How Do You Measure for Sliding Wardrobe Doors?

Measure for sliding wardrobe doors by taking the width of the opening at three heights and the height at three positions across the width, then working to the smallest figure in each case. Measure in millimetres, use a steel tape rather than a fabric one, and record every number rather than relying on memory. The smallest width is the one your doors must fit through, and any surplus at the wider points is closed with a filler strip. This single principle prevents the most expensive mistake in the whole process, which is ordering panels that will not go in.

Sliding doors are less tolerant than hinged ones. A hinged door can be adjusted on its hinges to cope with a wall that is slightly out of true, but a sliding panel has to run in a straight track for its whole travel, so the accuracy of your measurements determines how well the finished wardrobe works.

Measuring the Width

Take the width at floor level, at roughly waist height and just below the ceiling or the intended track position. Note all three. In older UK properties a variation of ten millimetres or more across the height of an opening is entirely normal, particularly where walls have been plastered by hand.

Use the smallest of the three figures as your working width. If you order to the largest, the panels will bind at the narrow point and the doors will not slide. The gap left at the wider point is dealt with by a scribed filler panel, which is a standard part of any sliding door installation.

Where the opening is not a recess but an open wall, decide first where the wardrobe will begin and end, mark those points on the floor and measure between them. Take account of light switches, sockets and the swing of the bedroom door before you commit to those marks.

Measuring the Height

Measure from floor to ceiling at the left, the centre and the right of the opening. Again, take the smallest reading as your working height, because the track has to fit under the lowest point of the ceiling along its whole length.

Remember to allow for the track system itself. The top track and the bottom guide together consume height from your total, and the panel height is the remainder. Manufacturers specify this deduction, so check it before ordering rather than assuming a figure.

Consider the floor covering as well. If you are fitting a thicker carpet or new flooring after the wardrobe goes in, the effective height will reduce and the doors may catch. Measure to the finished floor level, not the current one, and if the new floor is not yet down, allow for its thickness.

Measuring the Depth

Depth is the dimension most often overlooked, and it decides whether the wardrobe is usable. A hanging rail needs enough front to back space for a coat hanger to sit square, and the sliding track itself consumes depth at the front before you reach the rail.

Measure from the back wall out to the line where the doors will sit, and mark that line on the floor with masking tape. Walk past it a few times over a day. A depth that seems acceptable on paper can make a narrow bedroom feel like a corridor, and this is much easier to judge physically than numerically.

If the depth available is tight, that is a signal to consider a shallower design with a front to back rail rather than forcing a standard depth into the space. Our modern sliding wardrobes UK sale includes options suited to narrower rooms, which is often a better answer than compromising the walkway.

Checking for Square and Level

Measure the two diagonals of the opening, corner to corner. If they match, the opening is square. If they differ, it is not, and you will need to scribe a filler to the out of true side.

Check the floor with a long spirit level, both along the opening and running out into the room. A floor that falls will need the bottom guide packing to bring it level, and knowing the direction and extent of the fall before you order lets you plan for it rather than discover it mid installation.

Check the walls for plumb at both sides. A wall that leans in at the top reduces your effective width higher up, which is exactly the situation your smallest measurement is designed to catch. Check the ceiling for any dip along the run as well, since the track must be fixed straight even if the ceiling is not.

Working Out Panel Numbers and Overlap

Sliding panels overlap so that no gap appears when they are closed, which means the combined width of the panels is always greater than the width of the opening. Manufacturers build this overlap into their sizing, so give them the opening width and let them calculate the panel width rather than dividing it yourself.

The number of panels affects access. Two panels in a wide opening mean each door covers half the interior, and you can only ever reach half at once. Three or four panels in the same width give better access to the middle. For very wide runs, more panels are usually worth the extra cost.

Panel weight rises with size, and a very wide two panel arrangement produces heavy doors that need more effort to move and a more robust track fixing. Splitting the same width into three panels keeps each one manageable.

Recording and Double Checking

Write everything down in a single list: three widths, three heights, both diagonals, the depth, the floor level notes and the ceiling construction. Photograph the opening with the tape in place for reference.

Measure everything twice on separate occasions. It sounds excessive, but transposed digits are the commonest error in the whole process and they are only caught by repeating the exercise with fresh eyes.

Check your delivery route too. Assembled panels have to reach the bedroom, and narrow stairs, tight landings and low door heads have defeated many oversized doors. Flat packed units avoid this because the panels arrive individually, which is one reason most of our range is supplied that way.

Deciding Between Fitted and Freestanding

Once you have your figures, you can judge honestly whether a fitted installation or a freestanding unit suits the opening better. If your smallest width sits close to a standard size, a freestanding wardrobe will fill it well and can move with you.

If the opening is genuinely awkward, with a chimney breast or a sloping ceiling, a fitted run will use the space that a standard unit cannot. The trade off is permanence and cost.

Many people find a middle route works best: a standard freestanding wardrobe alongside a separate storage piece to fill the remaining width. Adding a unit from our modern chest of drawers UK sale beside a two or three door wardrobe often uses an odd sized wall better than one large bespoke run. Browsing our modern wardrobes UK sale alongside your measurements shows quickly which standard widths come close, and we list dimensions on every product at Furniture in Fashion for exactly this comparison.

Measuring Around Obstacles

Openings are rarely as clean as a diagram suggests. Skirting boards run across the back wall and often along the returns, coving eats into the top corners, and radiator pipes, light switches or a boxed in soil pipe can intrude at exactly the wrong point. Each of these needs its own note, with a measurement to the obstacle and a measurement of the obstacle itself.

Skirting is the most common issue. Sliding door frames sit flush to the wall, so the skirting either has to be cut back within the opening or the frame has to be packed forward to clear it. Decide which approach you are taking before you order, because packing forward reduces your internal depth by the thickness of the skirting.

Coving at the head of the opening is dealt with the same way: either removed across the width of the wardrobe or accommodated by dropping the track slightly. Measure the height to the underside of the coving as well as to the ceiling, so you have both figures to hand.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I measure the opening or the doors I need?

Measure the opening and give those figures to the supplier. Sliding panels overlap, so the panel width is calculated from the opening width and should not be worked out by simple division.

Which measurement do I use if the width varies?

Always the smallest. The doors must pass the narrowest point, and the surplus at wider points is closed with a scribed filler strip.

Do I measure before or after fitting new flooring?

Measure to the finished floor level. If the new floor is not down yet, deduct its thickness from your height measurement so the doors do not catch afterwards.

How much depth do sliding wardrobe doors need?

The track consumes depth at the front before you reach the rail, so a standard depth of around 600mm is usual for side to side hanging. Shallower designs use a front to back rail instead.

What if my opening is not square?

This is common and easily handled. Build to the smallest dimensions and close the remaining gap with a filler panel scribed to follow the wall profile.