It is not for nothing that the built-in wardrobe is widely popular. A sliding wardrobe not only has a large capacity, taking up a minimum of usable living space. It is capable of performing other useful functions in the interior, and making it with your own hands is not so difficult.

What does coupe mean?

In the common parts of ancient European cities, the streets were very cramped, and the sidewalks were so narrow that it was sometimes impossible to open the carriage door. Because of this, somewhere in the 17th century. coupe carriages with sliding doors appeared. Legend attributes the invention of the coupe to the French court carriage maker Jeantot. But, most likely, this is only a legend - Jeantot is famous for having invented a steering linkage, which made it possible to make sharp turns without the risk of capsizing.

The coupe carriage is a rather playful concept: parts of the city remote from comfortable neighborhoods were visited mainly for secret dates. Some linguists derive the word “coupe” from “couple” - couple, extramarital affair; marriage – “marriage”, hence the mariage known to gamblers, a queen and a king of the same suit.

Then sliding doors were suitable for railway workers for 1st class and sleeping cars. And in the furniture business, any wardrobe with sliding doors is considered a wardrobe. So the wardrobe is not necessarily built-in. And the built-in wardrobe may not be a compartment.

How is a wardrobe useful?

The main types of direct sliding wardrobes are shown in the figure. It should be immediately noted that radius sliding wardrobes, in which the front surface is curved, require high furniture professionalism, and it is better not to take on such a project yourself. Therefore, we will leave radius cabinets aside for now.

First of all, the wardrobe can be arranged in a niche, first pos. left. Making a cabinet of this type yourself is not much more difficult than making a stool. Expenses are minimal; after all, three walls, a bottom and a tire are already there. An inconvenient place turns into a useful one.

Second from left- actually the same cabinet in a niche, but the niche is the entire width of a blank wall. In this way, it is possible in a small apartment, practically without reducing the living space. The visible volume of the room can even be expanded by finishing or decorating the doors accordingly.

Next in order– in the opening of the interior partition. A common technique when arranging open-plan apartments in modern monolithic houses. It gives convenience and allows you to save a lot on expensive construction, plastering and finishing work. By the way, those described above are also economical - the inside of the cabinet can be made of chipboard, and the doors too; After all, they most often go under decor and finishing.

Closet on the far right– it’s already framed, so the material needed for it is more expensive. These are mainly used for zoning budget one-room apartments or, conversely, expensive penthouses without interior doors.

And finally, a wardrobe, like a regular one, can be straight or angular, leaning against the wall or placed across it. The latter, as stated, are used for zoning. They have two faces, but no rear at all. They are often made double-sided, with doors both here and there, for easy access to the contents. The closet can also be turned into a wardrobe by replacing the hinged door with a sliding one.

We will take a closer look at the cabinet built into the niche; We'll touch on the rest in passing. It’s the easiest way to do it yourself, and it saves the most money. In addition, you most likely will not need special tools and sawing work that requires solid skills. Why? Let's get to that.

In general, the procedure for making a wardrobe is as follows:

1. Material selection;
2. Determining the extent, nature and method of placement of filling;
3. Door design, with the choice of hanging method;
4. Choosing a method for hanging shelves;
5. Niche preparation;
6. Measurements and drawing;
7. Purchase of accessories, materials and cutting of blanks;
8. Cabinet assembly and interior lighting installation;
9. Exterior finishing.

Materials

When designing a cabinet, you need to start with choosing the material. The entire manufacturing process depends on it, and depending on the choice, it can fundamentally change.

Wood and lining

Wood is a traditional and, nowadays, prestigious furniture material. But for a built-in wardrobe, wood is far from the most suitable. The humidity in the niche will certainly be higher than in the room, and the wood will warp; its decorative role in this case is minimal. If you still need a wooden cabinet, the wood for it should be straight-grained, without strands, knots, cracks, seasoned and thoroughly impregnated with hot drying oil or water-polymer emulsion.

Note: It is not at all necessary that the niche be damp. For warping of wood, the difference in humidity from the blank wall to the doors and its sharp jumps when opening are important. Because of this, it is not recommended to place wooden cabinets in niches.

Lining for a cabinet in a niche, plastic or MDF, can be used without preliminary preparation, but another limitation appears - the frames of the door leaves. They have to be made of wood, with the same conditions and requirements as indicated above, plus the care of manufacturing. You also need to glue the lining boards together, but this is not a problem: there is a tongue and groove for it, and it holds up perfectly on the PVA. In general, a lining cabinet can be recommended only for those cases when a sliding wardrobe in a niche should fit organically into the interior, as in Fig.

Drywall

Drywall is an excellent, easy-to-use finishing material with a wide range of possibilities. Designers and amateur DIYers create real masterpieces from it. But As a basis for a cabinet of any design, gypsum board is completely unsuitable. It is possible to make a cabinet from plasterboard, see figure, but it is difficult. Let's figure out why.

Drywall is a rather heavy, fragile and at the same time not very durable material. It is intended exclusively for decoration and cannot be part of a supporting structure, even lightly loaded. Simply put, drywall cannot hold anything on itself; on the contrary, it must be attached to something and something must hold it. A piece of plasterboard 400x400 mm, laid flat on a frame, sags noticeably by itself within six months. According to the technical specifications, gypsum board sheets must not be stored vertically or leaned against the wall.

That is, you cannot simply cut gypsum boards and fasten them together, like, say, laminate (see next). Each shelf must be a box-shaped spatial structure, which requires a complex frame (see figure on the right). But the resulting structure (see next figure on the left), with the correct geometry and proper strength, will be far from aesthetic; You also need putty and decorative finishing.

Note: For the frame of a cabinet made of gypsum plasterboard, wood is doubly unsuitable - the cavities of the finished structure will attract moisture. Only standard C- and U profiles with standard fasteners are suitable for the frame.

Then - the doors. There is no way to make them from gypsum plasterboard - the fastenings will break simply under the weight of the sash. And the doors are exactly the essence of the wardrobe. Making cabinet shelves with doors from plasterboard is monkey work and reduces the usable volume. There are no wardrobes made of gypsum plasterboard, and a wardrobe with shelves made of gypsum plasterboard makes no sense.

In fact, a plasterboard cabinet is not furniture, but a building structure, and is made using construction technology, not furniture technology. But at the same time, it can have outstanding aesthetic merits and be the most significant object of interior design.

Laminate, MDF, fiberboard

These are the most suitable materials. Making a cabinet from them can be quite simple at minimal cost, see about sawing. These materials have all the beneficial properties of wood and at the same time are insensitive to gradients and humidity fluctuations because during their manufacturing process, the microstructure of the tree is transformed into another. Just one note: fiberboard should be of medium or high density. The back wall of inexpensive cabinet cabinets is often made of low-density fiberboard, similar to thick cardboard corrugated on one side, but it will soon fail in a niche.

Filling

The internal content of the cabinet determines its internal layout. There are four rules here:

• Raw - set aside separately.
• The necessary and small things are before your eyes.
• Dry - higher.
• Valuables - in boxes.

