Sliding doors made of polycarbonate: types, advantages, disadvantages. How to make sliding doors yourself Installing the door leaf

A new direction in the design of apartments and premises is the use of polycarbonate as a building or finishing material.

When making a frame for a door, it is necessary to make it 1-1.5 cm smaller than the doorway.

Not so long ago, this material was used most of all on household plots for the construction of greenhouses and greenhouses, as well as canopies that were used to protect against rain. One of the innovations in design is the manufacture of interior doors from polycarbonate with your own hands. A variety of colors of the material allows you to choose the necessary color scheme without spoiling general design and overall design.

Before using the material in the construction of interior doors, polycarbonate was widely used for the manufacture of shower cubicle elements. This application was not only convenient, but also practical. Firstly, the material is light and, accordingly, the design of the doors itself is lighter than those made of another material. Secondly, when compared with glass, polycarbonate is stronger and safer, you don’t need to worry that if you slam the sash harder, then the transparent elements will break into fragments. If the material is damaged, then it does not break into small fragments, like glass. Thirdly, when cleaning, the material is easier to wash and clean.

Using polycarbonate, you can make 2 types of doors:

hinged;
sliding.

Mounted represent traditional look and fastened with canopies to the installed box.

Sliding ones are a variant of a compartment in which one or two doors open along the plane of the walls.

Structurally, they are divided into:

frame;
frameless.

Frame made in the form of a frame in which polycarbonate is installed. The frame - the frame can be made of metal, plastic or wood. It is recommended to use poplar when making a wooden frame, as its wood is light and will not make your assembled frame heavier.

The frameless design belongs to the elite class. Doors can be assembled from polycarbonate with your own hands without a pre-assembled frame - frame, the sheet must be solid. Their appearance is more rigorous and rich, and therefore the cost of their manufacture is greater.

Making a hinged door with your own hands

To make an interior door, you will need carpentry tool And Consumables. Since the material is easy to process, a large set of tools and special devices is not required. The minimum set includes:

Hinged door layout: 1. 2mm putty steel; 2. Polycarbonate; 3. Door frame, L-shaped profile 40x4 mm; 4. Mortise lock, window wrapping, etc.; 5 - glass on putty; 6 - plastic profile; 7. Glass; 8. Sheet steel; 9. Countersunk head bolt M 6x10; 10. Corners are fastened with window squares; 11. Loop or hinge.

electric drill with a set of drills;
measuring devices ( building level, tape measure, square);
construction knife;
angle cutting machine.

The composition of components for manufacturing will depend on the design. If the structure is framed, you will need to make a frame - frame, and to assemble it you need:

timber, metal or plastic corner, the length will be determined by the size of the opening;
self-tapping screws;
corners for tightening the frame;
canopies, for fastening to the opening box;
a polycarbonate sheet according to the size of the opening, if there are several smaller sheets in the frame, a partition can be provided.

If the design is frameless, only polycarbonate and a pair of canopies are required.

Manufacturing works are carried out in the following sequence.

We carry out measurements of the doorway in which your structure will be installed.
According to the measurements obtained, a frame is assembled from the selected material for the manufacture of the frame. It should be remembered that in the manufacture of the frame, the dimensions must be reduced by about 1 - 1.5 mm for tight closing. In the manufacture of the frame, great attention should be paid to right angles so that there are no distortions. If the frame is wooden, then the corners can be pulled together with special metal corners. Before sheathing wooden frame can be painted or varnished. Before painting, it is necessary to sand the internal and external surfaces well. When painting, you can use stain or polish. Painting the frame will give a more stylish look to your product.
It is very convenient to make a frame according to the dimensions of a previously installed, old door.
The prepared frame is sheathed with polycarbonate.
Canopies are being prepared, which are fixed on the doors and the box.
The door is hung. Hanging a polycarbonate structure with your own hands is easier than a traditional one, as it is several times lighter.

If a frameless structure is made, then the manufacturing technology is simpler. The main work will be to correctly cut the polycarbonate door to the appropriate dimensions. As an assistant, you can use the old design by overlaying it on a sheet, outlining the outline.

Doors made of polycarbonate today are a fashionable trend in design. And if yesterday designers knew little about them, now they are actively using polycarbonate doors.

Some 20-25 years ago, the only polycarbonate doors that were used by people were the doors to. It is greenhouse doors from which are the parents of modern transparent doors made of wonderful material.

