How To Place A Sliding Closet Door Back On Its Track

Sliding closet doors and bifold doors serve as space-savers in tight spaces, but they can easily be knocked off their track. Luckily, they can be fixed with a few tools and several steps. The procedures for replacing bypass and bifold doors are somewhat different.

PhotographyFirm/iStock/GettyImages

Both types of doors seldom have a bottom track. Sliding bypass doors hang from rollers that glide on a track hidden inside the top jamb of the door frame. A plastic guide attached to the floor typically keeps the doors in place. To remove the doors completely, you have to remove the screws securing the guide to the floor, then slide the guide out of the way.

Bifold doors consist of two pairs of hinged panels that pivot on a pair of pins. The pins are installed in the top and bottom of one door panel while a guide in the opposite top corner of the other panel fits into a track to prevent that panel from swinging out.

After you've removed the doors, check the track for kinks or bends by running your fingers along it. If you feel an irregularity, you've likely found the source of the problem, and you should replace the track.

Another problem may be the two rollers on the top track – they should be the same distance from the top of the door. If not, use a screwdriver to loosen the screws and slide the wheels up or down, as needed. Once they are properly aligned, tighten the screws while holding the wheels to the door so neither one wobbles.

Start with the door that hangs from the rear track. Insert the door's wheels into the double track inside the upper door jamb, lifting it as far as it will go. Angle the bottom of the door toward you while you let it down, and the wheels should hook right onto the track. Release the door and let it swing gently back to the vertical position. Check that the door will glide, then hang the other door on the front track, using the same method. Fit the door guide into its original position by swinging out the front door, slipping the guide past the rear door, then sliding it back to capture the rear door and center it between the two door's edges. Fasten the guide to the floor with its screws.

Begin by inserting the bottom pivot into the bracket, which can be screwed to the floor, to the door jamb or both. Then hold the spring-loaded top pivot down while you swing the top of the door toward the frame and under the door track. Once the door is approximately under the hole in the track, release the pivot. Wiggle the door until the pivot snaps into the hole. Hold down the spring-loaded guide on the opposite side of the other door panel and swing the door until the guide is under the track, then release the guide so it snaps into the track. Once secure, release the door.

Open and close the door a few times to make sure the guide stays inside the track. If it comes out, raise the door by taking it down and turning the bottom pivot counterclockwise.