For example, it is wrong to place the section for outerwear in the middle - dampness will flow from it to the sides. If you place it on the side, the moisture from the clothes will go where it’s easier – out. In the bedroom, there is no need to place drawers or shelves for bed linen directly above the floor - dust and moisture are concentrated approximately 40 cm above the flooring. Well, it’s clear that a wallet or smartphone shouldn’t be lying around in plain sight near the entrance.

The ultimate goal of content placement is to achieve a minimum shelf width; this will be needed to calculate the doors. The placement procedure is quite responsible; the convenience and durability of the cabinet largely depends on the successful layout.

Video: internal layout of a sliding wardrobe

Doors

Doors are the salt of a wardrobe, its most complex and important element. There are three significant points:

1. Number and width of sashes.
2. Suspension design.
3. Sash stoppers.

Doors

At this stage, the task is to find the number of sashes for a given width of the opening for the cabinet. The fewer the doors, the more convenient the cabinet, but the likelihood of warping and jamming is higher. The maximum permissible width is 600-700 mm; with larger doors they can be difficult to move simply because they turn out to be very heavy.

The overlap of the wardrobe doors should be within 50-70 mm. If the overlap is too small, you will either have to open and close the doors carefully, or put up with the gaps. If there is too much overlap, the internal layout of the cabinet becomes difficult, especially if it is intended for a hallway or other cramped room.

At the same time, the width of the door should not exceed the width of the narrowest shelf, otherwise it may become inaccessible. We also take into account the permissible overlap and subtract 40-50 mm for the side profiles; without them, the doors will hit the wall. In general, the procedure is as follows: based on the maximum door width, we first determine the number of overlaps (one less than the doors) and check the resulting door width. It doesn’t fit into the maximum - you need to make one more door, and so on until everything fits together.

Calculation example:

Opening width – 1.75 m; the narrowest shelf is 0.45 m. A double-leaf cabinet will no longer work, it does not work both for convenience and for the maximum allowable width of the door. Then we’ll put two overlaps, this will give 100-140 mm minus to the opening, and we’ll also put 50 mm on the sidewalls. Total - 150-190 mm, 0.15-0.19 m. 1.75 remains for the doors - (0.15-0.19) = 1.6-1.56 m. Divide by 3, door width comes out to 0 .53-0.52 m. A lot, what to do? Let's estimate with 3 overlaps (4 doors). It comes out to 37-39 cm per door. But making 4 doors is more difficult and expensive (an extra set of fittings), so it makes sense to go back to the layout sketch and rearrange the inside so that the narrowest shelf is 55 cm.

Suspension

Three systems for hanging wardrobe doors are widely known: double-rail with a lower support, double-rail with a top support and monorail. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages. The choice is ultimately determined by the size, purpose of the cabinet and the financial capabilities of the customer/craftsman.

Bottom rail

The most common system; Its structure is shown schematically in Fig. on the right, and the design of the upper and lower rails is in Fig. left. The support rollers are the lower rollers, the upper rollers prevent the sash from falling out. This system is also the most reliable: the sashes almost never jam or touch each other.

The lower rollers are heavily loaded, so when assembling yourself, you need to follow certain rules, as illustrated in Fig. below. The rollers are made of plastic, and when purchasing you need to look to see if you can get polypropylene ones; There are a lot of cheap polyethylene ones on sale in a low-quality metal carriage. If the rollers are propylene, then you don’t have to look too closely at the metal; Both steel and aluminum are equally reliable.

Installation of the sashes is simple: insert the top into the groove of the rail, lift it all the way, insert the bottom into the groove - ready. However, the bottom support system has disadvantages:

• Sensitivity to floor subsidence, and the very weight of the cabinet increases it. On an old wooden floor on joists, after a while the doors may begin to move on their own, or even fall out.
• Sensitivity to dust and dirt. The loaded surface of the rail is in the dustiest layer of air, the rollers roll and compact the dust, tubercles form in the groove of the lower rail, after a while the doors begin to rumble unpleasantly, and the rail with the rollers needs to be cleaned.

Top rail

Here the support is moved to the upper rail, see fig. on right. The concrete ceiling does not sag, and is properly finished and does not generate dust, so the doors move quietly and smoothly. Fittings of this type are not complicated or expensive, and installation differs from the previous one only in that the sash must be tilted during installation. There are three disadvantages, but two of them are significant, so suspension with a top rail is not widely used:

1. A lower guide is definitely needed; without it, the doors will inevitably hit and rub each other.
2. If there is an accidental push or pressure on the sash, its rollers come out of the groove and the sash falls inside the cabinet.
3. The top rail is not very rigid, so in some cases it is necessary to level the ceiling where the suspension is installed.

Monorail

The peculiarity of the system is that each carriage has 2 pairs of rollers (see next figure), and the suspension of each sash runs in a separate guide. Paired rollers, together with the guide profile, counteract door wobble to some extent. Thanks to this, with careful handling, you can do without the bottom rail and not touch the floor. But you still can’t push the doors inward, otherwise they will touch each other. Therefore, lower guide rollers with a rail for them are also sold for the monorail.

A cabinet with such a hanging is suitable primarily for the bedroom, where adults use it, and neatly. A durable and precisely adjustable suspension allows you to make wide doors, and this, in turn, allows you to place both a wardrobe and a dressing room against a blank wall. Rigid box rails make it possible in most cases to avoid leveling the ceiling. There are four main disadvantages of the monorail:

• Complex and expensive fittings.
• The need for a decorative overlay at the top, because There is a wide gap between the sash and the rail.
• Complex installation: you must first insert carriages with rollers into the rail, then attach the rail to the ceiling, and only then hang the door. An assistant is needed to hang the leaves on the monorail.
• After hanging the sashes, adjustment is required.

Stoppers

It is advisable that the cabinet doors do not roll back and forth on their own, and that they do not need to be carefully pushed into place. In a double-leaf cabinet, the problem is solved by magnetic latches on the sides. But there is nowhere to put the latches on the middle doors: the magnet doesn’t hold it casually. Therefore, the main type of wardrobe latches is mechanical.

There are mainly two types used: a recess in the support rail and a flat figured spring. If you make the cabinet yourself, then the recess is not suitable: such rails are made in the factory of a standard size for standard cabinets.

The spring clamp shown in the figure is easy to make yourself and install in place in a guide cut to size. The principle of its operation is simple: the antennae protrude slightly and the roller falls between them. And when the roller rolls onto the edge of the spring, the edges of the antenna rest against the sides of the groove, which prevents the latch from moving. To move the latch into place, you need to press both antennae at once.

But all latches for sliding wardrobes have a common drawback. When opening/closing the door, the force is already acting at odds, and the resistance of the latch increases it even more. Most breakdowns of sliding wardrobes occur precisely because of the latches.

Therefore, the best stopper for sliding wardrobe doors is a carefully aligned support rail, high-quality fittings and careful use.

Fastening the shelves

For a cabinet built into a niche, the methods for hanging shelves in cabinet furniture are poorly suited or not at all suitable - you cannot reach the sides from the outside. In the niche, they either build a rigid frame, which is difficult and expensive, or use special adjustable suspension systems like the one shown in the figure. It's easier, but also not cheap.

