You build sliding wardrobe doors by fitting the top track first and levelling it precisely, fixing the bottom track or guide directly beneath it, assembling the door panels into their frames with rollers attached, then lifting each door into the top track and lowering it onto the bottom guide. The rear door goes in before the front one. Final roller height adjustment is what squares the doors and closes the gap along the leading edge.
Everything depends on the top track being level and the bottom track being exactly parallel to it. Sliding doors have no hinges to disguise error, so any deviation in the tracks shows up immediately as a door that drifts open, binds against the frame or leaves a tapering gap. Measure twice at this stage and the rest is straightforward.
Most sliding wardrobe doors hang from the top track rather than resting on the floor. The door weight is carried by roller wheels running in the top channel, and the bottom track exists mainly to keep the door in plane and stop it swinging. Some systems reverse this and run the weight on bottom rollers with a top guide, which is more common on heavier solid doors.
Knowing which type you have changes how you adjust it. On top hung doors, the adjustment screws on the top rollers raise and lower the door. On bottom rolling systems, the wheels at the base carry the adjustment. Either way, the doors run on separate channels so they can pass each other, which is why one door always sits slightly in front of the other and why the order of installation matters.
This also explains the main advantage over hinged doors. Nothing swings into the room, so you need no clearance in front. In a compact UK bedroom where a bed sits close to the wardrobe wall, that difference is often decisive. The trade off is that you can only ever access part of the wardrobe interior at a time.
Start with the opening. Measure the width at three points, top, middle and bottom, and the height at both ends and the centre. Old properties rarely give identical figures, and you plan around the smallest width and the lowest height. Note any deviation, because that tells you where packing will be needed.
Sliding doors must overlap. Two doors covering an opening need each panel wider than half the opening, typically with an overlap of around 25 to 50mm at the centre depending on the system. Skipping this leaves a visible gap down the middle when the doors are closed. Check the manufacturer’s overlap figure rather than assuming.
Check the floor with a spirit level across the full opening width. If the floor slopes, the bottom track needs packing so it sits level and parallel with the top track, otherwise doors will roll toward the low end on their own. Check the ceiling or top fixing surface too, since a top track fixed to an uneven soffit needs the same treatment.
Finally, work out what you are fixing into. Masonry needs plugs and appropriate screws, plasterboard needs to be fixed into studs or with suitable heavy duty fixings, because a pair of loaded sliding doors puts real weight onto the top track.
You need a long spirit level, ideally a metre or more, a tape measure, a pencil, a drill with masonry and pilot bits, a screwdriver, a hacksaw with a fine metal blade if tracks need cutting to length, and a file to dress cut edges. A second person is genuinely necessary for lifting door panels, particularly mirrored ones.
Clear the whole working area and lay a blanket or cardboard on the floor. Mirrored and gloss panels scratch easily and are usually the most expensive part of the system. Unpack the panels, check them for damage before you start, and stand them somewhere safe on their long edge rather than flat where someone might step on them.
Measure the track to the opening width and cut it if necessary, filing the cut end smooth so rollers do not catch. Dry offer the track into position and mark your fixing points, then drill and plug as required.
Fix the track with light pressure at first and check it with the spirit level along its full length. This is the measurement that determines everything, so adjust with thin packers behind the track until it is truly level, then tighten fully. Work from the centre outward so the track does not bow.
Where the track fixes into the underside of a wardrobe top panel rather than a ceiling, make sure the panel itself is level and adequately supported. A track fixed to a sagging panel will never run properly.
Use a plumb line or a long level held vertically to transfer the top track position down to the floor at both ends. The bottom track must sit directly below the top one, since even a few millimetres out of plumb makes the door lean and rub.
Mark the line, then fix the bottom track. Some systems use screws into the floor, others use adhesive pads on a floating floor to avoid penetrating it. Check the track is level along its length and pack underneath where the floor dips. Confirm the distance between the front edge of the bottom track and the top track is identical at both ends before final fixing.
