Why Install Floor Guides on Your Sliding Doors?

If you're about to install new sliding doors that hang on overhead tracks, then you don't have to worry about having tracks or runners on the floor. However, if you're taking this route, it's worth adding some floor guides as well. So, how do floor guides work and why should you put some in under your doors?

What Are Sliding Door Floor Guides?

Floor guides are designed to help position sliding doors that don't have a track underneath. These guides can fit on to walls, skirting boards or the floor by the side of or under the door. The main aim of a guide is to provide the door with the stability and positioning it would normally get from a track. While all guides have the same aim, different products work in different ways. For example, a guide might create a small channel into which the door slides when it is opened. Or, two guides might sit on either side of the door. Here, the two edges hold the sides of the door in place when it sits between them.

Alternatively, some sliding doors actually have a channel cut into their bottom that takes a guide. In this instance, the guide screws into the floor. It also has a small metal line sticking up from its base. When you open the door, the top of the guide slots into the channel and the door slides over it.

What Are the Benefits of Installing Floor Guides?

If your door doesn't have a track or runner system under it, then it might not be as stable as you'd like. It will be held securely from above, but the bottom hangs loose. This means that the door might wobble out of position when you open it. It might also make some noise if it sways on its overhead track in the wind. In addition, you might even start to have problems closing the door smoothly if someone doesn't open it in a straight line and it moves out of position. This could also ultimately affect the overhead holding system. The door might put pressure on it but may just come off its track.  

Floor guides have a couple of benefits. For a start, they ensure that you open the door in a straight line. These devices guide the door in the right position. They also help keep the door hanging steady when it is open, and they hold the door in place so it doesn't move.

To find out more about the benefits of floor guides and to see different options, talk to sliding door hardware suppliers.

Share