Meanwhile, the simplest and cheapest way to attach shelves is to pieces of regular plinth, floor or ceiling, see fig. on right. MDF skirting boards, as you know, are available in a huge range of sizes, textures and profiles. To prevent the shelf fastening from being noticeable, a piece of plinth can be taken one third shorter than the depth of the shelf, and its end can also be cut off at an angle. In this case, the self-tapping screw farthest from the edge of the shelf must be screwed in from above through the shelf board.

Note: the upper and lower partitions in the closet can be attached to the floor and ceiling in the same way, without shortening the plinth sections for reliability. Their ends, if you take a small ceiling plinth, will be completely covered by the upper and lower guides, and together with the shelves fixed in a similar way, a very strong and rigid structure is formed. Which, in addition, will support the plank floor from sagging under the weight of the doors.

Niche

Professional furniture makers rarely and reluctantly undertake to manufacture built-in furniture on site - the work is tedious and unprofitable. Custom built-in furniture is most often the same cabinet furniture that is delivered and assembled in a niche. And here the home-made man has a great opportunity to simplify and reduce the cost of his closet, making it at the same time stronger and more spacious.

Diagonals

A necessary condition for the success of such an undertaking is that the niche opening must be rectangular, and the floor and ceiling where the doors are installed must be horizontal. Here you may have to devote a little time to construction work, but the volume is small and the complexity is low.

Note: for a monorail suspension, the usual horizontal level of the ceiling is sufficient. The rail is leveled with spacers. But not by adjusting the sashes after! In an inclined guide, vertically hanging sashes will slide to the side.

The floor and ceiling are checked by level, but what about rectangularity? The usual method in construction - using cords along diagonals - does not work well. The fact is that furniture precision is higher than construction precision. In finishing work, 3 mm/1 m is permissible. In furniture, if a seam 2 m long diverges in length by two millimeters, this is already noticeable to the eye. But any cord is stretchable, and it is inconvenient to wield it in a vertical opening; It won’t work without a lot of experience and construction precision.

There is a way to measure the diagonals of the opening, not just with furniture precision, but with machine-building precision, see fig. It's very simple: two slats with pointed ends. The angle at the apex is less than 45 degrees, and preferably 20-30, as long as the material of the slats is strong enough. The slats are fastened with rings made of “money” rubber bands, which are sold in any office supply store.

The measurement procedure is elementary simple:

1. We insert the device diagonally until the ends of the slats stop in the corners.
2. We make a mark with a pencil or a nail, as in pos. 1.
3. Insert it into another diagonal, push it apart/move until it stops.

By the divergence of the halves of the line, the magnitude of the inequality of the diagonals is immediately visible. Maximum accuracy - half the thickness of the mark, i.e. you can achieve 0.15-0.2 mm. And to assemble the cabinet without problems, you need up to 3 mm in an opening of 2x2.5 m.

Note: if you are preparing a place for a cabinet - a zoning partition, standing perpendicular to the wall, you will have to measure and adjust 8 diagonals - one pair at a time on the face and back, and two pairs inside between the upper and lower opposite corners. Along the width of the cabinet, two perpendiculars are cut from the wall, and instead of the currently missing sidewall, two slats or a piece of plywood are installed.

And now, what prevents you from using the walls of a niche, its floor and ceiling as the same for a closet? You just need to keep it dust-free. And achieving this is not at all difficult or expensive:

• We remove old wallpaper or paint with a gel surface-active (surfactant) remover. It is non-toxic, odorless, and the old coating can be removed with a spatula after 10-40 minutes.
• Using a foam roller, we impregnate the walls 2-3 times, at intervals of 24 hours, with PVA water-polymer emulsion.
• We paint with acrylic enamel.

A niche prepared in this way does not accumulate dust for exactly 10 years, and there is no need to remove the old baseboard from the floor. Durable acrylic enamel is not easy to damage. And the costs are less than for a sheet of simple, non-laminated fiberboard for the back wall.

Note: Small irregularities in the walls visible to the eye can be removed with an abrasive mesh on a wooden block. It is better to do this after the first impregnation with PVA - there will be less dust.

Dimensions and drawing

With this manufacturing method, shelves and partitions, of course, will have to be cut to fit. To do this, you will have to draw a view of the cabinet from the facade, approximately as shown in the figure. Then, on the ceiling, for any type of suspension, mark a line at the location where the guide is installed. Then, from its ends, make vertical lines on the walls along plumb lines, and from this imaginary plane, measure the configuration of each shelf and partition in place. From the resulting depth of the shelves/partitions, you need to subtract the width of the support profile + 20 mm from the FRONT.

What's the point? The peculiarity of the finishing work is that the layer of plaster/primer towards the inner corners is thicker. This happens because in the middle of the wall or at the outer corner there is greater freedom of movement with the tool. The difference in the width of the room in the middle and between the corners rarely exceeds 10 mm and is not noticeable to the eye, but for furniture even 2 mm is too much.

The configuration of the niche is, in general, a low truncated rectangular pyramid, overturned on its side. Accordingly, the shape of the shelves with partitions in plan will be close to a trapezoid. But is it possible to cut them with the required precision? Nowadays, it is quite possible and you won’t even have to install carpentry at home. And you don't need a jigsaw or circular saw. Templates and patterns - too.

Sawing and fittings

The fact is that now it is easier and cheaper to simply order sawing of blanks. In almost every town there is a furniture workshop with a computer and a specialist who knows ACAD, if only the drawings were accurate. Many furniture makers also acquire computer-controlled sawing robots - the cost of sawing by such a hard worker almost does not depend on the size and complexity of the part, and it pays off well on non-standard small items that are always in demand.

Furniture makers buy material at wholesale prices, therefore, based on the total area, the cost of blanks is 20% or more less than when purchasing material independently at retail. Many also give a discount on trimmings (robotic - almost all); After all, they won’t lie around in the trash, but will go to work.

Note: The thickness of the laminate or MDF for the cabinet is at least 16 mm. For doors on a monorail - at least 25 mm.

Also a standard service when sawing is edge cutting, i.e. sealing the ends of PVC boards to match. For a built-in wardrobe, of course, you only need to edge the front ends - it will be cheaper. The thickness of the PVC edge can be from 0.2 to 2 mm. If you want a thick edge, in the drawing its thickness must be subtracted from the width of the board.

Assembly, light, finishing

The methods for assembling the cabinet, in fact, have already been described. It is only necessary to add about the door hanging. The suspension systems described are not the only ones on the market. Technology develops, existing ones are improved, new ones appear. But for each one of more or less decent quality, a specification must be given indicating installation dimensions and tolerances, specifications for rails, etc.

Therefore, before ordering cutting of doors, take a closer look at what is sold around you and what will suit you best. The final size of the sashes depends on the method of suspension, and the necessary clearances are specified in the specification for the suspension.

About interior lighting. Cabinets are made of flammable materials, so it is better to use low-power 12 V halogen lights for interior lighting. The cabinet lights are powered from an AC/DC adapter plugged into an outlet using double-insulated wires. Running 220 V wiring into the closet, and even permanent wiring, is completely unacceptable!

