Browse Forums Windows & Doors 1 Jun 02, 2011 10:33 am Our builder told us he thinks we should have a different kind of door for our en suite. He said he sees lots of cavity sliders warp slightly and "stick" in bathroom situations due to moisture. We really don't want a sliding door on the outer of the wall as it will have to run behind furniture (and let's admit, they're pretty ugly). A normal hinged door will open and bang on to furniture too. I don't know anyone who's had issues with their cavity slider in bathroom situation but we also don't want to get caught out with a problem that will then have the onus on us since he warned us. He's happy to put cavity sliders in the dry areas of the house. Advice? Fact does not cease to exist just because it is ignored Re: Cavity sliders for wet areas - safe? 2Jun 02, 2011 10:46 am We don't have one in our ensuites however we do have one in between one powder room and laundry. No problems with it. We also have one separating the laundry from the hallway and again no issues. Both are cavity sliders. Some things are worth waiting for. Re: Cavity sliders for wet areas - safe? 3Jun 02, 2011 12:09 pm In an older house I lived in, we had a bathroom, cavity slider, toilet, cavity slider, laundry. The bathroom and laundry also had separate doors to other rooms. Never had a problem in 10 years of living there. The only issue would be if you had a crappy door. If it did warp, it would be a simple matter of lifting the old door out and installing a more solid door. This is very easy to do. SK Build thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34120 Handover 23 Dec 11 Squatting 21 Dec 11 Fixed 12 Oct 11 Plastered 31 Aug 2011 Framed 7 June 2011 Site Start 7 Feb 2011 Land Titled 18 Jan 2010 Land Deposit 25 Jun 2009 Re: Cavity sliders for wet areas - safe? 4Jun 02, 2011 12:21 pm Hi Eskay, was this definitely a cavity slider or a roller door instead? The cavity ones are inside the wall cavity, sliding doors are on the outside of the wall on a track you can see. I've been told replacing cavity sliders are real mission. Fact does not cease to exist just because it is ignored Re: Cavity sliders for wet areas - safe? 5Jun 02, 2011 1:31 pm Definitely CS. They usually take the door out to paint it and then put it back in. You need to be a little handy with a screwdriver but it's not that hard. Lots of info on this at a website I found. http://www.cavitysliders.com.au/our-products/ProductDetails.asp?ProductID=13 If you download the installation pdf, it gives you the procedure. Points 14 and 15 show you how it's done. Your own door supplier may have a slightly different procedure but if you know who that is (or ask your builder for the door supplier) they will have an installation note with their procedures for door removal as well. Build thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34120 Handover 23 Dec 11 Squatting 21 Dec 11 Fixed 12 Oct 11 Plastered 31 Aug 2011 Framed 7 June 2011 Site Start 7 Feb 2011 Land Titled 18 Jan 2010 Land Deposit 25 Jun 2009 Re: Cavity sliders for wet areas - safe? 6Jun 02, 2011 1:40 pm If it was me, to put my mind at ease, I'd upgrade the door to a solid one and ensure that the door is painted on both the bottom and the top of the door. I can't imagine that the door would then warp. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Cavity sliders for wet areas - safe? 7Jun 02, 2011 1:45 pm definitely Joles! Well said. Build thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34120 Handover 23 Dec 11 Squatting 21 Dec 11 Fixed 12 Oct 11 Plastered 31 Aug 2011 Framed 7 June 2011 Site Start 7 Feb 2011 Land Titled 18 Jan 2010 Land Deposit 25 Jun 2009 Re: Cavity sliders for wet areas - safe? 8Jun 02, 2011 1:48 pm I can't see the drama? The door itself is made the same way as a swinging door would be. A warped swinging door would be as much a problem as a warped cavity slider because it wouldn't shut properly. I haven't heard of too many warping doors before, in recently built houses, at least! Since it isn't a common thing to have to replace a bathroom door due to warping it shouldn't matter whether it is swinging or a cavity slider. Re: Cavity sliders for wet areas - safe? 9Jun 02, 2011 2:07 pm Good points, thanks for your responses. Will look in to a solid door, hate to think what it will cost us! Thanks for that link to Eskay. I can't understand why the builder is saying the doors "stick" if cavity ones. Fact does not cease to exist just because it is ignored Re: Cavity sliders for wet areas - safe? 10Jun 02, 2011 4:42 pm I honestly wouldn’t bother upgrading to a solid door