Beautiful sliding door in the interior of the bathroom

Sliding bathroom doors are widely used and, in popularity, are not inferior to classic doors. Their main advantage is space saving, which is especially true in small apartments and houses.

Sliding doors in the bathroom are a very interesting solution from a design point of view

Design Features of Sliding Doors

The easiest installation method is the overhead system, in which the doors slide along the wall along the lower or upper guide rails. This design can be mounted independently.

Sliding door guide can be mounted on the wall or ceiling

The design of the door is quite simple, its components: door leaf, horizontal guide rollers. The greatest load during movement falls on the main guide. It can be either lower or upper. The use of an upper rail is more preferable, as it is less prone to contamination.

Sliding door guides are open, covered with decorative strips or hidden inside the opening

There is a fairly large list of varieties of sliding doors, depending on the type of construction:

1. With a parallel stroke. The movement of the canvas occurs in parallel with the surface of the wall. This type is notable for good sound insulation. One or more flaps may be used. Doors with a parallel stroke, in turn, are divided into several subspecies depending on the mechanism of opening and movement.
   

   Sliding doors with a closed upper guide

2. Intracavity. It is envisaged the presence of two wings, which, when closed, move towards each other. Sliding bath doors are somewhat inconvenient to use, since, often, only one door opens.
   

   Interior doors with natural veneer finish matching the decorative panels on the bathroom wall

3. Cascading. Each leaf moves, independently of the other, in its own guide.
   

   Such designs are most often used to design wide doorways.

4. Cassette A distinctive feature is the presence of a special opening in which the door leaf enters. This opening can be constructed using a sheet of drywall or particleboard.
   

   Cassette doors when opening the leaves leave free space on the sides of the doorway

5. Radius The original and curious design provides for the radial movement of the door.
   

   Radius doors on an aluminum frame laminated in natural wood

6. Doors - compartments. The door of the compartment to the bathroom is a very popular type of construction. There are two flaps that move along the rails in opposite directions.
   

   The door of the compartment door when opening goes deep into the wall

7. Harmonic. Despite a number of obvious shortcomings, this design nevertheless gained a certain popularity.
   

   The main disadvantage of the accordion door is its low noise insulation, which cannot be improved, since the door leaf is not integral

Pros and cons of sliding door construction

Sliding door construction is widely used and installed in bathrooms. Significant popularity is due to the following advantages:

• The design features of the opening and closing mechanisms suggest significant space savings. The door does not occupy a single centimeter of excess space - the dead zone is simply absent when they are opened. It is this reason that explains the great demand for compartment doors, as modern apartments are mainly essentially limited in living space, which forces their owners to try to make the most rational use of each residential meter.
  

  Space saving - perhaps this is the main reason for the popularity of sliding doors

• Aesthetic appeal, harmonious compatibility with any interior of the apartment.
• Originality, spectacular performance, conciseness and stylish design.
• Manufacturers offer a huge selection of different models made of the most modern and attractive materials, in various color and decorative designs. Selection of a door that perfectly matches the environment is not difficult and is entirely dependent on the customer’s taste. Custom construction is also possible. When closed, the doors are one of the elements of the interior.
• There is the possibility of a simple installation of an automatic door opening and closing mechanism.
• Smoothness and soundlessness of the course.
• The long life of the compartment door to the bathroom. The design is reliable and can last several decades.

• The possibility of widespread use in any, even not quite standard, openings. The design includes one or more wings, depending on the wishes of the owner and the size of the bathroom.

The original design of the folding door, which when closed, looks like a regular swing door

Along with significant advantages, sliding doors used in the bathroom have several disadvantages.

Disadvantages of using a sliding door structure in the bathroom:

• The door does not fit tightly to the doorway and does not have sufficient tightness, therefore the use of this type of door structure in combined bathrooms is not recommended - through the slots at the bottom or at the top of the canvas (depending on the type of suspension), unpleasant odors will penetrate.
• For the same reason, sliding doors do not have sound insulation, so you can only sing in the bathroom if you have a more or less acceptable voice and hearing or in the absence of potential listeners.
• Door rollers are subject to rapid wear and it will be necessary to change them if the door is often opened.
• The lower rail guide needs constant cleaning of accumulated dirt.