As for the decoration - mirrors, decorations, paintings and drawings - this is a matter of taste. One note: it is not advisable to hang glass mirrors on doors made of wood materials; they are too fragile and heavy. An acrylic mirror is better. Or solid mirror doors, but that’s a separate conversation, and very expensive.

How much can you win?

Now let’s figure out whether a homemade cabinet in a niche is really inexpensive. And will the savings be worth the time and effort?

If you make a cabinet in a hallway niche as described above, the materials will cost 5-8 thousand rubles, including cutting costs. Well, 10,000, if, as they say, from the belly. Time – 2-3 couples of weekends for an average home handyman. And ordering a wardrobe for the same niche is hardly possible for less than 12,000. Most likely, from 20,000. Completion time – 2 weeks.

The savings on a wardrobe covering the entire wall of the bedroom are even greater. Here, the typical regional ratio of homemade/custom cost is 13,000/32,000. But making something like this requires more serious skills.

But making a wardrobe partition yourself is no longer so profitable: the advantages of well-established technology are also felt by the pros. And the work is difficult - a skilled craftsman will have to tinker with it for a month, if he doesn’t have to redo it yet. You will be able to profit no more than 2000 on a closet in a one-room apartment of average size.

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Despite the fact that modern furniture is practical and comfortable, it costs a lot of money, to be honest. Therefore, if possible, making furniture with your own hands is the best option. If you wish, you can make a built-in wardrobe with your own hands, which will be no worse than the options that they can offer you in furniture stores.

In addition, if you make a cabinet in a niche yourself, then you will make exactly the option that will suit you best in terms of its functionality.

The first thing you should know is that a wardrobe always only has sliding doors; even a built-in wardrobe with hinged doors still does not belong to this class. Therefore, you should understand the difference between these two types of furniture.

Sliding wardrobes are a separate type of furniture, their main feature is that the doors do not open wide, but ride on special fasteners, and open like compartment doors on a train, this is what served as the basis for the name. These cabinets quickly gained popularity because they not only allow you to store things, but also save space, since opening their doors does not require additional space as is the case with traditional options.

There are two options for how to make a closet; it can be built-in or separate. The built-in option does not take up space in the apartment, so it is the best option for small apartments. In fact, a compartment in a niche is the best option, as it allows you to make the most of all available space.

A separate wardrobe is also quite practical, but it takes up space in the room. Therefore, if you need to save space, it is best to use the built-in option.

Where to start

You shouldn’t go to the store right away if you want to make a built-in wardrobe with your own hands. First you need to plan everything carefully so as not to buy unnecessary materials. Therefore, it is better to first prepare drawings and diagrams in order to accurately plan everything you need to buy.

When you're designing a built-in closet, you'll want to keep two things in mind. First, you have side and back walls, so you can ignore them. All you need are doors and shelves. They are the ones that need to be installed in the niche. The most important thing is to arrange the shelves correctly so that the functionality suits you as much as possible, and you can arrange all the things you need.

In addition, you need to decide what material you will make the shelves and doors from. There are quite a few options, but it is best to use chipboard, laminated chipboard, or MDF. These are inexpensive, lightweight and at the same time durable materials. If you still have laminate after renovation, you can also use it to make shelves.

Furnishing the home is the final step that combines all renovation and design stages. Modern furniture should combine several important qualities: operational functionality, appearance as such, and compliance with the overall design idea.

Coupe systems or their elements are present in almost every home. The convenience and functionality of this furniture is undeniable, and for such design styles as minimalism, urban, hi-tech, it is completely irreplaceable. The article provides comprehensive recommendations for making your own wardrobe.

Advantages

Having considered the pros and cons of this class of furniture, we will get a complete understanding of the modern concept of a wardrobe with a compartment door opening system.

Advantages
Ergonomics	Standard designs require “blind” areas for opening. In coupe systems, doors move in one plane along guides when opening and closing. Significantly saved space.
Capacity	The ability to arbitrarily configure the internal space (filling), which determines the capacity. The only requirement is ergonomic feasibility.
Versatility	Fits into any interior. Various design and finishing methods allow you to install the cabinet in the bedroom, kitchen, living room, etc.
Functionality	Inside, unlike ordinary cabinets, you can store large items and household appliances. Build in various devices - ironing board, workbench, tabletop, etc.
Ideal solution for narrow spaces	For narrow aisles and corridors, a sliding wardrobe is often the only solution. Only it can be placed in such places and used comfortably.
Zoning	Dual functionality. Using such furniture, you can easily zone a room, that is, it can also serve as a partition.
Variety of designs	No restrictions on internal content. A large number of materials for the manufacture of facades, which allows you to realize any design idea.
Using a Mirror	You can install a mirror on the facade. This will improve the functionality of the room and visually expand the space.
Reliability during operation	Doors that move along guides will last much longer than doors that open on hinges.

There are significantly fewer disadvantages, but they are there:

Flaws
Failure of the sliding system	This only happens if you purchase a low-quality sliding system.
Need for additional lighting	If the dimensions are large, additional lighting will be required; it significantly increases operational comfort.
The need to clean the guides	Over time, the lower guides become clogged, which can interfere with the movement of the roller. Therefore, sometimes you have to clean the grooves of the guides.
The mirror gets dirty quickly	If a mirror is used in the decoration, then it will have to be washed frequently to remove stains and hand marks.
No possibility of rearrangement	When designing, dimensions are related to the specific location of the cabinet. Not suitable for those who like frequent rearrangements.

Varieties by shape

There are several varieties, they have structural and external differences:

• built-in;
• free-standing;
• corner;
• diagonal-angular.

Let's consider each of them separately.

Built-in

When constructing such a cabinet, there is no top, back wall and base. Only partitions are manufactured. The entire structure is screwed directly to the ceiling, walls and floor. Metal corners are used for fixation.

This is a stationary structure, and it is an invariable part of the created interior.

Standing separately

Has sides, top, bottom, back and sliding doors. This is a complete separate piece of furniture. It can be moved and is not tied to any design elements.

Angular

An excellent solution for small apartments where every meter is valuable. Repeats the shape of the corner and allows you to rationally use the space of the room.

Diagonal corner

This is a type of corner, but the facade does not follow the shape of the corner, but is made diagonal. The increased capacity of this design determines its frequent use as a dressing room.

Material used

Furniture with sliding door systems is made from a variety of materials. The table shows the main ones:

Material
	The most common and frequently used. Chipboard, having a low price, is quite durable. A huge selection of textures, colors, patterns allows you to produce a façade for any design solutions. There is one, but significant, drawback - it is difficult to finely process. For this reason, mostly simple structures are made from chipboard or laminated chipboard.
	Eco-friendly material, easy to process. The variety of facade coatings is no less than that of chipboard. Practical and affordable material.
	An expensive option, but natural wood will last a long time. A magnificent decoration in any interior.

Types by design

The classification according to design differences is as follows:

1. built-in;
2. case.

Built-in . There is no need for top, bottom or sides. Their function is performed by the walls, floor and ceiling of the niche. For manufacturing, you can use drywall, which will reduce the overall cost of the product.

Corpus . The main difference from a regular cabinet is the method of opening the doors. If necessary, you can move it. Transportation (moving) without disassembly is possible. The downside is the increased consumption of materials, since the side, bottom and top walls, and the rear part are made.

