Sliding pencil doors are doors that slide inside the wall and have all the advantages of a sliding and swing door. This installation method looks original and saves space. How to install pencil case doors and what is important to know for this, we will tell you in this material.
Sliding interior doors can be installed in two ways. They can move along the wall and into the wall. In order for the doors to slide inside the wall, two conditions are necessary:
1. The wall thickness must be at least 100 mm
2. The width of the doorway must be at least 1500 mm.
(Although below we will talk about one version of the cassette, which will allow you to install a pencil case door in a narrower opening - a half-pencil case)
The conditions listed above are the minimum dimensions of the cassette for pencil case doors. The door cassette is the main element for this type of door. Its essence is that this is a structure made of galvanized profile, which is mounted in the doorway, covering half of the opening, forming a continuation of the main wall into which the door leaf slides.
If it is not possible to expand the doorway, then the second option for installing a door cassette is to build a false wall from plasterboard along the main wall. The thickness of the additional wall will be at least 110 mm.
How much do pencil doors cost?
There are two leading Italian manufacturers of door cassettes on the market - Eclisse and Casseton. The cost of a cassette starts from 14,000 rubles. This is the cost of a set of good swing doors. The cost of a sliding door pencil case with a cassette will be from 20,000 rubles. , plus the installation of such a door is about 5,000 rubles. Is it worth overpaying by 50-70% for the installation of pencil case doors?
Judge for yourself. How much does a square meter of your apartment cost? Let's take an apartment of 100 m2 as an example. Pencil doors will give 8m2 of additional free space. How much does 8 m2 of your apartment cost?
But not only for the sake of saving space, pencil doors are installed. This is a more modern, more original interior solution. It's convenient to use. It does not break, and if necessary, can be easily disassembled and serviced without dismantling the wall.
There are doorways that do not require closing. For example, in the kitchen or living room. You don’t know what’s better, installing doors or just decorating the opening without doors? The most correct solution would be to install a pencil case door. When open, they are not visible, but at the same time you will always have the opportunity to close the room.
How to save money on pencil case doors?
You can make pencil case doors yourself. If you are doing the repairs yourself, you can try to save money and make a pencil case. There are two options:
1. Build a false plasterboard wall along the main wall
, and between them build a cassette from the profile, installing a mechanism for the sliding door. The cost of such work may not differ much from the cost of a cassette. In addition, instead of freeing up space, we capture it by increasing the thickness of the wall.
2. Build a wooden cassette from plywood
. One of the well-known door manufacturers makes just such cassettes, offering them for its doors. But walling up wood in a wall, especially in plaster, is at least not practical. Wood can dry out and become deformed over time.
You can make a cassette yourself or entrust it to master finishers using the same logic that you can make doors yourself. For example, the difference will be the same as between a purchased stool and a homemade one.
Design features
Before installing the pencil case, inspect the wall. Its thickness should be more than 10 cm, and the opening width should be more than 15, as these are the standard dimensions of the cassette.
If the wall is not load-bearing, then it is easier to demolish it. In the freed space, install a partition made of aluminum profiles and plasterboard, which is filled with insulation inside, except for the space for the cassette. Such a false wall will not only hide the retractable sash, but will also preserve the usable area, since the size of the partition will remain unchanged.
This trick will not work with a load-bearing wall. Therefore, a frame for the door frame made of the same profiles and plasterboard is attached to it, which thickens the wall.
In both cases, putty will be required, especially carefully on the seams, as well as finishing - wallpapering, painting or applying decorative plaster.
Regardless of whether a ready-made cassette is installed, purchased in a store, or made independently, the floor surface must be perfectly leveled. The level of finishing must be noted, which takes into account the thickness of the substrate and floor covering.
What doors and how are they installed in the door cassette?
Most doors from our catalog are installed in the door cassette. For each door, possible installation methods for that door are indicated. Doors with a rebate (the edge of the door leaf with a protruding quarter) and doors with a baguette or other protruding elements on the leaf are not suitable as a sliding door.
The door leaf itself can also be installed in the cassette in different ways. There are two options for installing doors in a cassette:
1. The door leaf is not completely hidden in the cassette niche and protrudes 70 mm from it.
The disadvantage of this method is that the doorway narrows. For example, if you install doors with a width of 800 mm, then the free doorway will be 730 mm. But this protruding part of the door is needed to maintain access to the handle.
2. The door leaf is completely hidden in a wall niche
. This installation method is used when it is important that the door leaf is completely hidden in the niche and does not block the opening. In order to pull the door out of the niche, a round handle-hook is cut into the end of the leaf. To get the canvas out of the niche, you need to grab this handle with one finger. This is not easy to do, especially with long nails, because... the blade is fixed in the extreme open position.
You also need to take into account that not all door leaves are suitable for the second installation method. Molded doors have open glass or thin panels at the ends. For this reason, rollers can be attached to the canvas only along the edges of the canvas in thick drawers. Full retraction of the door leaf into a wall niche is achieved by attaching one of the rollers closer to the center of the leaf. This is not possible for all door models.
