Interior Closet Doors

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The first thing about closet doors is to decide to have one or not.

The absence/presence of a door is just as important a feature as the kind of door you choose. Most people do not close the door to their walk in closet. So, many just take them off or often they are not designed in at all.

If you have a master suite, you possibly do not have a door between the bedroom and the bathroom, the bedroom and the walk in closet or between the walk in and the bathroom.

One reason to have a door between the bathroom and the walk in closet is humidity. In areas with higher air humidity, such as we have here in Southern California it is a good idea to have a door to keep the humidity from penetrating the closet.

Kitchens nowadays are built without doors. You just walk into them. The same may happen with a walk in closet. Overall modern architecture designs less corridors, less walls, and less doors to create an open concept, but there are plenty of situations in our homes where we still need doors and here are the main types of doors that are used for closets. Which door you choose depends mostly on the required width for the opening, your style choices, and your budget.

Types of Closet Doors for San Diego County Homes

Closet Doors that simply swing in or out are the most common types of doors. They are used for reach in closets that are not much wider than an average door (like most hallway closets), and they are used for walk in closets. They are usually between 24″ and 36″ wide.

If a reach in is wider, the following doors are used:

Sliding closet doors (also known as bypass or mirrored closet doors):

See more information on Sliding Doors HERE.

Bi-Fold Doors : Bifolds come in two-panel and four-panel configurations. Each panel is paired to another panel with a set of hinges. The most common bifold door sizes are 4, 5 and 6 feet—each with two pairs of panels. Also used often are half-sets of doors in 2-, 2-1/2- and 3-foot configurations.

Advantages of Bi- Folds: Bifolds require less room than swinging doors in front of the closet because of how the doors fold as they are opened. The doors are light and tend to be inexpensive. You can also save costs on trim if you really want to cut corners and install the doors without a jamb and casing.

Pocket doors sometimes replace a swing in or out door. This relatively rare kind of door is easy for wheel chair access, and it works well when there is no room for a door to either swing in or out of a room. Sometimes they are the only solution for a bathroom door with limited space.

Louvered closet doors or shuttered closet doors allow air to circulate and discourage mildew, making them a perfect solution for bathrooms, utility closets and laundry rooms. Cleaning, repairing or replacing them can seem daunting but there are useful tips that that don’t require complete disassembling.

Tips for Installing Closet Doors:
• Leave a little extra room when trimming the door opening for proper operation.
• Determine which trim method you will use. You can go with no jamb, half jamb, full jamb, full jamb with 1-by-1 inset, or full jamb with a half jamb overlapped in casing. The trim design will determine the rough framing opening.