Now let's take a closer look at the organization of the internal volume of the cabinet.

Design features

When designing, ergonomic and operational specifics should be taken into account.

Let's look at the main structural elements of a sliding wardrobe.

Door width

The choice of door size depends on factors:

• Manufacturers of sliding systems are limited to certain sizes. Some systems make it possible to produce a sash up to 120 cm wide;
• The width is affected by the number of internal sections. Each section must be freely accessible;
• The choice is influenced by personal preferences. There are no special rules, unless it goes beyond the restrictions listed above.

The optimal width, worked out in practice, is from 600 to 900 mm. This size provides the most comfortable conditions of use.

Sliding systems

Sliding systems are classified according to two main criteria:

1. profile material;
2. principle of extension.

To manufacture the profile of the moving system, aluminum or steel is used. The material of the sliding system is selected, as a rule, the same as that used for the door frame. Steel structures are cheaper, but in most cases aluminum is preferred.

Structurally, two types of systems are produced - bottom-mounted and top-hung. In the lower-support type, the door with rollers moves along a rail. In the top-hung system, its rollers move along the upper guides.

Height

The height is arbitrary. The only limitation may be the ceilings or the small stature of the owners of the apartment/house. Structures are made from ceiling to floor, as well as smaller heights.

The standard length of the material used for the walls is 270 cm. A standard apartment has a ceiling height of 260–270 cm. Almost identical dimensions make it possible not to cut or extend structural elements.

For ceilings higher than 270 mm (if you want to have a floor-to-ceiling closet) there are two solutions. First, the sheets of material are joined to the required length. Secondly, the mezzanine is assembled. Sheets can be joined using high-precision equipment from companies specializing in such services.

Shelf depth

The depth of the shelves determines the everyday usability of the cabinet. The optimal and recommended figure is 60–70 cm. Usually in the closet there is a rod for hangers, the width of which is about 48 cm. A depth of 60 cm will completely eliminate contact between the inner surface of the door and clothes hung on hangers. Most furniture accessories (boxes, trays, etc.) have a width of 50 cm. The shelves should not be made deeper, since it will be inconvenient to get “under the wall” when placing things.

The dimensions of the premises do not always allow the installation of furniture with the maximum recommended shelf depth. But there are also restrictions on the minimum depth. The optimal option may be a depth of 40 cm. Considering that 10 cm goes under the sliding door mechanism, you can purchase small hangers 30 cm wide. Alternatively, install a hanging rod(s) perpendicular to the doors and the rear wall, in this case, the width of the hangers placed not limited.

This solution is much better than completely abandoning the installation of a cabinet, especially since even such a “narrow” design is an ideal solution for small apartments.

Length

When designing, the length of the cabinet is selected in accordance with the location of its further installation.

Height of shelves and rods

The height between shelves is 250–350 mm. The selection rule is simple: greater depth of shelves means greater distance between them, less depth means less distance. This dependence is associated with ease of access to stacks of linen located deep in the shelf (near the back wall).

When designing a mezzanine, you should take into account the size of the things intended to be stored on it. If these are suitcases, then the height of the mezzanine should be equal to the height of the suitcase, plus a small margin.

The mounting height of the hanger bar is determined by the length of the clothing placed on it. The maximum height will be equal to the longest item. Average length of typical wardrobe items:

• shirts - up to 100 cm;
• jackets - up to 110 cm;
• long clothes - up to 130 cm;
• raincoats and fur coats - up to 150 cm.

These calculations are approximate, since the length of clothing depends on height, style and other parameters.

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Schemes and drawings

The diagrams show various project options and furniture assembly technologies:

Device inside

When designing the filling of a sliding wardrobe, first of all, zoning of the internal space is done. The figure shows a universal diagram of the breakdown into storage areas for various things:

When purchasing a finished product, you will have to agree with the filling configuration proposed by the manufacturer. Self-production will allow you to take into account as much as possible the dimensions, functionality, location of various zones and much more, which, ultimately, will ensure maximum operational comfort.

Below is a table with examples of frequently used elements of internal filling and zoning of a sliding wardrobe with their help.

Zoning
	Shelves are one of the main filling elements. They can be stationary and retractable, solid and ventilated, half and full depth, etc.
	Drawers are the second most important element of the cabinet.
	Hanging rod - necessary for clothes on hangers. The material used varies, most often metal.
	Convenient storage baskets. All things are clearly visible in them, which creates a certain convenience.
	This device is called a trouser. Pants are always ironed and ready to wear.
	A bar (hanger) for storing ties is convenient to choose, does not wrinkle, and proper suspension prevents them from changing shape.
	Convenient placement of belts, as an alternative - storage on a shelf in rolls.
	Compact and convenient storage of underwear.
	Placing bed linen, towels, and some clothes in piles on shelves.
	A significant part of the internal volume is allocated for storing blouses, light blazers, and short sundresses. A pipe with hangers is installed in the opening. You can make several such sections - for short and long things.
	Department for accessories - bracelets, watches, glasses, etc. It is recommended to store these items in drawers. Inside, the space can be divided into separate cells.
	Shelves for storing shoes. In the upper (mezzanine) part you can place shoes in boxes.
	Hooks, hangers, carabiners, rings and other accessories for bags.
Travel suitcases	Place rarely used (once a year during vacation) suitcases on the far (top) shelves or mezzanine.
	One of the options for bed linen. Shelf width up to 80 cm, height up to 60 cm.

Characteristics of the main filling elements:

• retractable and stationary shelves. For convenient use, the distance between them is from 350 to 450 mm;
• drawers. Two types - fully retractable (100%), partially retractable (80%). They can be equipped with closers that provide smooth semi-automatic closing of the drawer;
• mezzanines, known as hard-to-reach shelves. Located at the top. Rarely used and bulky items are stored on them;
• Barbells are needed for hangers. Mounted along the width of the cabinet;
• pantographs or special “furniture elevators”. Thanks to them, clothes are stored at the required level and can be easily pulled out using a special rod. They can be electrical or mechanical;
• Baskets are convenient for storing small items. Equipped with rollers and guides.

Facades

The interior content, thought out to the smallest detail, will be in sharp dissonance with poorly chosen facades. It is the facades that give the entire cabinet a special finished look. Let's consider several options for their implementation.

Mirror

A mirror visually enlarges the space and makes the room brighter. Can be whole or divided into several parts. The large weight of the mirror determines the need to select high-quality and reliable rollers. Such a facade creates additional maintenance troubles - the mirror quickly gets dirty. It will have to be wiped and washed regularly, especially if the family has small children.

A variety of finishes are used for facade mirrors - sandblasting patterns and designs, spraying of various shades (silver, emerald, gold, etc.) for glass, printing color images and much more. For safety reasons, the inside of the mirror is covered with shockproof (armor) film. If the mirror breaks, the pieces will not fly away.

Glass

Glass is no less popular than mirror; facades are equipped with unbreakable ones. Frosted glass with a pattern is mainly used. Vertical and horizontal stripes that divide the canvas into separate squares look original.

