Calculating the Access to Your Sliding Wardrobe

Designing and installing sliding wardrobes doesn’t have to be a complex procedure. At My Sliding Wardrobe, we work hard to make the process of designing and planning a new sliding wardrobe simple and seamless, with our easy to use 3D design tool and our handy step-by-step measurement guide to help customers through every stage of the process.  

We have outlined some of the things that should be considered when planning access to wardrobe internals, ahead of designing a sliding wardrobe using our 3D design tool. This includes how many doors will be best and what access spacing you will get between doors, to help you create a wardrobe with optimal access to its content.

This short video provides a visual explanation of how the process works:

 

Calculating the space and making the wardrobe work for you

 

Firstly, it is important to understand how many doors you would like to include within the sliding wardrobe design, this will determine the maximum number of doors on each track channel, the door widths and the spacing between the doors for consideration when planning internal features. 

Understanding the correct spacing between your sliding doors will ensure that you have the right space in the correct positions to access the inside of your wardrobe and all of its contents. When it comes to designing the internal features, particularly shelf stacks and drawers, consideration must be given to how accessible these will be when the sliding doors are fully open.

Can I keep my original internals and just have sliding doors?

Yes, of course.

We understand that people may be happy with their current internal shelving, rails and drawers, but may wish to upgrade their wardrobe doors to freshen up specific living spaces and pick a new style to match new trends or changing tastes. If you would like to keep your original internals, you will need to choose a quantity of made-to-measure sliding doors, which best matches and works with what you already have in place internally. 

How many sliding doors should I opt for when designing my wardrobe?

Deciding on the number of doors you would like to feature in your wardrobe depends on your preference, the internal features you have chosen and the space available. The website will pre-select the optimum number of doors based on price, however this may not always be the best solution for the access you require.

When designing your wardrobe using our 3D design tool and choosing the number of doors you would like, it is important to also consider the individual door width, the position of those doors when they are moved, how many doors sit on each track and the resulting access space between the doors, and how this matches up with the inside of the wardrobe. 

Should I include casing with my sliding wardrobe? 

We strongly recommend casing on all wardrobes, however our recent blog on casing and why should I choose it will support you in making a decision on whether your sliding wardrobe needs casing or not. The casing you have will make a small difference to the size of each door and this needs to be factored in when calculating the access to internals. The wardrobe builder takes casing into account when confirming and displaying the door width during the design process.

A note to remember, when incorporating casing (including end panels) to your sliding wardrobe, an allowance of 18mm must be factored in on each side. This means an opening width reduction of 36mm in total if you opt for the recommended casing and / or end panels on both sides.

Calculating the access your chosen design will give to your wardrobe

Right, calculators at the ready, this is how we work out the door sizes. Please note, the door width is accurately calculated and displayed on the 3D design tool and on the order paperwork, however you may also want to do it yourself to ensure it meets your specific requirement. Using the calculation below will allow you to understand the total width of all doors on each track channel and therefore the resulting access you will have between them to the interior of your wardrobe.

Now that we have an understanding of our casing thickness and our door widths, we can calculate the openings between doors by totalling the opening width between the walls / casing and deducting the total door widths on each track channel from this. As you can see below, our track includes 2 channels no matter how many doors you order.

Example:

• Opening width 3000mm, casing all sides, 3 door
• Door width is 1014mm using the formula above
• The max number of doors on each track is 2 based on the summary below
• Access width between doors = 3000mm(opening width) – 36mm(casing thickness) – (2(doors) x 1014mm(door width)) = 936mm

The summary below shows how many doors sit on each track channel and should help you understand whether you have enough doors and whether you may need to adjust your design slightly, in order to give optimal access to your internal features. Please remember that our internals are generally flexible and so it is normally possible to change or rearrange the internal layout to suit the openings between doors, should you have your heart set on a specific number of doors.  

2 Door Wardrobes

2 door wardrobes have a maximum of 1 door per track channel and give around 46% – 49% access left and right depending on size and inclusion of casing.

3 Door Wardrobes

3 door wardrobes have a maximum of 2 doors per track channel and give between 29% – 32% access left, middle and right depending on size and inclusion of casing.

4 Door Wardrobes

4 door wardrobes have a maximum of 2 doors per track channel and give 46% – 49% access left, middle and right depending on size and inclusion of casing.

5 Door Wardrobes

5 door wardrobes have a maximum of 3 doors per track channel and give 36% to 38% access left, centre left, centre right and right depending on size and inclusion of casing.

6 Door Wardrobes

6 Door wardrobes have a maximum of 2 doors per track channel and give 46% – 48% access left, centre left, centre right and right depending on size and inclusion of casing.

 

What do I do if my planned number of doors does not work with my planned internals?

 

1. Adjust the internals to suit the openings between the doors as per your design. This is the easiest and normally the cheapest option, however it is not always an option if you have existing internals.
2. Change the number of doors to increase the access space between them or move the position of them. This usually increases the cost, but it can improve access and can make installation easier. This generally works best when moving from a 3 door to a 4 door.
3. Add an additional track or tracks behind the standard double track giving 3 or even 4 runs of doors instead of 2. This will however, increase the depth needed which will normally mean casing boards will not be deep enough. There are also limitations on colours of single tracks

If you have existing internals which will not work with any number of doors we offer, then there are some additional options involving either larger doors or additional track channels as above, allowing for larger gaps between the sliding doors. This is not an ideal solution, however it is possible and can sometimes be the only option. If you are interested in this, please contact us so we can run through the options and advise on the best way forward.

 

About My Sliding Wardrobe

My Sliding Wardrobe is a leading specialist in bespoke, handmade custom sliding doors and wardrobes. Our wardrobes come with a 12 year warranty and are handmade in the UK to the highest standard with style, quality and affordability in mind. All of our custom sliding doors are manufactured with high quality glass, mirror and woodwork finished in contemporary metal framework in a large range of styles and designs. You can use our exclusive and unique online 3D design tool to create your perfect wardrobe and if you need any assistance, please contact us any time.