Changing sliding wardrobe doors to hinged doors means removing the top and bottom tracks, fitting a solid frame or side stiles to the wardrobe opening, then hanging new doors on concealed or butt hinges fixed into that frame. The tracks themselves carry no structural load, so removing them is straightforward. The real work is creating something solid enough for hinges to bite into, because sliding systems hang from a track rather than a frame, and most openings are left without one.
It is a job most confident DIYers can complete over a weekend. What follows is the sequence we would recommend, along with the points where people most often come unstuck.
Sliding doors save floor space, which is why they suit narrow rooms. The trade off is access: at any moment only half the wardrobe is open, so reaching a rail behind a closed panel means shuffling doors back and forth. Hinged doors open the full width at once, which makes them easier to live with if you dress in a hurry or store items across the full span.
There is also the matter of wear. Rollers flatten, tracks collect grit and older panels start to drag. If a sliding system has been repaired more than once, switching to hinges removes the moving parts that keep failing. Hinged doors also allow full length mirrors, hooks and rails on the inside face, which sliding panels cannot offer.
Two things decide whether this conversion is practical. The first is swing space. A hinged door needs clear floor in front of it equal to roughly its own width. In a bedroom where the bed sits close to the wardrobe, a 900mm door will not open fully. Measure the gap between the wardrobe face and the nearest obstacle before buying anything. If clearance is tight, using more doors of narrower width solves it: three 500mm doors need far less swing than two 750mm doors.
The second is the structure of the opening. Look at the sides of the recess. Are they plastered brick, timber studwork or the side panels of a freestanding carcass? Brick and timber both take fixings well. A thin end panel on a flat pack unit may not, and in that case you will need to add stiles to give the hinges something substantial to hold.
Lift the panels out first. Most sliding doors come away by tilting the bottom of the panel towards you and lifting it clear of the bottom track, then angling the top out of the head track. Some systems have a small retaining screw or an anti jump clip that must be released first. Take the heaviest panels out with a second pair of hands, especially mirrored ones.
With the panels out, unscrew the bottom track and lift it away. Then remove the top track, working along its length and supporting it as the last screws come out. Fill the screw holes with filler and sand flush. If the tracks were fitted to a painted timber pelmet, decide now whether that pelmet stays as part of the new frame or comes out entirely.
This is the part that determines whether the finished doors sit true. Hinged doors need a rigid vertical surface at each side of the opening, at least 18mm thick, running the full door height.
Cut two vertical stiles from 18mm plywood or planed timber, fixed to the wall or reveal with plugs and screws at 300mm intervals. Pack behind them with slivers of timber so each stile sits plumb, since reveals in older UK houses often lean. Check with a long level as you go, not at the end.
Add a horizontal head rail across the top between the stiles. This does two jobs: it gives the frame rigidity and provides a fixing line if you later want a top panel or filler. If the doors will meet in the middle without a divider, the head rail also stops the frame spreading over time.
Once the frame is in, measure the finished opening again. It will not match your original measurement, because the stiles have taken up space, and door sizes must come from this new figure.
Divide the finished opening width by the number of doors, then deduct 3mm per door for clearance so they open without rubbing. Height should allow around 5mm at the bottom for carpet and 3mm at the top.
Door weight is the factor people underestimate. A solid core or mirrored door is considerably heavier than a hollow one, and heavy doors demand three hinges rather than two, plus fixings into solid material. If you want mirrored fronts, it is usually easier to buy doors with the mirror already bonded than to add one afterwards, since retrofitted mirrors alter the balance of the door.
If the doors you need turn out to be non standard sizes, replacing the whole unit can be less work than making bespoke doors fit a frame that was never designed for them. Our modern wardrobes UK sale collection includes hinged units in a wide range of widths, and there are dedicated ranges of modern 2 door wardrobes UK and modern 3 door wardrobes UK sale if you already know how many doors your space allows.
Concealed European hinges give the cleanest look and allow fine adjustment in three directions after fitting, which is invaluance when a frame is not perfectly square. They need 35mm cup holes drilled into the back of the door, best done with a Forstner bit and a drill stand or a hinge jig. Set the cup 22mm from the door edge as a starting point and check against the hinge instructions.
Butt hinges are simpler and suit a more traditional look, but they require recessing into both door and frame and offer no adjustment afterwards, so the marking out must be right first time.
Space hinges roughly 100mm from the top and bottom of the door, with the third hinge, if used, at the midpoint. Fit the hinge plates to the frame, hang the door, then adjust. Work on one door until it sits square before moving to the next, as errors accumulate quickly across a run.
Fit handles at a consistent height across all doors, usually between 900mm and 1100mm from the floor. Mark from the floor rather than the door edge so they line up even if door heights vary slightly.
Add magnetic or push catches at the top of each door to hold it closed. Doors that rely on hinge friction alone drift open over time, particularly on uneven floors. Finally, close every door and look along the gaps. Consistent 3mm lines are what make the job look professional, and concealed hinges let you dial them in without removing anything.
With an empty opening in front of you, this is the moment to reconsider the inside. A single full width rail wastes the top and bottom of a tall wardrobe. Adding a shelf tower on one side, or a low drawer unit under a shortened rail, usually adds more usable capacity than the door change itself.
Take the opportunity to bring the rest of the room together as well. Matching handles across the wardrobe and a modern bedside cabinets UK sale pairing pulls the scheme together, and it is a small detail that makes a converted wardrobe read as intentional rather than patched. You will find plenty of coordinated options across the wider range at Furniture in Fashion, where our furniture is picked for UK homes and comes with free delivery to most UK mainland postcodes.
Sometimes. Sliding panels are often thinner than hinged doors and may lack the edge thickness needed for hinge cups. Check the panel is at least 16mm thick and solid at the edge before drilling.
Allow floor space in front roughly equal to the door width. Narrower doors need less swing, so splitting a wide opening into three or four doors is the usual fix for tight rooms.
Yes. Leaving it in place creates a trip edge, blocks the door from closing flush and prevents you from fitting a clean threshold. Remove it and fill the fixing holes.
Two hinges suit light doors up to around 1500mm tall. Use three for taller doors, mirrored doors or anything with a solid core.
Converting is usually less involved if the opening is a built in recess with sound reveals. If the wardrobe is a freestanding unit with thin panels, replacing it generally gives a better and longer lasting result.
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