Frameless doors need only their rollers fitted. Framed doors, which include most mirrored and gloss panel designs, are assembled around the panel. Slide the vertical stiles onto the panel edges, usually over a rubber gasket that cushions the glass, then fit the top and bottom rails and screw the corners together.
Do not overtighten around a glass or mirrored panel. The gasket should be compressed enough to hold the panel without movement, no more. Check the frame is square by measuring the diagonals before final tightening, exactly as you would with a carcass.
Fit the rollers or wheel assemblies into their housings at this point, leaving the adjustment screws at roughly the mid position so you have room to move in both directions later.
The rear door goes first, into the back channel. Lift it, angle the top into the track so the rollers engage, then swing the base in and lower it onto the bottom track or guide. Check the rollers have seated properly in the channel before letting go of the weight.
Repeat with the front door in the front channel. Slide both doors along their full travel to confirm nothing binds and the rollers run cleanly.
Then adjust. Use the roller screws to raise or lower each end of the door until the leading edge sits vertical and meets the frame or the other door cleanly along its whole height. Look at the gap top and bottom: if it tapers, one end needs raising. Adjust in small increments and slide the door after each change, because a door that looks right closed can still bind mid travel.
Finally fit any anti jump devices, soft close mechanisms or floor guides supplied, and check that the doors cannot lift out of the track in normal use. This matters particularly with mirrored panels.
A door that slides open on its own means the tracks are not level and gravity is doing the work. Recheck with the spirit level rather than trying to compensate with the rollers. A door that binds part way along usually means the bottom track is not parallel to the top, or debris has collected in the channel.
Rattling suggests the roller height is set too low so the door is not properly loaded in the top track, or that the frame screws around the panel have loosened. A tapering gap at the leading edge is a straightforward roller adjustment at one end.
Ongoing smooth running is mostly about keeping the bottom track clean. Vacuum the channel regularly with a crevice tool and brush it out dry. Do not lubricate a sliding wardrobe track with oil, because oil attracts dust and turns into a paste that grips the wheels. Where a system specifies lubrication, use the dry product recommended.
If you are weighing this up rather than fitting one already bought, the deciding factor is floor space. Hinged doors need roughly 50 to 60cm of clear space in front, and in many UK bedrooms that space simply is not there. Sliding doors give you the full wardrobe width against the wall with no clearance at all.
Panel choice affects both weight and effect. Mirrored fronts reflect light and make a small room feel more open, and they sit within our modern mirrored bedroom furniture UK sale range. Gloss fronts do something similar with less obvious reflection, while wood effect panels suit a warmer room. Our modern sliding wardrobes UK sale selection covers these options in a range of widths, and the broader modern wardrobes UK sale range is worth comparing if you have the swing space for hinged doors after all.
Think about the rest of the room as well, since a sliding wardrobe against one wall usually pairs with drawers elsewhere. A modern high gloss bedside cabinets UK sale pair helps tie the finishes together. You can shop modern furniture UK at Furniture in Fashion, with free delivery to most UK mainland postcodes.
Most systems need either a bottom track or a floor guide to keep the door in plane, even when the weight is carried by top rollers. Fitting doors without the specified bottom guide allows them to swing and wear the top track.
Typically 25 to 50mm at the centre, though it varies by system. Each door must be wider than half the opening so no gap appears when they are closed. Always follow the figure given for your particular track.
Usually because the rollers are set too low, an anti jump device has not been fitted, or debris in the bottom channel is lifting the door as it runs. Check the roller adjustment first, then clean the track thoroughly.
Yes, by packing the bottom track so it sits level and parallel with the top track. Do not follow the slope of the floor, because the doors will then roll to the low end whenever you release them.
Not with oil or grease, which collect dust and cause dragging. Keep the channel clean and dry with a vacuum and brush. If the manufacturer specifies a dry lubricant, use only that.
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