A little later, polycarbonate began to be used in shower doors. It turned out to be very convenient and, most importantly, practical, as they are easy to clean, light in weight and, unlike glass, are more durable and safer.

WITH active use, designers began to actively use it at every opportunity. Thus, polycarbonate began to produce input and interior doors.

Features of polycarbonate doors

What is a polycarbonate door? There are two types of such doors: frame and frameless.

Frame doors are a frame, metal, plastic or wood-containing, sheathed with polycarbonate or inserted into certain places allocated for it. This combination is a classic option for doors in apartments, houses and offices of small and medium class, as such doors are moderately priced and do not require large production costs.

Frameless polycarbonate doors are elite class doors. They are made of solid polycarbonate, that is, they do not contain any frame. Typically, such products have a high price, so they are used less frequently by designers. Such doors look strictly and richly.

Of all positive qualities, which have polycarbonate doors, there are three main ones.

First, they are lightweight. No door can boast of such quality. Secondly, they have great strength, so you don’t have to worry that if the door is suddenly closed, its transparent elements can break. And thirdly, they are safe. Even if the transparent element is damaged, it will not crumble like glass into small sharp fragments. very viscous material and does not form sharp cutting elements when damaged.

Of course, beauty, elegance, comfort and luxury of polycarbonate doors can be added to the above. And these are not empty words. Any designer who has ever come across a unique material called polycarbonate will tell you this.

By the way, just recently, German designers have created an elegant, sporty concept car BMW Vision EfficientDynamics.

Such a car has doors in its arsenal, most of which are made of polycarbonate, such doors are automatically darkened in the light. By the way, in fact, the entire upper part of this unique car is also made of polycarbonate.

Thus, summing up this review, I want to note that those technologies that were considered technologies of the future not so long ago are already being implemented today. This applies not only to polycarbonate doors, but also to all products that are in one way or another associated with a unique transparent material.

From polycarbonate, only greenhouses, sheds and country shower cabins have long ceased to be made. The advantages that this lightweight material possesses have elevated it to the rank of affordable and practical materials for finishing an apartment. In particular, polycarbonate partitions can be an excellent alternative to glass doors, the installation of which is best left to professionals. You can easily handle polycarbonate on your own. However, you can always contact Revecon specialists. We carry out the installation of hinged or sliding partitions made of polycarbonate quickly and inexpensively.

Catalog of our products - we work in Moscow and the Moscow region

Advantages of sliding partitions made of polycarbonate

Light weight. Unlike similar glass doors polycarbonate partitions weigh much less. The lightness of the material makes it easy to work with and install in the doorway.

Space saving. Sliding structures have always been the #1 choice in apartments with small area. Their main advantage is the opening along the wall. No need to leave empty space for its unhindered opening.

Safety. With any glass, even impact-resistant, you need to be careful. Polycarbonate, even in case of damage, will not crumble into thousands of small fragments.

Wide range of design possibilities. In addition to the wide range of polycarbonate types on the market (solid, cellular, colored, transparent), you can add extra zest to your sliding partitions by combining different finishes and types of panels among themselves.

Ease of installation. Polycarbonate does not require complex tools for sawing and fastening to the frame. All installation work can be done by hand, without resorting to the help of specialists.

Where can I install sliding partitions made of polycarbonate

You can install sliding polycarbonate partitions with your own hands in the apartment almost everywhere. In each of the rooms, the partitions will have their own function.

Shower cabin. The main function is practical (saving space and protecting the bathroom from water splashes), as well as decorative.
Wardrobe. The partition will create an attractive interior and hide the wardrobe shelves.
Living room, kitchen, children's room. Sliding partitions from polycarbonate will serve as doors and zone the apartment.
Terrace or veranda. All the same function of division of zones and practical (protection from bad weather).

Choosing a frame for polycarbonate

The frame will give the polycarbonate panels a finished look. The choice of material from which the frame will be made depends only on your preferences and the design of the interior in which you install the sliding partition. However, it is worth understanding what qualities each of the materials is characterized by.

During the installation process, you may face the question of attaching polycarbonate to the frame on both sides or with one sheet in the center. If it is important to give additional rigidity to the sliding partitions, then it is better to resort to a two-sided mounting method. If this task is not paramount, then use the single-sheet option in the center of the frame.

Ways to open sliding partitions

There can be a lot of options for moving doors along guides.

However, if you undertake the installation of sliding partitions for the first time, then stop at the simplest - compartment opening.

