ᐅ Separating a Niche with Folding Doors – Closet Space

Hello,

I’ve reached a point with a topic in our new build (move-in September 2024) where I really need some input. Let me give some background...

We have a niche on the ground floor intended to be used as a storage space for beverage crates, vacuum cleaner, sports bags, and other items. Having lived in the USA for over five years, we fully understand the purpose of a closet space, and when this niche was left over in the planning, we immediately decided that we wanted a closet space as well.

The niche (135 cm (53 inches) wide and about 110 cm (43 inches) deep) is currently just an empty spot in the hallway.

During the construction phase (wood frame construction), when I started looking for a door system for it, I realized that this type of system is really uncommon here in Germany. I found a German supplier offering folding doors (two or three-panel elements) and got in touch with several carpentry shops selling this system, but the cost was around €3000. So, the project was put on hold. One carpenter also mentioned that the doors would need to be fixed at least once on the floor, which would require drilling into the floor tiles (about 6 cm (2.4 inches) long screws). Since we have underfloor heating, we were not very comfortable with that.

Now, this corner is starting to annoy us, and I would like to know if anyone in the forum has ever taken on such a project with folding doors (not the plastic accordion-style ones). Currently, we have the following idea: build a frame from wood (with a transom window, which my husband wants) and hang floating doors from this structure (my husband has carpentry experience—he built two wooden platforms for the children aged 10 and 16 leading to the visible roof truss!).

We can locate the sturdy beams of the wooden structure by knocking, so we can attach the frame there. We would lose about 20 cm (8 inches) in depth. Where there are no beams, the walls are just single-layer drywall.

Has anyone implemented something like this and what kind of "hanging system" did you use? There are several suppliers on eBay, but I would much prefer to rely on experience.

P.S. We do not want a sliding door system, as we want to keep the opening as wide as possible…
P.P.S. The whole project should definitely stay well under €3000.

I’m curious if someone has found a good solution and would like to share it. :-)

Best regards,
Gaby

Since the corner does not need to be soundproofed, I have had good experience with partitions using so-called vertical louver systems. These are available in solid fabric or aluminum and provide a wide access area, plus they only need to be mounted on the ceiling.

Sonnenseite122 schrieb:

P.S. we don’t want a sliding door system to keep the opening as wide as possible...

Unfortunately, I don’t have any experience building folding doors myself. We have a sliding door that fully opens the entire opening. It runs on a track mounted on the wall above the door frame and can be completely slid aside.

Building it yourself is mechanically not complicated. You can even build something quite simple using piano hinges. That is definitely more solid than what standard houses in the USA usually have (I lived in New Mexico and also had folding doors in front of the walk-in closet).

You can also check with established furniture manufacturers to see if you can buy a system you like as a spare part.

kbt09 schrieb:

Since the corner doesn't need soundproofing, I have had good experience with partitions using so-called vertical louver systems. These are available in fixed fabric or aluminum and allow a wide access area, plus they only need to be mounted on the ceiling.

A vertical louver system would definitely be a quick solution, although the gentleman of the house doesn’t seem very convinced about it, but who knows.
Thanks

wiltshire schrieb:
Unfortunately, I don’t have any experience building folding doors myself. We have a sliding door that fully opens the doorway. It runs on a track mounted on the wall above the door frame and can be completely slid aside from the opening.

Building one yourself isn’t mechanically complicated. You can actually build something quite simple using piano hinges. That is definitely more solid than what typical houses in the US have (I lived in New Mexico and also had folding doors in front of the walk-in closet).

…..

The sliding door, as you suggest, will go into the pantry. Another task on my to-do list. However, we want at least a 1 m (3.3 feet) wide passage. Unfortunately, that doesn’t fit with a niche width of 1.35 m (4.4 feet).

I suppose building it yourself with piano hinges and folding door hardware really isn’t a big deal.

Sonnenseite122 schrieb:

Closet Space

Here in Germany, this is simply called a storage room or sometimes a built-in wardrobe.

Sonnenseite122 schrieb:

that this is a system that is absolutely uncommon here in Germany.

…and it is planned accordingly: a non-load-bearing wall with a room door.
I think the issue here lies in the variety of doors and options available, while you seem to have a clear idea.

Sonnenseite122 schrieb:

DIY with piano hinges and folding door mechanisms really isn’t that great, I suppose

I once built doors myself in a “barn door” style. Twenty years ago, that fit well with the modern country house style or as an eye-catcher. It was manageable for me as a woman and, with appropriate wood on both sides, not a complicated task.
However, it’s still not entirely clear to me what your exact ideas are.
You can build a frame for furniture doors and fit the upper 50cm (20 inches) with glass as desired.
Alternatively, you can work with components from cabinet systems (e.g., Pax, Ikea) and either install the carcass without the back panel or just use the doors. There are many possibilities.