My closet door came off the track after new flooring
The closet doors worked for years. The carpet came out, new flooring went down, and now the bottom of the door swings loose every time you slide it. Sometimes it comes off the track completely.
What causes it
The old floor guide was sized for the old floor. A flooring change moves the finished floor to a different height, and the guide moves with it. Carpet and pad coming out for vinyl plank is the common case: the finished floor ends up lower, the guide sits lower with it, and its post no longer reaches far enough up into the bottom of the door to hold anything. The door is then held only at the top, so it swings as it slides and can lift a roller out of the track.
This is the problem the company started with. We pulled carpet, put down vinyl plank, and the guide under our own closet doors was suddenly too short.
How to fix it
- Unscrew the old guide and set it aside. Keep it to compare heights.
- Measure the gap: from the new finished floor up to the bottom edge of the door. That is the height the guidepost has to cover before it starts holding the door.
- Measure the door thickness at the bottom edge. Most bypass closet doors are 1-3/8 in. thick, which is 35 mm.
- Fit theUniversal Adjustable Height bracket. Snap it down to the height you measured. The notches break cleanly by hand, so you set it on the job rather than ordering a different part.
- Set it in the middle of the opening with the post between the two doors, mark through the counter-sunk screw holes, and fasten it. The old screw holes often line up.
- Slide each door end to end. The post should stay in contact with the bottom of the door for the whole travel.
If the floor height did not change and the guide is simply broken or missing, the standardCloset Door Guide Bracket is the cheaper fix.
When the answer is not a guide
- The new floor is thicker and the door now rubs it. The door is too tall for the new height. Take it down and trim the bottom. No guide will lift a door.
- The door comes off at the top, not the bottom. Look at the hangers and the track. A worn roller or a bent track drops a door no matter what is on the floor.
- A transition strip sits under the door path. Move the guide clear of it, or the base will rock and back its screws out.
The part that fixes it
Adjustable Height Closet Door Guide
1-3/8 in. standard thickness
$9.99per bracketas low as $5.00 in volume
Common questions
- Why did new flooring stop my closet door from staying on the track?
- The old guide was set for the old floor. When the finished floor sits at a different height, the guidepost no longer reaches far enough up the bottom of the door to hold it, so the door swings and can come off the track.
- How do I set the height on the adjustable guide?
- The Universal Adjustable Height bracket has snap notches. Snap it down to the height you need on the job, then screw it to the floor. There is no separate part to order.
- What if the door now rubs on the new floor?
- That is a different problem. A door that rubs the floor is too tall for the new finished height and needs the bottom trimmed. A floor guide holds the door in line; it does not lift the door.
- Can I reuse the screw holes from the old guide?
- Often yes, if the new bracket lines up with them. Our bases use counter-sunk screw holes, so the screw heads sit flush and out of the way of the door.
Not sure yet? Compare all six guides side by side, or see the rest of the guides.