This guide covers the array of sliding door room dividers and systems available in 2021.

It explains the different types and styles of sliding room dividers you can choose from and the benefits of each one. They are designed for all sorts of living spaces and lifestyles and I discuss the door finishes available and the costs of each one.

Read on for more about room dividers and how they can maximise space in your home.

Contents

• What are sliding door room dividers?
• What different styles of room divider are available?
• How much do room dividers cost?
• Why are sliding room dividers becoming so popular?

What are sliding door room dividers?

Sliding room dividers are doors mounted on a track to divide up internal living spaces. They are used in many different settings. They may be used to close off a kitchen from a living room or a bathroom to form a bedroom; they can create a home office space; or zone a dressing area. The applications for sliding room dividers are wide and varied and each scheme creates a “room within a room”. Sliding room dividers not only create additional spaces and zones, they also transform and enhance the internal living space of a property.

What different styles of sliding door room dividers are available?

Sliding door room dividers come in a variety of finishes and styles; the most important thing is to establish what works best for your own living space. You could have just a single door, or two, three or four, depending on the space you have. Pictured above is an example of a three-door room divider format which separates the bedroom from the living space. The three doors are designed on a triple track which allows the three doors to slide into one.

Pictured above is an example of a two-door sliding room divider on a single track with one door moving to the left and one to the right. It opens into a dressing area next to the bathroom. This design creates privacy while also saving space where conventional hinged doors would not work as well.

If you have a wider space to divide off, you will need more doors. Typically, the minimum door width is 500mm while the maximum, with Draks’ range of sliding room dividers, is approximately 1200mm. In some instances, it might be better to opt for a four-door solution, mounted on a double track. This allows two doors to slide to the left of an open space, and two doors to the right.

Draks’ sliding door room dividers all operate on a bottom-weighted track system. We are often asked whether the bottom track can present a trip hazard. Our bottom track is very discreet.

You can specify a surface-mounted bottom track or, if you have a timber floor, then you may choose a recessed bottom track. If you are in the process of planning your own building project, you can choose to hide the sliding door room dividers into a pocket as shown below.

Draks’ range of sliding door room dividers is second to none. The first consideration when designing your space is whether you want the room dividers to provide privacy as well as filtered light! This is the most popular style of sliding room divider where Draks uses a laminated glass mainly as the infill for the doors. The dividers feature safety glass which diffuses light so, whilst it creates privacy, it allows light into both sides of the room. We recommend this safety glass rather than frosted glass which, due to A and B sides, is not appropriate for a room divider setting.

The alternative is to have a style of solid door which creates more privacy. Draks offers a new range of sliding panel, full-door thickness room dividers which do just this and can be factory-sprayed to match your room colour. This type of sliding door then becomes a seamless part of the room.

The next consideration is what style of frame suits the scheme best. Unless you choose a solid panel door, the choice is between a solid timber frame and an aluminium frame. Draks’ Canto room dividers are available in a selected range of wood finishes and a wide variety of painted finishes. If, for example, you have a timber or timber effect floor, you may choose a wood finish to match. Alternatively, you can choose a finish which makes its own statement – such as a black lacquered or black powder-coated finish.

If you choose a painted frame to match your wall colour, then the top track will also be finished in the same colour.

All sliding door room dividers from Draks are made-to-measure and you can measure the room yourself or, alternatively, take advantage of Draks’ design and surveying service. It is important that measuring is accurate. Whilst we would like to believe that the rooms in our house are perfectly square, in reality they are not! It is, therefore, important to measure, in case of difference in floor to ceiling heights, from one side of the room to the other, and the wall-to-wall widths from one side of the room to the other.

How much do sliding door room dividers cost?

The cost of sliding door room dividers is dependent on three factors – how wide the opening is and how many doors you require; what style of frame you prefer; and what choice of infill you select. If you have an opening of, approximately, three metres with three sliding doors in, for example, an aluminium frame with laminated glass, a guide price would be £1800 inclusive of VAT. If you just want a single sliding door, then prices will start at about £300. For a Canto style, single door room divider, prices will start at approximately £500.

Why are room dividers becoming more popular?

There is a number of reasons for the increasing popularity of sliding room dividers. One is the need to increase and optimise the flexibility of living spaces. A room can be divided up to create spaces for adults and children that are connected but separate! With the cost of moving house so high, this is a really cost-effective way of creating additional living spaces.

Another is the increase in home working. A bedroom can also be an office; or a dining area can be divided to create a home office. The growth in home working is unlikely to go away any time soon so, to be able to work with privacy in the day while opening this space in the evening, is a clever, stylish and cost-effective way of creating another room in the house.

Finally, sliding door systems are so much better than alternatives! Draks’ sliding room divider system runs incredibly smoothly and quietly. There is none of the noise and clumsiness of some older systems, and they are incredibly light to move.