MDF and chipboard

These materials are laminated with film. The facades look massive and heavy. To install them you will need reliable roller systems. One of the advantages is a huge selection of colors, shades and patterns, texture - from matte to bright glossy.

Photo printing can be applied to MDF and chipboard facades.

These are the main types of facades used in the manufacture of sliding wardrobes. You can combine them with each other. This article contains photographs with a considerable number of original ideas for making facades.

Step-by-step manufacturing instructions

Gluing the edge tape

After cutting all the elements, the edge tape is glued to the ends of the slab. Sequence of operations performed:

Instructions for gluing the edge to the end of the workpieces
	If you don’t have an assistant, you can use a simple trick. You will need a small box and a quick-release clamp. The clamp presses the board to the box, ensuring the stability of the workpiece and the convenience of gluing the edge tape.
	One side of the edge tape has an adhesive surface. By heating it to a high temperature it is easy to glue it to the workpiece.
	Cut the edge to the required length. Leave a margin of 1 cm at the edges. After gluing, you can cut it with ordinary scissors.
	For gluing, set the position of the iron temperature sensor to “2”.
	For safety reasons, wear two gloves on your left hand. There should be no pellets on the palm.
	Use the iron to move along the edge tape, and hold it with your left hand (flat).
	We move the iron in the opposite direction, at the same time using a gloved hand we firmly press (smooth) the edge tape.
	Use your hand to smooth the edge a few more times.
	Using a special roller. Iron on the edge tape and then roll it with a roller. Very comfortably.
	Once the tape has cooled down, carefully cut off the remainder from the end with a sharp knife.
	We get a cut like this.
	We repeat the procedure for all ends of the workpiece. We measure the tape with a margin of 1 centimeter, from each edge.
	Glue it with an iron and smooth it out.
	Cut off the cooled edge. The edge on the adjacent edge has already been glued; we make the cut very carefully.
	We cut off the longitudinal remains of the protruding edge on all sides.
	Result. We glue the edges of the remaining blanks with edge tape.
	All cuts are sanded with a special whetstone. The inside of it is filled with foam rubber, the outside is filled with fine-grained abrasive.
	Grinding of cuts is done only with longitudinal movements.

The processing of the main elements is carried out similarly.

Assembly

According to the project, the details are cut out. It is better to do this operation in a workshop on a special formatting machine. After cutting and gluing the edges, we assemble the cabinet:

Frame assembly instructions
	To work, you will need to assemble an additional device consisting of a metal strip and two pieces of board connected at an angle. It turns out a corner with a metal guide. You will also need two quick-release clamps. Using this device it is very convenient to connect workpieces at right angles.
	We check with a square - it should be 90˚.
	Set aside 70 mm from the top edge.
	In the example, a 16 mm slab is used, therefore, it is necessary to retreat 9 mm from the edge. Why not 8 mm? Because the plate protrudes 1 mm beyond the edge, forming a small side. The middle of the end of the adjacent plate is at a distance of 9 mm.
	Drilling mark.
	A similar mark is placed below.
	Using a drill, we make holes for the fasteners.
	A special drill replaces three at once. It allows you to make the main hole, the collar and chamfer in one operation.
	Drilling.
	We tighten the confirmation with a screwdriver.
	Having secured the sidewall, we mark the installation locations for the shelves according to the design.
	Next, using a square, place marks on both sides under the holes for attaching the shelves.
	Markings along which holes for confirmations will be drilled.
	The device assembled at the beginning of work is convenient to use for fastening shelves. Using a tape measure, measure 1/2 the thickness of the slab. The thickness of the plate is 16 mm, so we retreat 8 mm from the mark.
	At this level we install the shelf using quick-release clamps.
	Here you can clearly see that the mark is in the middle of the end of the workpiece. Everything is ready for drilling.
	Let's drill.
	We tighten the confirmations.
	We install the remaining shelves in the same way.
	We install the cross member. And we fasten each shelf with confirmations.
	Having secured the crossbar with a quick-release clamp, we twist it with confirmations at the top and bottom, then secure each shelf.
	This is how the lower part of the wardrobe is assembled. We clamp the strip from the slab with a clamp and secure it at the end with a confirmat.
	We drill shallow holes from below for installing furniture legs.
	We tighten the metal sleeve with external and internal threads.
	Using a hexagon, tighten (recess) to the required position.
	We screw the leg with the plastic support into the sleeve. Thanks to this, the furniture can be moved and leveled.
	Two parts support leg assembly.
	After assembling the cabinet, a fiberboard sheet is attached to its back side with ordinary nails.
	We start fixing the fiberboard from the top. By tilting the cabinet from side to side, we achieve a 90˚ angle between the side panel and the top bar. We nail the sides and bottom of the fiberboard sheet.
	During assembly, no such plastic furniture corners were used. Why? The use of confirmat is much more practical, since it is screwed into the slab a few centimeters and reliably connects the structure, giving it additional rigidity.
	We close the confirmation hats with a decorative cap.

Using the same operating sequence, you can assemble a wardrobe of any configuration.

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Making doors

The door consists of a frame, metal guides and a roller system. You should order it from a company that professionally deals with such systems. Specialized software will calculate all elements based on given dimensions and issue a complete specification for assembly. Mirrors or slabs from other materials are cut to the size of the doors for mounting in frames.

Elements for sliding system
	Vertical posts/handles for the side parts of the door.
	Sealing rubber for the mirror.
	Self-adhesive brush to soften the impact of doors when opening/closing.
	Brackets for fixing doors in extreme positions.

The main parts for assembling the doors are made of aluminum. All metal components must be covered with a protective film to protect them from scratches during transportation.

Assembling the sliding system

Let's look at the step-by-step assembly of the door leaf. In our example there will be two mirror doors.

Ready wardrobe

Door assembly instructions
	The door is located in a horizontal position and provides free access from all sides.
	In the upper part of the vertical post, which also serves as the door handle, we drill two mounting holes.
	The lower one has a diameter of 6.5 mm.
	The top hole is 10 mm. The upper door profile and the roller will be attached through it.
	The lower part of the same vertical profile. The upper hole is 10 mm, the lower one is 6.5 mm. The distance from the edge of the first hole is 7 mm, the second is 43 mm. The lower roller will be attached closer to the edge. The second hole is for the screw connecting to the profile.
Profile installation	We fix the rubber seal on top with a profile, carefully inserting it.
	We perform the procedure sequentially on all faces. We do not cut off the rubber seal at the corner, but continuously lay it along the entire perimeter.
Do not tighten it all the way	This screw does not tighten completely. Later the upper rollers will be installed into it.
	Install the upper rollers and tighten the screw until it stops.
	Rubber seal installed at the bottom of the door.
The screw with the top roller is also tightened	At the top we attach the second pair of rollers.
	Install the lower roller. We press the spring on the roller and carefully insert it into the hole, securing it with a screw.
	The screw is tightened with a hexagon.	Wardrobe with first door installed.
	We assemble and install the second door in the same sequence.

Additionally, we install auxiliary elements - a pipe for hangers, etc.

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In the end it should look like this

We invite you to familiarize yourself with the diagrams and drawings. They will help you create your own project.

