Dundas is an interior designer with Cove Properties, which has condo developments in Calgary and Edmonton.  She recently shared her sliding door experience with Condo Living. The designer says most of Cove’s four-storey condos use good quality sliding doors such PH Tech from Quebec and All Weather’s Everest.  

“Good quality sliding doors are generally made out of PVC and have a security lock pin system, so that the door can be left open, for ventilation, or tightly secured when closed. The security lock pin system is important for security, as with poor quality sliding doors, the door can easily be lifted off track and unlocked.”

Dundas points out sliding doors, particularly exterior ones, pose interesting issues such as limiting window treatment types. “Though, from both a design and a construction viewpoint, sliding doors are preferred over swing,” she says.

D-I-Y project?
If you’re thinking about replacing your current swing doors with sliding ones, The Home Depot offers multiple D-I-Y options and installation services. One popular stylish sliding door is the Nuporte Simplicity Espresso finish with Tempered frosted glass by Aura Home Design, says Ernie Anderson, sliding door expert, The Home Depot.  

In the past couple years, he says Calgary homeowners have been buying more upgraded sliding doors with bottom versus top rollers and switching out bi-fold for sliding. Also, they have chosen brushed nickel or chrome sliding door hardware rather than more dated brass hardware.

“The pocket door is a quite popular space saving way to go,” says Anderson, who works at Calgary’s Mackenzie store.  “For closets, mirrored sliding doors make the room look more inviting”.

Pocket doors, he says, are typically used for bathroom, laundry or limited access areas versus main rooms like the living room. Budgets for sliding doors vary depending on size and materials, advises Anderson.  At The Home Depot, pocket door and sliding closet doors range from $150 to $400-plus.

Choosing custom
“There are no limits to what you can do with custom sliding doors,” says Roy Mathew.  His company, Redstone Custom Door, does $4 million in annual sales of custom made hardwood doors in Canada and the U.S. Clients need only bring the company a sketch and Redstone will create their unique, one-of-a-kind door. “The doors are extremely unique. We hand make each one from a sketch or photograph and they’re not catalogued.”

In Calgary, Redstone’s most popular sliding doors are double and hidden pocket doors in stained solid woods, such as maple, for home theatre rooms.
Some homeowners are choosing a more industrial style look with exposed, galvanized steel hardware accenting their sliding doors.  Delivery of Red­stone’s  doors takes eight to ten weeks.

Custom sliding doors make excellent choices for condos, agrees Mathew. “The typical three-inch, hinged door can take a nine-square-foot swing space,” he says.  
A single Redstone custom pocket door starts at $400 and can cost several thousand dollars depending on the design, hardware and materials. “We cer­tainly do deal with the higher end of the market.”

Yet Mathew strongly believes beau­tiful custom made doors are an invest­ment in your home. “Doors, door trims and mouldings can raise the value of your home.”  
In a condo, he estimates if you spend $10,000 in a custom redo of ten doors, door trims and mouldings, you could add $20,000 to $30,000 in value.
“Anything that stands out and looks different can add value … stained doors cost more but elevate the architectural impact of the home. Painted doors are a little more mundane.” CL