Give Your Standard Closet Door A Stylish Sliding Upgrade With This Clever DIY

If you've ever wished your basic hinged closet door slid effortlessly instead, you're not alone. Sliding doors look intentional, modern, and clean, but they also come with a reputation for being expensive and complicated. Between labor costs and custom hardware installs, many homeowners assume it's a project best left to professionals. The reality is that with the right materials and a little patience, you can turn a standard interior door into a functional sliding door yourself (and without blowing your budget).

This DIY door upgrade matters because hinged closet doors are often overlooked. They take up visual space, swing into tight rooms, and rarely add anything stylistically. Converting one into a sliding door instantly improves flow, especially in bedrooms, hallways, or smaller homes where every inch counts. And because you're reusing the door you already have, the cost stays surprisingly low compared to buying a new slab or custom barn-style alternative. All in all, installing sliding closet doors isn't as hard as you think. 

To try out this DIY, you'll need your existing closet door, panel adhesive in a caulk gun, solid wood strips, painter's tape, a Dutchman patch, a hammer, cordless drill, clamp, level, a compact angle grinder, sanding block, fasteners, paste wax, and sliding door hardware kit with a track and rollers. For another method, see how easy it is to ditch closet doors for a chic sliding door.  

To begin, remove your closet door and lay it flat. Before you install hardware, the door needs a few structural updates to help it function as a sliding panel. Start by applying panel adhesive to a wood batten strip, press it firmly into place to the bottom of the door, and secure it with painter's tape while the adhesive cures. This will add stability to the door, allowing it to sit properly inside the floor guide. 

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Regular door turned into sliding door @TotalBoat

♬ original sound – Hesswoodwork

Since sliding doors don't rely on traditional knobs or latches, the old lockset needs to be adapted. Using a compact angle grinder, cut the latch cavity out and square it off. Next, get your Dutchman patch (to fill the latch opening) and glue and hammer that into place. This restores the door's strength and gives it a polished look. Then, fill the rest of the space with a wooden handle.

To keep the door aligned while sliding, build a low-profile wooden floor guide using solid wood strips. These pieces will be bonded together with construction adhesive, clamped until cured, and sanded smooth. Apply paste wax to the guide so the door glides quietly. The guide can then be secured into the floor and leveled. Above the doorway, a horizontal wood support is mounted into wall studs to hold the sliding track. Once the hardware is installed, the door can be hung on the track, tested for movement, and adjusted until it opens and closes smoothly. If it keeps getting stuck, you may be able to fix your stubborn sliding doors with a bar of soap. Make the door your own by painting it to complement the rest of the room.