Coupe. Classic variant opening sliding partitions with a lot of variations shown in the picture. There are top and bottom guides.
Folding. In such partitions, there are two or more panels that, when opened, fold like a book or an accordion. The bottom guide is missing. Such partitions lose to the rest in sound insulation, because. below there is no tight connection with the floor.
Radius. Cloths of such partitions have a semicircular shape. There are both top and bottom guides.

Installation steps

We take measurements. This milestone work in the case of installation of sliding partitions requires special care. We measure the height and width of the doorway. We take smaller sizes as a basis.

Necessary tools: tape measure, pencil.

Polycarbonate cutting and profile installation. If cellular polycarbonate was chosen for sliding structures, then before starting work, it is necessary to remove adhesive tape from its ends. Cutting is done with a jigsaw or grinder. Next, we glue the edges with a sealed tape and install a profile on top of it. The factory film, which is available on the front side of the polycarbonate, remains on it until the very last stage installation.

Necessary tool: jigsaw, grinder, clerical knife, profile, sealed tape.

Frame assembly. In order for the sliding structure to fit into the doorway, make it 1-1.5 mm smaller than the opening on all sides. It is important to prepare a frame with a clear rectangular shape to avoid skew. You can use metal corners for screeding frame parts. Polycarbonate sheets are fastened to a frame (wooden, aluminum, etc.).

Required tools: building square, screwdriver, jigsaw, self-tapping screws, bolts or screws, metal corners.

Installation of guides. Depending on the selected type sliding design, the upper (and lower) guides are being installed. This is done above the door intake by about 5–10 cm. It is important, using a level, to do this work efficiently so that the door does not move along the guides on its own. The length of the guides is 2 times the width door leaf.

Required tools: guides, level, drill, screwdriver, anchors.

Installation of sliding partitions. First you need to place rollers on the assembled polycarbonate frame, on which the canvas will move along the guides. The number of rollers is determined by the width of the web. For narrow ones, just one roller at the top and bottom is enough. For reliability with wide sliding partitions, it is better to use 2 pairs of rollers. Install assembled structure into the guides, first into the upper ones, and then, slightly raising the canvas, into the lower ones.

Necessary tools: carriages with rollers, screwdriver.

Finishing work. If necessary, handles and other fittings are attached to the canvases, screws on rollers are tightened to align the partitions. Limiters are installed in the guides.

Required tools: screwdriver, fittings, limiters.

Order sliding partitions from Revecon

If you want to entrust the installation of sliding partitions to professionals, then we suggest that you do not delay and immediately contact us for advice on the cost and duration of work. We will do all the work on time, efficiently and at a reasonable price.

Polycarbonate is a material that until recently was used only for the construction of greenhouses, shower cabins, sheds. Subsequently, it began to be used for finishing apartments. Polycarbonate doors are comfortable and practical, they are used in design solutions often enough. Now they can be seen not only in gardens and orchards, but also in city apartments.

The material has a large number of colors, so it is used as interior design. It perfectly conveys the idea of any author and has several options for execution. Such doors have a number of advantages that can be appreciated by making a design with your own hands:

Light weight allows you to create a simple product that looks airy.
Polycarbonate is a material that has managed to demonstrate its reliability and safety. Especially when compared with glass option doors.
When cracks appear, the material does not crumble into small pieces.
Doors made of polycarbonate do not require special care - just wipe the surface with a wet cloth.

These properties make interior doors durable and strong. Excellent external characteristics allow them to fit into any interior.

Types of structures

Polycarbonate is a bright and lightweight material that allows you to create a variety of designs.

For those who are going to make them with their own hands, you should understand the features in more detail. There are the following classification of doors made of polycarbonate:

A door that is located at the entrance to an apartment or house.
Interroom option, thanks to which you can also fence off part of the living space and perform zoning.

Classification depending on performance characteristics:

It is attached to the frame with hinged mechanisms.
Sliding doors open towards each other. This option is durable, but since the risk of damage to the baby is increased, it is not advisable to use them in the children's room. Sliding design options are often used for the shower.

The design of doors can be one of the following types:

The frame fixing method is characterized by the presence of a special frame that serves to fix the polycarbonate. The frame can be made from any material option at the discretion of the owner (wood, plastic, metal, plastic). Such a sample is advisable to use in large working rooms. IN residential buildings or apartments frame version fasteners are not very popular. The main advantage is the low cost of the material.
With the absence of a frame, the door is made in order to improve external characteristics. You can do this option with your own hands, however, you must first study the examples in the catalogs. Thanks to the advice of experts, you can create an option that fits perfectly into the decor of any room. The door is elegant, restrained. In this case, it is advisable to use a single sheet of polycarbonate.