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Photo

Sliding wardrobes are popular regardless of the size of the apartment and the income of the owners. They are attracted by their ease of use and the ability to adapt them to room conditions. It is quite possible to make them yourself if you know the features of design, calculations and installation.

Types of sliding wardrobes - from what material, where to install

It’s easier to make a rectangular wardrobe with your own hands; professionals can do radius ones with a curved surface. The most convenient place for installation is a niche. The attractiveness of this location is that an inconvenient place becomes useful, with virtually no impact on the living space.

Installation in the opening between rooms saves the cost of a partition and its decoration, and a built-in wardrobe separates the rooms. The compartment can be installed in the corridor against the wall, which is especially beneficial for small-sized apartments: it does not take up so much space, which is not enough.

Cabinet sliding wardrobes are also used for zoning rooms. They do not have a back side, they have two front sides, with access to the wardrobe on both sides. A small room should not be overloaded with furniture; use standard furniture. In a large hallway you can install a spacious wardrobe. If the space allows, then you can easily realize the dream of every woman - the closet turns into a dressing room. Costs increase as sizes increase. Below is a diagram of a large wardrobe for the hallway.

Many materials are suitable for coupes, including laminate, lining, MDF. Only in this case will you have to make frames for the door leaf from wood. They use chipboard, which is convenient for installation due to its large size. Using drywall is possible, but the material is fragile, cannot withstand heavy loads, and sag noticeably without reliable fastening. A simple option is to use an old wardrobe and replace the hinged doors with sliding ones.

Room measurements - how to avoid installation difficulties

Making furniture requires right angles, and room walls with such precision are rare. Deviations from the rectangular shape can be centimeters, but even a few millimeters can cause installation difficulties. This is especially true for niches, where builders very rarely maintain a right angle.

We take measurements at several points and record the results. We retreat 20 cm from the back wall and mark measurement points on parallel walls. We calculate the height from the floor: the first points are at a distance of 0.8 m, the second - 1.4 m and the third - 2.2 m. Next, we retreat from the first measurements by 30 cm and take another one at the same height. Deviations will have to be corrected with plaster. The walls in the niche can be primed with water-based emulsion, and then painted with acrylic enamel and forget about dust on the surface for many years.

We check the horizontality of the floor and ceiling with a level, but problems may arise with the squareness of the opening. You won’t be able to measure it yourself using a cord, and the accuracy is too low. We use a simple device of two slats with pointed ends. We fasten them in the middle with rubber rings, insert them into the opening diagonally, and at the point of convergence, make a solid mark with a pencil on the surface of both slats. We check another angle and look at the marks: the discrepancy in the thickness of the mark is 0.3–0.4 mm.

Sizing calculations - impact on cabinet design

Before installing the cabinet in a niche, we determine its width, which furniture makers understand as length. It should not be made as close as possible; it is better to deviate from the minimum length of the niche of 6 cm, then the cabinet is guaranteed to fit into the opening. If the structure is located autonomously against the wall, we reduce the tolerance.

When determining the length, we also take into account the dimensions of the material, which you need to know in advance. Using chipboard, we mean that the size of the plate is 1830 mm × 2750 mm. Drywall 2.5 or 3.0 m long, 1 m wide. We try to ensure that the width of the cabinet is equal to the width of the slab or less. Then there will be no difficulties with installation. As for lining and MDF, we try to ensure that the length of the cabinet is a multiple of the width of the strips.

Sometimes it is necessary to make furniture that is wider than standard sheet material. The easiest way is to increase the missing length with a segment. At the joints of the bottom and the ceiling we get a weak point, which can deform under load. To avoid this, we place supports at the joints. You can make two cabinets, and then combine them into a single whole. The only drawback is the excessive consumption of materials for the extra wall.

When calculating the depth, we take into account the useful space used for storing things, then add 100 mm to it for the sliding system. We choose the height of the cabinet to be 10 cm less than the distance from floor to ceiling, excluding the height of the roof. This will allow you to assemble a massive product in a horizontal position, then lift it without touching the ceiling.

A rigid frame and a strong base are the conditions for furniture stability

If the frame is insufficiently rigid, the cabinets sway, and the main reason for this is the lack of stiffeners. A fiberboard sheet for the back walls cannot provide it. We add transverse 25 cm wide chipboard ties to each section at different levels and fasten them with confirmations. This arrangement will provide maximum rigidity.

For a cabinet frame made of plasterboard, only a metal profile with purchased fasteners is acceptable.

Incorrect placement and insufficient number of supports will lead to deformation of the bottom under load. To avoid this, we install supports 30–40 mm from each bulkhead. The sliding wardrobe can be installed on through supports 25 mm high with the possibility of adjustment through holes in the bottom. The only inconvenience is the gap between the bottom and the floor, which will serve as a garbage container. The second option is to use kitchen legs with a height of 100 mm.

Filling – installation of shelves, drawers and clothes rails

If the shelves are located in separate sections at different levels, there are no problems: using confirmations is suitable. Where it is impossible to screw them in, corner furniture ties are installed. When installation on the same centerline is required, a "helicopter" can be used for confirmat mounting. In the middle of one of the shelves we screw in the confirmation and turn it along the axis. We screw two confirmations into the shelf opposite and return it to its place. On opposite sides we also fasten each shelf with two confirmations.

When calculating the installation of drawers, do not forget about the height of the bottom rail so that the drawer does not rest against it.

To store clothes on hangers in the closet, install a rod in a longitudinal or transverse arrangement. The classic longitudinal rod requires a minimum depth of 60 cm. The transverse version uses a retractable rod. It is fastened with four screws, which is unreliable. Instead of a lift rod, it is better to install a regular one. We screw two longitudinal chipboard boards vertically to the top shelf, and attach a shortened rod to them in the usual way.

Calculating the width of doors - the principle “so as not to interfere”

When the door slides to the side, it should completely open access to the section and not interfere with pulling out the drawer or lowering the pantograph lift. Let's look at an example with a three-section coupe with a width of 2100 mm:

1. 1. Measure the width of the internal opening. In our example using chipboard, it will be 2068 mm.
2. 2. Take away the double width of the buffer tape glued to the outer doors of the cabinet. The thickness of each is 6 mm, so we get a total of 2068 minus 12 – 2056 mm.
3. 3. We take into account the overlap of the doors, which in a three-section cabinet is 26 mm on both sides, which in total is 52 mm. The total width of all doors is: 2056 mm plus 52 mm, resulting in 2108 mm. We divide the total width by three, and it comes out to 703 mm.

Such a simple calculation will provide free access to the sections.

Door suspension - features of different systems

There are suspension systems with two guides and with a monorail. The system based on the bottom rail is most widespread. The top rail only serves to support the doors. The system does not jam, touching the sashes is excluded. Installation is simple: insert the top into the groove, lift it, and put the bottom in place.

The system based on the top rail is simple, the fittings are cheap, and installation is simple. The movement of the shutters is quiet and smooth. It has significant drawbacks, so it is rarely used. If you press the door carelessly, the rollers may come out of the grooves and the door will go inside the cabinet. The upper guide is not very rigid; a perfectly flat ceiling and reliable fastening are required.

