DIY-Filter: Attaching sliding-door tracks to hardwood floors without damaging the floor?

August 19, 2008 2:33 PM

DIY-Filter: Any suggestions on how to attach a sliding-door track to a hardwood floor without damaging the floor?

The main living room in my apartment is huge, with a large alcove attached to it. Having just moved in, it's mostly used for storage now... but it's the perfect size for a small home office.

I've been through a series of ideas about how to do this, and the one that seems the best is to install a frosted-plexiglass sliding door there - this would allow the light through but still make a more permanent barrier than, say, a curtain.

My issue is that the sliding door needs a track on the bottom. Think shower door or closet door - similar to that. The owner (a friend) just had the floors redone, so I'd rather not screw the track directly into the floor if I can avoid it. I could conceivably screw a flat board across the opening and then attach the track to that - which would allow me to make fewer holes in the floor. Any other thoughts? Some sort of super-velcro? Some sort of epoxy that is easily removed with the right solvent?

Also - barndoor-type tracks (that attach to the ceiling) aren't really an option in this space... and even if I could tweak the plans a bit (which I could), the plexiglass would still need some sort of guide on the bottom, wouldn't it?

posted by andrewmarc to home & garden (8 comments total)

Any adhesive strong enough to anchor the track is likely to rip up or at least severely damage the floor when you remove it; screwing the track down is preferable to that.

Are there any spare ends of flooring anywhere. If you can find a small scrap you could possibly look at using a plug cutter to make some wooden plugs that can be reinserted later into holes you drill into the floor.

Failing that, how about screwing a strip of flat steel across the opening. This should be rigid enough that you can just bend the ends upwards at 90 degrees and screw it to the walls/skirtings rather than the floor.

If you decide you will screw the track to the floor you can at least minimize the damage by drilling tidy holes and fixing the track with the thinnest screws you can find.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 2:43 PM on August 19, 2008

3M pull-away adhesive strips.

Example.

They sell them by themselves, too, without the hooks. I think they could be a good solution. Get a bunch and put them under the track.
posted by coffeefilter at 2:46 PM on August 19, 2008

Can you wedge the flat board in the opening? That, plus the weight of the doors themselves, might be good enough.
posted by MrMoonPie at 2:49 PM on August 19, 2008

All the closet doors in my house have tracks only at the top — are you sure you will need a bottom track?
posted by Forktine at 2:56 PM on August 19, 2008

I have seen several sliding doors that don't have a bottom track, barn-door style as you describe. I expect a strong glass or plastic could support its own weight from the top.

As for damaging the floor, covering up a few screwholes is pretty easy to do. The major issues you'll have are scuffing at the edges of the track from dirt that accumulates there and differences in color from the lack UV fading under the track. Both of those will happen regardless of how you fasten the track to the floor.
posted by GuyZero at 2:56 PM on August 19, 2008

3M pull-away adhesive strips.

Those things have ruined everything I've ever attached them to! I can't imagine attaching them to your hardwood floors (or them being sturdy enough to hold a door track in place). I'd recommend pre-drilling a couple of screw holes for the track and later, (when you want to move and take out the door?) filling the holes with wood-filler.
posted by mattbucher at 3:10 PM on August 19, 2008

There are glass bypass doors that 'float' — no floor track. They're pretty spendy, but they look good.

If you do use a floor track, I'm wondering if you could lay a wood strip with the track attached to it loose on the floor, and attach it to the walls at the ends using L brackets. Floors in hole: Zero. It might have a tendency to bow up in the middle, depending.

I suspect that almost any kind of adhesive that you might use would leave residue that would be very difficult to get up, especially with all the load you'd have on it. I had masking tape on a wood floor for a long time and even it left remarkably stubborn residue.
posted by adamrice at 3:57 PM on August 19, 2008

Assuming a polyurethane or similar smooth finish on hardwood, a double layer of foam double stick tape will do the job. Damage free removal is easily accomplished by cutting through the foam part of the tape with a knife to release the track and then WD-40 and a plastic razor blade to remove the remaining tape from the floor. I've done this on countless occasions to attach surge protectors and other computer equipment (power supplies, USB hubs, switches, even printers) to desks. A little goes a long way so a few inches of tape every foot is all you need.

adamrice writes "I had masking tape on a wood floor for a long time and even it left remarkably stubborn residue."
People have this problem a lot. Masking tape is designed to lift cleanly for a period of time (on the order of a few days to a few weeks depending on the product) but after that, and especially if exposed to UV, it becomes increasingly difficult to remove. One of the hardest tapes to remove long term.
posted by Mitheral at 4:19 PM on August 19, 2008