How to make a design yourself?

When creating doors with your own hands, you should carefully analyze everything operational properties. Polycarbonate is a material that will last a long time, but it is important to observe some conditions. Installation begins with cutting, drilling and fastening. For the shower, it is important to provide certain conditions so that during operation there are no additional inconveniences.

The installation process involves the following scheme:

Material cutting. The door body must be perfectly strong, so the cutting procedure involves the use circular saw. If necessary, you can use any other disc equipment or a construction knife. The amount of sawdust can be minimized by using a jet of compressed air. When the process is over, the ends are sealed with adhesive tape. Due to this, during operation sliding doors the soul will not let dust in.
Do-it-yourself drilling can be easily done with the help of conventional drill. Before starting work, it is advisable to check the sharpness of the tool. Drilling should be done between stiffeners. Remember that any hole must be at least 40 millimeters from the edge.
Fixing polycarbonate with your own hands is done through the use of self-tapping screws and special thermal washers. The latter option is the most convenient to use, since it consists of a washer with a leg, which is sealed and has a lid. The part must be used to secure the sliding shower door. Thanks to thermal washers, it is possible to provide high-quality sealing. All heat stays indoors. With the help of self-tapping screws, bridges are formed, which are also used for thermal insulation.
Additionally, you should take care of sealing the ends. This nuance is taken into account when cutting polycarbonate. High-quality joints are obtained using self-adhesive tape. For this purpose, an aluminum or perforated version is used. This minimizes the ingress of dust and the formation of condensation.

If you install sliding entrance doors with your own hands, then be sure to take into account thermal deformation. With sudden changes in temperature or in the cold season, the material may break. The same conditions must be met when installing shower doors.

Polycarbonate doors are a versatile and cheap solution. They can be used not only inside, but also outside the house. The installation procedure is simple, so with certain skills you can do it yourself.

Sliding doors with sashes made of glass are distinguished by a special aesthetics. In addition to the fact that sliding partitions allow rational use of space, transparent material gives the interior sophistication and lightness, contributes to good illumination of the room. But the glass sheet has significant drawbacks: the high cost and fragility of the material, which requires a careful attitude to the design. The manufacture of glass panels is only possible for specialized firms with necessary equipment for glass processing.

A good alternative to natural glass are various polymeric materials. One of the most popular transparent polymers, which is used for the manufacture and installation of transparent canvases for sliding structures, is polycarbonate. This material is impact-resistant, lighter than glass, has the same transparency, and most importantly, you can make polycarbonate sliding doors with your own hands.

Features and types of material

Polycarbonate is produced in a monolithic and cellular version. These materials have different aesthetic and specifications. Each type of polycarbonate is installed in a sliding structure of a certain type, which ultimately determines appearance finished sliding door and polycarbonate partition.

Important! The variety of polycarbonate sheets makes it possible to use it for the manufacture and installation of a sliding door, similar to natural glass, or use it as a decorative panel material. It can be used as independent material for the manufacture of door leaves, and in combination with other decorative materials (laminated chipboard, MDF).

Monolithic polycarbonate

It is a single sheet of polymer with smooth surface. It is a full-fledged analogue of natural glass.

They are produced by analogy with sheets of silicate glass with a material thickness of 2-12 mm. Thus, it is possible to produce either a frameless type panel with a thickness of 10 mm for installation in a hinged structure for glass doors, or use them as inserts into a frame from a profile for sliding sliding wardrobe systems.

Thick sheets of this material are highly durable and are also called anti-vandal. Not only are they resistant to impact, they cannot be broken even intentionally.

Cellular polycarbonate

This material is a hollow sheet, which consists of two or more thin layers connected by thin bridges. Produced by extrusion.

Due to the cellular structure, a door made of this material weighs more than ten times less than a glass door.

Due to the multi-layered material, it cannot be made as thin as monolithic polycarbonate. The thickness of the produced sheets starts from 4 mm. Panels with a thickness of 32 mm are made from cellular material.

Important! When planning the dimensions of a sliding door or a polycarbonate partition, you need to remember that the width of the strip of cellular material is 2.1 m, and it is cut along the length in stores in increments of 1 m. The length of the end profile for polycarbonate is associated with these dimensions.