In a monorail system, each door runs on pairs of rollers on separate rails. They keep the doors from wobbling to a certain extent; the bottom guide is not used. The suspension is precise, rigid, and well adjustable. But the monorail is installed mainly in the bedroom, where only adults will use the closet, since handling such a system requires care.

Door structures - step-by-step assembly guide

1. 1. Calculate the length of the profiles and cut them. The height of the sashes depends on the clearances required for normal operation; they are indicated in the instructions for the suspension elements.
2. 2. Drill holes for attaching the vertical handle profile: outer 10 mm, inner 5.5 mm. We drill 5.5 mm holes in the inner and outer walls, then drill out up to 10 mm in the outer wall. Fastening and adjusting parts pass freely through the outer hole and are attached to the inner one.
3. 3. Install the profiles on the filler: first horizontal, then vertical. It happens that the profile finds it tight, then we use a rubber mallet, with which we apply gentle blows, but not directly on the profile, but through a piece of wood.
4. 4. Connecting profiles. In the upper part we screw a self-tapping screw into the profile, but not completely, so that there is some space left, install the roller and tighten the self-tapping screw. We tighten the profiles from below, insert the lower rollers into the horizontal profile, and screw the adjusting screw through the hole in the vertical profile.
5. 5. Install the upper guide. There are no nuances here, the only thing that should be observed is the absence of gaps with the side walls.
6. 6. Before installing the bottom rail, we lay it from below, installing stoppers, and hang one sash. We move the bottom rail 20 mm inside the cabinet and screw it on.
Built-in wardrobes diagrams and drawings

The most popular compartment designs are built-in and separate. They can be assembled from ready-made kits or ordered cut to their own sizes. To make calculations easier, we offer universal drawings of sliding wardrobes. All you have to do is take them as a basis and adapt them to the required sizes.

In this article I want to tell you how to make a built-in wardrobe with your own hands. The procedure is quite labor-intensive, so read everything carefully and strictly follow the instructions.

If all the available cabinets and chests of drawers in your apartment are already occupied, but there are things that need to be placed somewhere, the best option for solving this problem would be to make a built-in wardrobe yourself. Moreover, making furniture yourself will cost much less than purchasing it in a store or making it to order.

Determining the location of the cabinet

Initially, you should decide on the place where the built-in wardrobe will be located. In modern interiors, a plasterboard niche is often provided for a built-in wardrobe. You can also make a closet that spans the entire wall; it will also be built-in.

If you are not making a built-in wardrobe, then you do not need to cut anything into the walls.

Drawings and diagrams

Then, based on the size of the niche, its length, width and depth, draw a sketch (drawing) of the future wardrobe. This document should take into account such points as the number of sections, number of shelves, distances between shelves, width and height of sections, and also provide for the presence of additional options, such as, say, a mini-bar or a niche for a TV. See some drawings of do-it-yourself wardrobes.

Photo 4. Drawing of a sliding wardrobe Photo 5. Drawing of a sliding wardrobe Photo 6. Drawing of a sliding wardrobe

Necessary materials

After the cabinet drawing is ready, you need to calculate the amount of necessary material and furniture fittings and purchase everything you need in specialized stores. By the way, many points selling chipboard (material for making doors and walls) can cut a whole sheet of chipboard according to the dimensions specified by the customer. Thus, you will receive blanks for the doors, walls and shelves of the future built-in wardrobe.

If you want mirrored or glass doors for your future wardrobe, you will have to order them in advance; it is unlikely that the store will have blanks with your dimensions.

Among other things, you will need a roller system and fittings (handles, fasteners, rivets, corners). Fortunately, there are a huge number of them on the construction market.

Preparatory work

Before starting work related to assembling the sliding wardrobe, the niche space should be prepared in the most careful way. Preparation consists of leveling all the walls, floor and ceiling of the niche.

Leveling is carried out with appropriate building mixtures intended for putty. They are prepared according to the manufacturers' instructions, and then applied to surfaces that require leveling using a spatula.

After the putty has dried, the leveled surfaces should be treated with antiseptic compounds; if desired, the walls of the niche can be painted with water-based paint that has the same color as the chipboard of the future wardrobe.

Wardrobe assembly

Assembling a wardrobe with your own hands is quite simple. Installation begins with the installation of a chipboard sheet that serves as the floor of the structure. Its installation requires careful alignment, since the appearance of the entire future structure depends on the accuracy of its horizontal position. Horizontalness is checked using a building level; if necessary, wooden stands of appropriate sizes are inserted into the right places.

After the bottom sheet is installed, you should begin installing the side walls and partitions of the various sections. All these structural elements are attached to the bottom sheet using corners and screws. It is better to choose metal corners as they are stronger than plastic ones.

When installing the vertical components of a built-in wardrobe, it is also necessary to very carefully check the verticality and, if necessary, correct it.

The stage of assembling the base of the structure ends with the installation of the top sheet of chipboard, which is attached to the end of the side walls and partitions of the sections with the same corners and screws. After the box of the future cabinet is assembled, it should be inserted into a niche and secured to its walls. This will require the effort of several people who will place the base of the cabinet in a pre-prepared place with a perfectly horizontal bottom plane.

The structure is secured to the side walls by drilling holes in the side walls of the cabinet and part of the niche wall and then fixing it using dowels of the appropriate size.

At the next stage, you should place horizontal shelves in accordance with the previously developed sketch of the sliding wardrobe. Actually, the installation of horizontal elements can be done in two ways.

• First way more labor-intensive and time-consuming, it involves installing shelves in the body of the structure after it has already been fixed in the niche opening. In this case, furniture corners designed to support shelves are attached to the side walls and vertical partitions in the required place, and the shelves themselves are installed on them.
• Second way provides for making the required number of holes in the side walls and vertical partitions, as well as holes in the ends of the side elements, before starting to assemble the base. The shelves are installed in place using a tongue-and-groove connection; the operation is performed at the stage of assembling the base. This method guarantees higher accuracy of installation of the shelves, however, in this case, the total weight of the structure increases significantly and, accordingly, when placing the base in the niche opening, the efforts of more people will be required than when installing the base without shelves.

Which method is more preferable is a matter of your choice.

Next, we need to install the mirrored moving doors on the guides. Guides and movable rollers should be purchased from a store that sells furniture accessories. From a single strip of guide purchased in a store, two strips of the required length should be cut for subsequent fastening at the bottom and top of the cabinet base.Fastening is carried out taking into account the parallelism of these elements, using self-tapping screws.

Now about the doors. Doors, like all other elements, can be cut from a single sheet to the appropriate dimensions at the stage of purchasing the raw materials. A mirror of the required size is fixed to the surface of the door using a product called “liquid nails for the surface of mirrors.” I don’t think it’s worth talking about ensuring that the mirror is fixed level.

Movable rollers, designed to move the door along the guide, are fixed in certain places of the door - in its lower and upper parts with self-tapping screws. After all the doors are prepared, they have mirrors and rollers, they should be installed on the base.

Thus, there is nothing complicated in the process of making a wardrobe with your own hands. All you need for this is imagination, skills in working with carpentry tools and a great desire.

DIY wardrobe video

Another way to arrange a wardrobe. Video