What are the sliding doors to the bathroom

When selecting sliding doors for a bathroom, it is necessary to be guided by the operational features of this room: the material of manufacture must be strong, wear-resistant, have resistance to moisture, and to temperature changes. Sliding doors should be lightweight. If glass is used in the manufacture, it should be opaque or completely opaque.

Doors in the bathroom must withstand exposure to high humidity, steam, and elevated temperatures.

Depending on the material, sliding doors are divided into two types:

1. Solid or homogeneous.
2. Paneled.

Solid doors are made of one material, which can be: glass, wood, plastic, linoleum, fiberboard, particleboard, metal, laminate.

Solid wood sliding door with matching tone to the bathroom floor

Paneled are produced by combining several materials; manufacturers offer very interesting combinations of two or more materials. More popular than solid ones.

Sliding doors on a wooden frame with clear glass inserts

Materials for door leaf: a brief description, features

Doors for the bathroom should be made of materials that meet a number of criteria and requirements. Below we look at the subject of this correspondence the most popular of them.

Solid wood

It is suitable for installation in a bathroom with significant limitations, since wood is afraid of moisture and susceptible to fungal diseases - as a result, it can deform and lose its performance. Processing a wooden door leaf with special anti-bactericidal compounds and waterproof emulsions can to some extent correct the situation and extend the life of the product.

Solid wood sliding doors with lacquered finish

Advantages: naturalness, beauty, style.

Fiberboard, particleboard

Fiberboard - a fiberboard (hardboard), obtained by pressing steamed wood sawdust. The thickness of the fiberboard is seven millimeters 7 mm. Doors from chipboard are produced in a frame way. The advantage is the price. Disadvantages: short life, significant susceptibility to mechanical damage, moisture and steam.

Such doors can be glued with decorative films under a tree or simply painted

Particleboard - wood chipboard (Particleboard), obtained by pressing dry wood sawdust and bonding them with formaldehyde resins. Advantages: ease of processing, resistance to water and steam, strength, low cost, wide color gamut.

Glass

Tempered glass is the most preferred material for the production of sliding doors to the bathroom.

Frosted glass double-wing sliding door

Benefits:

• Absolute resistance to moisture, temperature changes.
• Not afraid of fungi and mold.
• Grace and aesthetic appeal.
• Strength, durability.

Disadvantages:

• Difficulty in leaving.
• Significant weight, creating a load on the door structure.

Metal

It is practically not used in the manufacture of solid doors, mainly metal elements are used in panel-type doors.

Sliding doors of original design on a metal frame with plywood inserts

Plastic

Single wing sliding door in yellow plastic

Benefits:

• Durability.
• Intolerance to decay.
• Easy to care.
• Cheapness.
• Moisture resistance.
• Lightweight designs.

Laminated materials

Laminated sliding systems can only be installed in good quality. According to its characteristics, the material is slightly inferior to plastic. The film used for lamination does not protect the product very well from moisture.

Laminated single-door compartment door

Combined Options

The most popular combinations: glass-chipboard, glass-laminate, glass-PVC, solid wood - glass.

The combined door on a wooden frame with a mirror insert

Selection of fittings and guides

The list of accessories for sliding doors includes: rails, rollers, special handles, locks. When selecting fittings, it is necessary to take into account the weight of the door, its structural features: dimensions, types of movement along the rails, types of fasteners.

Sliding door is best purchased fully equipped with all necessary fittings

Door Decor Options

The largest scope for creativity is provided by glass doors. You can apply an ornament to this material, etch a beautiful pattern, and use a sandblasting method to paint a portrait or a whole picture.

A successful design decision - the corrugated surface of the glass inserts of the door leaf in harmony with the mosaic of the bathroom flooring

Modern sliding doors have a very attractive design, look stylish and original.

Video about the features of sliding doors

Photo of sliding door in the bathroom