How to decorate the doorway of a pencil case?
We are talking about the fact that you can install any doors in a cassette. But what about refining the opening of such doors? The frame, trim, and extensions are made for a swing door, and almost none of the manufacturers make components specifically for pencil case doors. In such cases, you have to work with what you have and use a simple box or extras to make a box for the pencil case doors.
Our craftsmen have long developed the technology for manufacturing components for cabinet door cassettes. When purchasing doors and cassettes from us, we can do this for you by sending a ready-made installation kit along with the cassette.
What might be required for the job?
Sliding door mechanism diagram.
Pencil cases for sliding doors, completely ready for installation, can be purchased in the store. However, they are very massive and have a fairly high cost. Making a pencil case for a door with your own hands will cost almost twice as much. It is possible to install a pencil door yourself, but this requires some experience and knowledge.
To work you will need:
- door leaf, handles, locking mechanism;
- platbands, additions;
- galvanized steel profiles;
- hammer drill, screwdriver;
- fasteners;
- sliding mechanism kit with guide;
- pencil, level, tape measure.
At what stage of the renovation is a pencil door installed?
The decision to install a pencil case door should be made before starting repairs. It is especially important if you do not have a suitable doorway and need to prepare it - widen the standard opening or build a false wall. You should also buy a cassette for pencil case doors and install it at the beginning of repairs during rough work at the stage of leveling the walls.
Thus, the pencil case doors are installed in two stages. At the beginning of the repair, a door cassette is installed, and only at the end of the repair, after the final finishing is completed, the door leaf is installed and the doorway is refined.
Assembling and installing the cassette is very simple, no more difficult than furniture from Ikea. Detailed instructions and the simplicity of the cassette design will allow anyone to do this. The main thing is to install the cassette evenly. A more complex process is installing the door leaf and decorating the opening.
Installation of the structure
Before installing the pencil case, you need to determine the width of the door opening, which depends on the type of sliding doors. Designs with one door are usually installed in small bedrooms, kitchens and bathrooms. A block of several doors fits perfectly into spacious rooms. They consist of two combined single-leaf systems.
Stages of installation work:
Important nuance! Installation of cassettes is possible only after completion of finishing work on the floor surface, taking into account the thickness of the future coating.
What types of door frames are there?
Interior doors to the wall can slide in different ways. There are 7 types of door cassettes (cases), each of which allows you to implement an original solution for cabinet doors.
Classic pencil case
Standard door cassette for walls with a thickness of at least 100 mm. They can be used for both single and double doors.
Classic pencil case, with the ability to install electrical sockets in the wall.
This is a pencil case that allows you to place lamps, switches, thermostats, telephone sockets, etc. in the same wall in which it is installed, making their installation convenient and functional. The pencil case can be for either a single-leaf door or a double-leaf one.
Pencil case "invisible"
This is a pencil case that does not require framing the doorway. The metal frame and lack of platbands make the door look austere and hardly noticeable. This is a modern and very fashionable solution that fits perfectly with minimalist interiors. If you install canvases for painting, you can paint the doors in the color of the wall or stick the same wallpaper. The doors will merge with the wall and will not be visible. The pencil case can be either for a single-leaf door or for a double-leaf one, and also with the possibility of installing electrical sockets.
Telescopic pencil case
The pencil case allows you to place a double-leaf sliding door in one wall, significantly saving space. This solution is used if technically the pencil case can only be installed on one side of the doorway. For doorways up to 4.7 meters wide, you can install a double-leaf cabinet, or rather a four-leaf one - two leaves on each side.
Radius pencil case
Pencil case for sliding rounded door. This original model allows you to reinterpret the idea of an interior. There can also be either a single-leaf or double-leaf option.
Pencil case for two doors
Two parallel doors in one cabinet sliding in opposite directions. This pencil case is ideal for two parallel doors with a small partition between them in corridors and halls, bathrooms and toilets, which allows you to place two sliding doors in one wall, significantly saving space.
Advantages and disadvantages
- Sliding doors save space more effectively: neither free room space is required as for a swing structure, nor a free part of the wall to move, for which they have earned positive reviews from consumers.
- The design provides a higher level of heat and sound insulation than a conventional sliding system.
- Installing a cassette door is easier than a sliding door. This is due to the fact that, despite the need to destroy part of the wall and then restore it, the block itself does not need fine regulation, or maintaining gaps and the like. If the components of the door block were purchased in different places, then this advantage disappears.
- Cassettes can be installed in both brick and plasterboard wall partitions. In the latter case, reinforcement with wooden beams will be required.
- Design - the door leaf is made in the same abundance of materials and options that the sliding system offers.
Flaws.
- If a non-finished structure is installed, then installation takes quite a lot of time. Also, restoring the wall will require both time and effort.
- The partition in which the niche is constructed should not contain wiring or any other communications.
