Beginners guide to selecting a Sliding Door System

When it comes to sliding door systems, there are many different types on the market which may seem overwhelming when it comes to choosing the correct system. The main benefits of using a sliding door is the space saving aspect and its ability to bring light into dark and cramped rooms.

The first step to deciding which sliding system to get is to decide whether you would like a Straight Sliding door System or a Pocket Door system.

Straight Sliding

For residential and commercial applications, sliding doors are a great way to save space, open rooms, increase natural light and provide easy access.

Pocket Door System 

Slides into a hidden compartment or recess within the adjacent wall.

Straight sliding door systems also come in many different styles to match the aesthetic of the room it will be installed in.

Pictured below is some of our Straight Sliding Door Gear Top Hung products:

In this guide, we are going to focus on the top hung straight sliding door systems.

Once you have decided which system you would like to go for – you then need to obtain the sizes of your required doors. The main measurements you require will be the height, width, weight, and thickness.

Important Note:

Ordering the highest weight capacity does not mean it is a better system. If your door is too light for the system, your door will not run smoothly.

Let’s imagine your door size is as per the following:

Height: 1981mm, Width: 762mm, Weight 85KG and Thickness: 44mm.

Now we have the weight of the door, we can start looking at the straight sliding door category on our website.

You will notice that the weights increase in increments of 40kg, 50kg, 70kg, 80kg, 90kg and 150kg. there are other systems on this page which are specialty products such as the self-close system and the barn door system.

As we know the weight of our door is 45KG, we can select the Saheco SF-P50 Sliding Door Track Fitting Set 50 kg.

The next step is to select the correct length of these tracks. As a rule of thumb, we need to ensure that there is enough space on the track for the door to sit on and run to cover the opening of the door. As we know the door is 762mm we will need to double this to allow the movement as mentioned above – this gives us a total length of 1524mm.

You will see below the 3 different sizes available for this track. Based on our calculations above, we know that the 1495mm is too sort which means that we will need to select the 2000mm track.

Most of our straight sliding door system tracks can be cut down on site to meet the required length.

Once you get more comfortable choosing your door system, you will notice that there are a wide range of accessories that you can order for your sliding door system such as soft close, synchronisation systems, additional hanger bracket for double doors.

As you will see, we have only scratched the surface when it comes to Sliding Systems – we have a dedicated sales team who have the knowledge to ensure you find the correct system. Please feel free to give us a call and go through your requirements with us.

We can even sell you the door, handles, locks and anything else that you may require.

Daniel Llewellyn