but a slightly limited choice of coatings. Of course, not everyone can afford it at the price. Great for large sliding doors.
Hettich
Hettich
(Germany) is a world-famous company operating since 1888. Founder: Karl Hettich. Hettich sliding door systems, similar to Raumplus, are luxury class. They are of excellent quality, but quite expensive for the price. Silent, durable, suitable for any size - including massive doors for large wardrobes.
Komandor
Komandor
is a Canadian brand that has existed since 1992. We have two sliding systems from Commander - Lux and Standard. The steel profile is usually used in budget sliding wardrobes. It is not equipped with a seal for glass and it is simply inserted into the profile groove, which is not good. Also, you should not expect increased rigidity from this product. The movement of the door is accompanied by an additional rustling noise, which can be heard by neighbors below :). The only thing that pleases me is its price.
Braun
Braun
– a good aluminum sliding system, but the price is a little high compared to its performance properties. Now its country of origin is China.
Rolla
Rolla
– Country of origin: China, a good analogue of Braun, meets the “price/quality” criterion. It is precisely because of this criterion that furniture makers have recently become very fond of it, who, with its help, can now offer an adequate price for the wardrobe as a whole.
A.D.S.
ADS
(Ukraine) – the company appeared more than 10 years ago. It offers aluminum profiles and components for economy class sliding door systems, as well as facades and fittings.
Sliding structures from ADS are very attractive for their price, which is consistent with their quality. The mechanisms are designed for 100 thousand cycles of opening and closing the door, which is approximately 25 years of product operation.
The following brands are also often offered:
- Astin
- Integra
- Lika
In any case, no matter what you are advised, the first thing you need to pay attention to is the smooth movement of the door and the rigidity of the system.
Determine purely visually whether you like this design or not. Please pay attention to the following points:
- The general appearance of the profile, its coating and thickness - the coating should not be “erased” by touch, and the profile should not sag in the hands.
- Contents: seals, buffer brushes, mounting screws and clips for fixing brushes at the edges.
Features and structure
Sliding wardrobes are extremely popular all over the world. Furniture with similar door opening mechanisms combines comfort, high capacity, practicality and compact size. All these advantages became possible thanks to the presence of a special sliding system. The most popular today are roller and suspension systems.
| Type of sliding system | Characteristics |
| Roller | They are a system of upper and lower profiles, which are fastened with self-tapping screws inside the frame of the model. Two canvases with rollers built into them move along them in different directions. The main load when the facade moves moves to the lower profile, so its installation should be treated with full responsibility. |
| Hanging | The door leaf is suspended from the end of the cabinet, and the main load is transferred to the upper profile. The canvas seems to float in the air, hiding behind itself flaws when installing furniture. |
Using a sliding wardrobe, you can successfully divide a room into two zones. For example, such a partition will divide the room into areas for relaxation and sleep in the bedroom. You can also divide the room for children of different sexes into two parts to create comfortable conditions for each of them. Structures that divide a room into zones do not lose their functionality.
Thanks to the installation of such systems, the cabinet doors will not rattle or make noise when opening and closing. The sliding system provides for smooth sideways movement of the door due to the presence of rollers moving along special profiles. If high-quality materials are used in the manufacturing process of such a system, it has a very long service life.
Why else are such mechanisms relevant in a bedroom or nursery? Such models have a special lock for sliding doors. It does not allow the cabinet door to hit its side wall with a knock, so there is no need to worry about the safety of the child. It will not hit an open door or press your finger when closing it.
Hanging
Roller
What do you need to know when choosing a system for sliding wardrobe doors?
Type
Sliding structures are distinguished by the type of handle:
- Open
- Closed
You can get acquainted with the type of design directly in the store, look at samples, estimate and touch.
Regardless of the type of handle, they also differ in the method of attaching the buffer (dust) brush. Usually, a simply glued brush does not last very long, so it also comes with special clips that secure it at the edges.
There is also another profile in which the brush is not glued, but inserted into the groove of the profile. In this case, you are no longer in danger of tearing off the brush.
Profile color
Metal systems for sliding doors are usually tinted using powder coating, while aluminum systems are anodized. The depth of anodization is also an indicator of quality.
Depending on the manufacturer, the sliding structure can be with a matte or polished finish, in the following (primary) colors:
- Silver (aluminum)
- Gold
- Bronze (dark or light)
- With chipboard structure
You can also choose the color of the profile directly when ordering, by “feeling” the samples. You should also know that depending on the color of the profile, its price also changes.
The cheapest type of profile today remains aluminum (open).
Number of doors
The number of doors depends on the width of your closet, but there are at least two. If you have not yet decided on the number of doors, you can read this article.
Door filling
Based on the filling - whether it is a mirror, glass or chipboard, the appropriate seals will be selected. You also need to know whether it will be a solid filling, or divided by partitions. You can read more about filling wardrobe doors here.
To order a sliding system, you just need to know the dimensions of the opening (height and width) in which it will be installed, as well as what material you will have as filling. This will be enough for you to place an order and find out the price.
We wish you a successful purchase!
