Surface-mount barn-style window – can I use drawer slides?
lightning
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
I have a hatch (interior) in my basement. I want to install a reclaimed/recycled wood window to cover the hatch. I want it to slide barn-door style to the right of the opening. It will be surface mounted.
I don’t really have the clearance for a rail and rollers like a traditional rolling barn door. I was considering using heavy-duty drawer slides mounted on the back of the top and bottom rail of the window, and against the wall. The window would be supported on the drawer slides as it was opened by sliding to the right.
Is this insane? Any other ideas?
Replies
lightning.
While there may be specialty hardware for this type of operation (pull out flipper doors on entertainment centers for instance), they sure look like drawer slides (minus the flip).
Soft close would be a sweet upgrade if you like to impress people.
For that type you'd need to be able to get your fingers around behind it to release the door from the hardware (to remove). But, this type of hardware captures the back of the drawer (door) as well. Old style roller hardware along the sides of drawers might work if it stayed in the track.
That would be for smooth operation. If all you need is access once in a while, homemade rabbited mounts would do the trick.
Yeah, there are the "entertainment console" door slides that would be a little closer to ideal. But it would be nice to find something more like the true barn setup, where the fixed piece is twice the length of the opening, so that there would be no tendency of the assembly to rack.
You might check out sliding closet door hardware.
I don't believe you will find any disfunction with the hardware used in this manner. Why don't you simply mock it up using a sheet of old ply mounted to any convenient surface? Then you will know the answer.
Sapwood,
I admit I am embarrassed that I didn't think of mocking it up. Will check it out this weekend.
I appreciate the earlier heads-up about thinking through how to get it on/off the slides.
Matt
Are you going to feature this window.
Here's an idea that I've done once for a customer. They loved the view from the garden side of the house.
I had an old small sash, set it in a space on the wall, trimmed it like the rest of the house. I took one picture in the spring,summer,fall and winter of the view they liked of the garden. Cropped the print so I would have 4 parts to the picture. Put one in each pane.
They change the picture each season.
This was for a room they liked but had no view at all.