Sliding doors are pretty popular these days in the USA, from barn doors to bam door closets or patio sliding doors. The only downside? They can be pricey if you hire the professional service, which is why a lot of people choose to take the DIY route. In short, a sliding door isn’t just a stylish addition that adds character to your living room—it can also double as a stair gate and provide soundproofing benefits. This is why our team put together this guide to help you make your DIY sliding door project a success from start to finish! At the end, you may get the full understanding to build the sliding door in your home.
What Are the Benefits of Sliding Doors?
If you’ve seen many of our past projects, you’ll know that sliding doors are a feature we added in lots of homes. There are several key reasons why we love to build sliding doors:
- Cost-Effective: Sliding doors are generally less expensive to make than traditional hinged doors or drawers, especially if you use the hardware-free techniques.
- Space-Saving: Sliding doors work well in situations where hinged doors or drawers wouldn’t fit due to space limitations.
- Aesthetic Appeal: We personally think sliding doors often look cooler than hinged doors, especially on long, narrow cabinets.
- Quick and Easy to Make: As you’ll see, sliding doors are relatively straightforward to construct, especially compared to more complex joinery techniques.
While the aesthetic appeal of sliding doors is subjective, we think we can all agree that they offer some practical benefits that make them a great choice for many home projects. Let’s get into the step-by-step process of how to build the sliding door.
Two Approaches to Build The Sliding Doors
Whenever our team of sliding door repair Fort Lauderdaler makes doors, they generally fall into one of two categories: full width grooves or tongue width grooves. Let’s take a closer look at each approach:
Full Width Grooves
With full width grooves, the groove that the door slides into is wide enough for the entire panel to sit inside it. This method is a bit simpler, as you don’t have to cut a tongue on the door itself.
Tongue Width Grooves
Tongue width grooves have a narrower groove that only the door’s tongue or rabbet sits in. This approach is a bit more complex but offers some key advantages:
- You can use thicker door panels without needing thicker grooves, which can look more visually appealing.
- The doors tend to operate more smoothly with less friction.
- You can maintain a thicker, stronger ridge between the doors while minimizing the gap between them.
While the tongue width groove method is a bit more involved, I think the benefits make it worth considering, especially for larger or more prominent sliding door applications. Let’s walk through the step-by-step process for both approaches.
How To Cut the Grooves?
Regardless of whether you’re using full-width or tongue-width grooves, the first step is to cut the grooves that the sliding doors will run in. There are a couple different ways to approach this:
Table Saw Method
If your grooves will span the entire length of your workpiece, a table saw can be a great option. Simply set your fence to the desired inset distance and make multiple passes, or use a dado blade to cut a wider groove.
Router Method
Using a router is often more versatile, especially if your grooves need to stop partway through the piece. You can use a router table or a handheld router with a fence guide. A plunge-base router makes this process even easier.
One key consideration is the depth of the grooves. The general rule is that the top grooves should be deeper than the bottom grooves—typically 3/8″ on top and 1/8″ on the bottom. This allows you to easily install and remove the doors after the cabinet is assembled.
How to Handle Tongue Width Grooves?
While the full width groove method is simpler, we personally prefer the tongue width groove approach for the reasons we mentioned earlier. So, it’s building process is as follows:
Determine Door Width
Start by cutting your door panel slightly wider than the opening. For example, if your cabinet opening is 10 inches, cut the door to 10 1/2 inches wide.
Cut the Bottom Tongue
Take the offcut from your door panel and mark a line 3/16″ up from the bottom. Set your blade to that height and make the cut—this will establish the length of the bottom tongue. The shoulder of this cut should sit 1/16″ above the opening.
Mark the Top Shoulder
Measure up from the bottom of the door the same distance as your cabinet opening (10 inches in our example). Then, mark a line 1/4″ below that. This will be where the top shoulder of the door is cut.
Cut the Top Tongue
Set up your saw to cut the top tongue, using the mark you just made as a reference. Again, test fit and adjust as needed to get a smooth sliding action.
Trim the Top Tongue
At this point, the door won’t quite fit, as the top tongue is still a bit too long. Carefully trim it down by making small passes on the table saw until the door can slide in and out easily.
The key here is working your way up the door, cutting the bottom tongue, marking the top shoulder, cutting the top tongue, and then trimming it to fit. It may sound complex, but with a little practice, this technique becomes quite straightforward.
Bonus Tips for Building Sliding Doors
As you’re building your sliding doors, here are a few additional tips to keep in mind:
Door Thickness
We generally aim for door thicknesses between 1/2″ and 3/4″, depending on the size of the doors. Smaller doors can get away with 1/2″, while larger doors may benefit from the added stability of 3/4″ material.
Door Length
When determining door length, I like to have a slight overlap between the doors, around 3/4″. This helps create a seamless look, even when viewed from an angle.
Side Panel Grooves
You can also cut grooves into your side panels to help hide any gaps between the doors and cabinet. This is especially useful if your doors and cabinet don’t share the same angles.
Wrapping Up
Sliding doors are a fantastic way to add functionality and visual interest to your furniture projects. Whether you opt for the simpler full width groove method or the more refined tongue width approach, the key is to take your time, test your fits, and don’t be afraid to make adjustments along the way. We have given you the DIY method, but if you have any sliding glass door replacement issue or need repairing to the patio sliding doors, you can hire Door Repair Fort Lauderdale for professional service. We’re here for you whenever you need us!