Bifold Closet Doors

Robbi, Since you are also an LJ building the doors shouldn’t be a problem (just like a tall thin coffee table, nice project). If you have installed bi fold doors before then you should be familiar with the basic concept, if not then I would study up on them before making the doors. As long as you have all your door sizes figured out for your finish opening I wouldn’t worry to much, just plow ahead.

-- Ron Trout, http://westcoastlands.net

When you build your doors, provided you’re going to do frame and panel, go ahead and make them with full mortise and tenon joints. This will help keep the doors flat, since bi folds press against each other and the frame. If you are just going to make plywood doors, make them out good cabinet grade plywood and face them with 1/4” hardwood plywood. That will give you a little over an inch of door thickness.

-- Tim - http://www.tmuli.com

Any store bought bifolds I’ve ever dealt with were cheap. hardware was shoddy at best. My first instinct is to make two doors that part in the middle rather than a bifold. Invariably the hardware (the way it’s made) is always hard to lock down at the hinge side to keep the door from coming out of it’s track (for a top only hardware system.) Hopefully you got a decent system. I’m sure there’s a whole range of quality out there.

-- arborial reconfiguration specialist

Thanks for the confidence Ron, I just hope my calculations are correct! Tim, yes I am doing frame and panel with full mortise and tenon joints. And Catspaw, I have had the same experience with bifold doors, but the room is small and the closet is big, so two doors are not an option. I got the hardware from Johnson Hardware and the instructions look pretty straight forward. I wanted to wait for the hardware before I started the doors, so I guess I’m going to just dive in. Thanks for all the comments, wish me luck.

-- Robbi, If it's not broke, fix it anyway