Sliding wardrobe doors are fitted in a fixed order: level and fix the bottom track, align and fix the top track directly above it, hang the rear panel first, then the front panel, and finally adjust the roller height so each door hangs plumb and closes flush. The single most important step is the very first one. If the bottom track is not level, no amount of adjustment later will make the doors sit true, and they will drift open on their own.
Most systems are supplied with rollers at the top and a guide at the bottom, or with the weight carried on bottom rollers and a guide above. Read the instructions for your particular kit before you start, because the sequence below applies to both but the adjustment points differ.
Measure the width of the opening at the floor, at mid height and at the top. Measure the height on the left, in the centre and on the right. Then measure the diagonals. In a British house you will usually find some variation, and your smallest measurement is the one the doors have to fit.
Check the floor with a long spirit level across the full width. A sloping floor is common in older properties and it must be corrected at the track, not at the door. Check the side walls for plumb as well, since a leaning wall creates a tapered gap at the edge of the run that is best hidden with a side filler panel.
The bottom track needs a firm, flat bearing surface. On carpet, most manufacturers advise cutting the carpet and underlay away beneath the track so it sits on the floorboards or screed, because carpet compresses over time and lets the doors sag. On floorboards, check for high spots and a springy board.
Above, you need something solid to fix the top track into. If you are fixing to a ceiling, locate the joists first and note their direction. If the joists run the wrong way, fix a timber batten across them and mount the track to that. Fixing a top track into plasterboard alone is the most common cause of doors coming loose later.
Position the bottom track at the correct distance from the back wall, allowing for the depth of both panels and their overlap. Set it back from the front edge of any side panel so the door closes cleanly.
Level it along its whole length, packing underneath with thin shims where the floor dips. Once it reads level in both directions, fix it down at the intervals specified in the instructions, then check the level again after fixing, since screwing down can pull a track into a hollow.
Use a plumb line or a long level to transfer the position of the bottom track to the ceiling, marking both ends and snapping a line between them. The two tracks must sit directly above one another. Any offset makes the doors lean, and leaning doors bind and wear their rollers unevenly.
Fix the top track into joists or into your batten, checking it is level rather than simply parallel to a sagging ceiling. If the ceiling drops noticeably at one end, pack the track and hide the gap with a pelmet or a bead of decorator caulk afterwards.
Always hang the rear panel first. Tilt the top of the panel into the upper track, then locate the bottom rollers or guides into the lower channel and lower the panel until it sits on its wheels. Slide it fully to one side, then repeat with the front panel.
Take care with mirrored panels. They are heavier than they look and awkward to handle alone, so lift them with a second pair of hands and keep the edges protected. Never rest a mirrored door on a hard floor edge on.
Every sliding system has an adjustment screw at the base or the top of each panel that raises and lowers one side. Adjust these until the leading edge of each door is exactly vertical and meets the side panel or the neighbouring door with an even gap from top to bottom.
Then test the door for drift. Slide it to the middle and let go. If it creeps in one direction, the tracks are not level and you should return to the track rather than compensating with the rollers. Finally fit the anti jump blocks or bottom guides supplied with the kit. These are often left in the box, and without them a door can lift out of its track when pushed hard, which is the most frequent cause of damage.
Fit side and top filler panels to close the gaps against uneven walls and ceilings, scribing them where the plaster is wavy. A slim pelmet across the top tidies the head detail and hides the track, and it also stops dust settling in the channel.
Clean the bottom track before you load the wardrobe and get into the habit of vacuuming it occasionally, because grit in the channel is what makes sliding doors feel rough. A dry silicone spray on the rollers helps, but avoid oil, which attracts dust.
A competent do it yourself builder can fit a standard kit into a straightforward opening in a day. The work becomes harder when the floor slopes badly, when the ceiling has no accessible joists, when the opening is very wide or when the panels are mirrored and heavy. In those cases a fitter is money well spent.
If you would rather avoid site work altogether, a freestanding sliding unit gives you the same floor saving benefit with no tracks to level. Our modern sliding wardrobes UK sale designs arrive as complete pieces, and the wider wardrobes UK sale range covers hinged alternatives if access to the whole interior matters more to you than floor space. We deliver with free delivery to most UK mainland postcodes, and the full bedroom collection can be seen at Furniture in Fashion.
One quirk of sliding doors is that you can only ever see half the interior at once, so plan the layout accordingly. Keep everyday items behind the panel that sits nearest your side of the bed, and put seasonal storage behind the section you open less often.
Because a sliding front is a large flat plane, it dominates the room visually. Balancing it with softer pieces helps: a low unit from our wooden bedside cabinets UK range or an upholstered chair breaks up the expanse and keeps the room feeling like a bedroom rather than a storage wall.
A door that drags or feels heavy is usually telling you about the bottom channel rather than the rollers. Vacuum the track thoroughly, then run a finger along it to feel for a burr or a screw head standing proud. A single grain of grit in a roller groove is enough to make a large panel feel unpleasant.
A door that binds at one end but runs freely at the other indicates that the two tracks are not parallel. Check the top track with a level along its whole length, then measure from the bottom track to the top track at both ends. Those two measurements must match. If they do not, packing the top track is the correct fix.
Where a mirrored panel itself has become marked or the silvering has begun to spot at the edges, cleaning will not recover it, and replacing a bonded panel is rarely economic. A separate full length option from our modern cheval mirrors UK range is usually the simpler answer.
A door that jumps out of the channel when pushed hard is missing its anti jump block, or the block has worked loose. Refit it and check the fixing. A door that touches its neighbour or leaves a wedge shaped gap along the leading edge needs the roller adjustment screw on one side turned to raise or lower that corner until the edge reads vertical against a level.
A rattling door that moves in its channel usually needs the bottom guide adjusting inward slightly. Where a door has begun to sag noticeably over time, check whether the track is sitting on carpet, since compressed carpet is by far the most common cause.
The most frequent error is fixing the top track before the bottom one, or worse, setting the top track parallel to the ceiling. Ceilings in older British houses often dip, so a track that looks right against the plaster can be several millimetres out of level, and every door will then drift.
The second is fixing into plasterboard with nothing behind it. It holds for a while, then the weight of a mirrored panel pulls it loose, usually taking a chunk of ceiling with it. Locate joists or fit a batten.
The third is assembling the panels in the wrong sequence and having to lift a heavy door back out, which risks damage to the frame and to the edge of the panel. Always hang the rear door first.
The fourth is loading the wardrobe before the doors have been adjusted and tested. Get the action right while the unit is empty, because reaching an adjustment screw behind a full rail of clothing is considerably harder than doing it at the right moment.
The bottom track, because it must be level and it sets the position of everything above it. The top track is then aligned directly over it using a plumb line.
Most manufacturers recommend cutting the carpet away so the bottom track sits on a solid floor. Carpet compresses under load and lets the doors sag.
Almost always because the bottom track is not level. Recheck it with a long spirit level and shim it rather than trying to correct the problem at the rollers.
None in front, which is their main advantage. They do need enough width that one panel sliding across still leaves useful access to the interior behind.
Only where the head height is consistent along the run. A raked ceiling usually requires a level batten or a lowered head detail, which is best assessed on site.
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