Profiles for polycarbonate

For mounting and closing the edges of polycarbonate sheets, several types of profiles are produced. They are made from aluminum and polycarbonate. In the manufacture of a sliding door, only end profiles may be needed to frame the frame and create a rigid frame. It depends on the design of the door, the chosen type of sheet of material and the technical capabilities of the master in terms of the quality of cutting the material at home. Such a profile may be needed to stiffen the panel and to frame the door, which will hide the chips.

The end profile closes the honeycombs of the cellular sheet that are open at the ends from moisture and dust getting into them. If you do not close the ends with a profile, then over time the material will lose transparency. In particular, it is necessary to be conscientious about closing the ends of the polycarbonate when installing the door to the bathroom.

The end profile, which acts as a frame, will give the door an aesthetic and finished appearance.

Under any purchased sheet, there are also end profiles of the appropriate thickness: from 2 to 16 mm. The length of the profile is the same as the width of polycarbonate - 2.1 m.

How to work with polycarbonate

After buying cellular polycarbonate, you can see that its ends are sealed with tape. This is a temporary protection that needs to be removed. After cutting the polycarbonate, the ends with open cells will need to be glued with sealing tape. The end profile is put on over the tape. To hold an aluminum or polycarbonate profile, it is planted on small droplets of transparent silicone.

In addition to the ends, polycarbonate is pasted over with a film on one (front) side. It is removed only after the installation of the cellular polycarbonate sliding door is completed. The only thing that needs to be done is to partially unstick it around the edges, where the frame profile will sit, and the roller carriages will be attached. In addition, this will prevent the sides of the canvas from being confused if a sliding door of two or more wings is mounted.

Important! Before cellular polycarbonate is sealed and installed in the sliding door frame, it must be kept in a room with dry air. This will prevent the formation and accumulation of condensate inside the cells of the sheet.

To cut the material, a jigsaw with a fine-toothed saw, a grinder, and a clerical knife are used.

Frame panels

The polycarbonate structure with the frame will be more visible, it will be perceived as a full-fledged door. The frame will act as a frame that will stiffen the panel.

The compartment version is most suitable for the manufacture of a polycarbonate sliding door. The frame made of profiles for the sliding door structure of the polycarbonate compartment type is assembled on self-tapping screws, no additional fittings need to be installed on the canvas. Polycarbonate 4 and 10 mm thick can be installed in the frame. Thin parts are installed in the profile using a special seal. In this option, you can make the canvas combined, with inserts from monolithic, cellular, transparent or colored polycarbonate.

Sliding mechanisms with frame canvases are supporting and hinged. Systems installed in rooms hinged type, in which there is no bottom rail, and the door is held with U-shaped flags installed on the floor to the side of the opening.

In the support mechanisms, the canvas moves along the lower guides, and the upper roller serves to balance the sash. Support structures installed in openings with low traffic.

Rollers in structures with a frame are attached to the upper and lower horizontal jumper of the frame frame. Each manufacturer produces its own range of profiles that differ in shape, type of coating, but all typical dimensions they have the same.

Sliding mechanisms for frameless panels

Sliding systems designed for glass panels differ from the usual carriages by the mechanism of attachment to the canvas. They are designed for mounting sheets with a thickness of 8 to 12 mm. They have two types of fasteners: clamping and point-clamping. The principle of their work is as follows: two long strips wrap around the panel from the end on both sides and are clamped. In point-clamp systems, the screw that tightens the jaws of the clamp passes through the web, and a hole must be drilled for it. In clamping systems, the clamping jaws are applied to the end of the panel, and the clamping screw is located above the web.

Important! In these cases, an aluminum end profile must be installed on the canvas.

All designs with fastening of roller carriages to glass (polycarbonate) are only with the upper type of sliding. There are three main types:

Open;
Closed;
Mounted.

System open type It is a guide in the form of a pipe along which a roller in the form of a pulley rolls.

Closed structures usually have clamp-type roller carriages, and after installation, the upper guide is closed with a decorative strip.

IN hinged system the roller carriage is attached to the side of the panel, and the guide is not above the sash, but behind it.

Video how to cut polycarbonate:

IN sliding systems polycarbonate is a cheap and practical alternative to glass. But due to the flexibility of this material and the presence of chips after cutting, the sheets must have a frame made of a profile that will hide all defects and make the sash rigid.

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Roman 21.04.2019 03:43

Hello! I share the feelings of the previous speaker! I would like such doors. I am writing from Voronezh

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