Alex Fisher
It’s easier than you might think to fix sliding closet doors and give them a professional paint job, for an entirely new look and function. When we moved into this house, I didn’t love the sliding closet doors in the bedrooms.
When I turned my closet doors in my office into giant chalkboards, I started seeing them not as a curse, but as a blessing to my creativity and productivity.
I came home one day from running errands to find my closet doors missing.
Here’s how to turn your sliding closet doors into a giant chalkboard, and a bonus tutorial on how to fix one of the most common problems with sliding closet doors, broken slider wheels. If you make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.
This is a small, usually plastic, frame that keeps the doors from swinging in and out when you move them. The doors are hanging from a track at the top of the closet, usually hidden by a piece of trim. You’ll swing the front door out at the bottom and lift up off the track at the top. You might also want to pop the round handles off, to make it easier to paint around them.
Chalkboard paint is one of my favorite crafting supplies because it’s so easy, fun, and useful. Several brand make a similar product, but I like Rustoleum’s Chalkboard Paint.
If there are any streaky or see-through areas in the paint, finish with a third coat in the first direction. I found the best way to do this was to take a big piece of my kids’ sidewalk chalk, and rub it on its side.
But what if, when you replace your doors, you notice they aren’t sliding smoothly anymore?
This happened to my daughter, and she thought she’d be in trouble for breaking something when she made off with my doors.
It turned out to be such a simple fix that I thought I’d share it with you in case you have the same problem. (Hopefully you realize this problem before you’ve reattached your floor guide, because you’ll have to remove the door again to do this part.
The problem was the little plastic wheel that slides along the track had cracked and broken, after 40 years of use. I did a little research and found they still sell exactly the same bracket at any home improvement store.
Now you just have to rehang the door, following the instructions above, and enjoy the smooth sliding effects of your labor.
There’s nothing more annoying than a rickety old closet door that threatens to fall off its track every time you try to get dressed in the morning.
Don’t put up with that, when you can fix it with a screwdriver and a $4 part from the home improvement store! Soon we’ll talk about how to organize that craft stash your doors are hiding, so be sure to check back for that, and sign up for my newsletter to get access to all my free printables.