Pens
As already mentioned, fittings for sliding doors differ from fittings for swing doors. If handles are installed everywhere on ordinary doors, then not always on compartment doors. The absence of handles on some models is due to the need to reduce the cost of production, make the design simpler and more accessible. To open, you can simply rest against the frame and pull it in the desired direction.
There are cases when a thin profile is used for the frame. Then fasteners are used for mounting handles of any type.
Handles can also be used when the door has a lock or a latch, for example, a magnetic one. They act as a support for the hand, and also allow you to unlock or close the doors. In addition, handles are required if the sliding door does not use side profiles. The most common way to attach handles is to simply insert them into the door leaf - it is simple and functional.
If the door has a single design, for example, made using photo printing, the handles should be invisible. Hidden systems are used that are built into the canvas and an image is applied to them using photo printing.
Interior sliding doors equipped with locks require the mandatory installation of handles. This is due to the fact that the mechanism must be fixed, and the canvas is quite massive and has a lot of weight.
Components of the kits
In terms of their design, the various mechanisms of sliding doors differ little from each other, except perhaps in the specifics of the displacement of the leaves. Therefore, the kits include almost the same elements; the only difference is in their number and design.
Rails
Profiles are mainly used as guides in sliding door systems.
The difference between them is the number of “tracks”. The specifics of the application depend on how exactly the canvas covers the opening: end-to-end or overlapping. In fact, these are traditional sliding doors, well known to many. When choosing a profile, the metal from which it is made also matters. For massive doors, it is better not to use aluminum (even though it is cheaper); Deformation will cause problems with sliding doors - only steel.
Roller bearings
They also differ in design features.
The required number of wheels (and the upper mechanisms can have up to them is determined by the weight of the leaf and the type of sliding system. There are also differences in the arrangement of the wheels themselves: symmetrical or offset (asymmetrical). For doors weighing no more than 80 kg, roller mechanisms with two supports can be used But for massive canvases, at least four are installed, which is associated with an increased load on the structure.
Locking elements
They are not basic, but perform important functions. The first is to prevent a “hard” impact of the door on the wall (if the opening is located close to it) or the roller flying out of the guide. Such parts are called motion limiters. The second is fixing the door in a certain position. This is necessary in order to prevent spontaneous movement of the canvas. This is possible, for example, in the event of a strong draft or disruption of the horizontal orientation of the rails due to shrinkage of the structure.
The sliding door mechanism can be additionally equipped with automation elements (closers, mini-electric motors, cables, hooks, etc.). But they do not make any changes to the principle of its functioning; They only increase ease of use, nothing more.
Additional items
In order for the design to look complete and have excellent performance characteristics, various additional elements are used. One of them is a buffer tape, which is also called a brush. It is an adhesive-based tape, slightly fleecy, which is glued to the sides of the compartment door, protecting it from dust and dirt. In addition, such a tape allows you to avoid deformation of the door if it is opened using excessive physical force.
In addition, silicone seals are used. These are special inserts that fix mirror or glass elements in the canvas. The seal is placed around the perimeter of the glass element, protecting it from damage.
To create coziness, as well as comfortable use of compartment doors installed between the room and the closet, special mechanisms are installed on the doors to turn on the lighting. They ensure that the light automatically turns on when the doors are opened and turns off when closed.
Types of sliding systems
Open type
These are the simplest modifications. The sliding mechanism consists of roller support elements and guides. The number of the latter determines the specifics of the door’s operation, its stability in the opening and a number of other factors. Why open? The fact is that such designs are universal in installation. They can be mounted in any opening, regardless of the wall material and its structure; it makes no difference whether it is solid or hollow (that is, a partition).
With one rail
Such systems are called suspended, non-threshold, upper. They are the easiest to install, and therefore are often installed in apartments. This is explained by standard openings, therefore, the door sizes are chosen relatively small. The disadvantage is that there are only limiters at the bottom, and there is no fixation of the position of the canvas. Therefore, some difficulty arises in determining its optimal thickness, that is, mass. A door that is too light will sway in a draft. This will not particularly affect the design itself, but in terms of comfort, such a prospect is unlikely to suit anyone; periodic “tapping” will cause irritation in any person.
There is one more negative point - you can forget about soundproofing the room. Therefore, the installation of such a system has a number of limitations. For example, if we are talking about an opening leading to an office or bedroom, a sliding door is not the best option. But here you can find a positive point - hanging canvases do not interfere with the natural circulation of air flows.
It is worth noting that in such systems, not only profiles are used as a guide, but also metal rods and pipes. And this diversifies the choice of installation options.
With two guides
Such systems are called floor-standing. The difference is that the rails are fastened both at the top and at the bottom. Accordingly, the number of roller mechanisms increases. Despite a certain installation complexity (for example, the accuracy of projecting the guide axis from the ceiling to the floor when marking), such a sliding mechanism provides a number of advantages.
- It can withstand significant load. That is, it allows you to install massive panels in the opening without any special restrictions.
- Sliding doors are always static. If the lock is installed, the canvas will not “knock” even in a strong draft.