unless money isn’t an issue. Remember too, with a solid door it would be much more difficult to slide due to the extra weight. Like has been pointed out above, the cavity sliding door is of the same hollow construction as a hinged door, so is no more likely to warp and expand than a hinged door (in fact there is usually greater clearance between a cavity door and cavity pocket than a hinged door and a door jamb, so your builder’s argument about moisture and expansion is moot). I would be more concerned that your builder is lacking common sense or more likely, has an ulterior motive for opposing cavity doors (more difficult/expensive to install perhaps). Just make sure that the door is sealed on all sides before installation- this is actually required by the door manufacturers I’ve come across for warranty purposes anyway. If you are genuinely concerned, have your exhaust fan on or window open when you have a hot shower. My in laws have had a cavity door to their ensuite for 35+ years and not had any issues with normal usage and I will have one in my house. So if there is a risk of them getting stuck, it won’t happen for a long, long time. And they are easy and cheap to replace if they ever did ($75 max plus paint- cheaper than the outlay for a solid door). Re: Cavity sliders for wet areas - safe? 11Jun 02, 2011 4:51 pm Oh, good to know. Thanks inverell. Fact does not cease to exist just because it is ignored Re: Cavity sliders for wet areas - safe? 12Jun 02, 2011 5:13 pm OK, my hubby just told me the builder told him the frame could warp, not the case with a normal hinged door or a traditional sliding door with pelmet (yuck)! It's just because moisture can get in there regardless of use of an extractor fan. Fact does not cease to exist just because it is ignored Re: Cavity sliders for wet areas - safe? 14Jun 02, 2011 9:47 pm Astronomrs OK, my hubby just told me the builder told him the frame could warp, not the case with a normal hinged door or a traditional sliding door with pelmet (yuck)! It's just because moisture can get in there regardless of use of an extractor fan. I don’t know what more to say. I know that cavity sliding frames are made from kiln dried hardwood here in Oz... maybe you guys do things differently in NZ??? I still think the builder is full of sh*t just quietly... Re: Cavity sliders for wet areas - safe? 15Jun 15, 2011 2:40 pm You can buy a cavity sliding door which has a frame made of metal. It is more expensive, but may be worth the piece of mind (they are lovely systems). The company which sells them is ALMA http://www.almabuildingproducts.com.au/ The doors shown are mostly ones that fit in-line with the brickwork (the style I am getting), but they do stud wall systems too. Seeing as you are in NZ, this may not be of much help, send them an email and see if they can ship one over, or know who in NZ would import this product (it is made in Itally) Re: Cavity sliders for wet areas - safe? 16Jun 25, 2011 6:18 pm I am going to buck the trend here... but I previously lived in a house where the cavity door to the ensuite had warped slightly. The house was around 15 years old when we moved in. The door had a horizontal scrape mark where the paint had been scraped off, around 10 or 15cm in height, which my builder father in law said was not uncommon for cavity sliders. We didn't bother doing anything about it because the door still worked and we almost always had it in the open position so you couldn't see the scrape mark. We actually didn't even bother painting it when we painted the rest of the house. So I don't think your builder is telling you porkies That said, I plan to use a cavity slider when we eventually install our ensuite in our current house. Re: Cavity sliders for wet areas - safe? 18Jun 27, 2011 12:28 pm We had a cavity slider to our ensuite in both our last houses-no issues whatsoever. We have a cavity slider to the Walk In pantry in this house and after 6 months it has warped! I think it will come down to the quality of the materials and workmanship. Deemaree Kyndylan Capers: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46852 My blog: http://www.sufficientlysufficient.blogspot.com/ Block of two storey townhouses requires painting on the roof. A brick parapet wall separates each unit and extends above the tiled roof. The parapet walls require sealing… 0 3503 Hey guys, what’s everyone opinion on James Hardie linea direct fix to frame? Would this be the most common method and anybody ever had any problems down the track? 0 5162 Firstly, if your house is still under builder's warranty (10 years in Victoria) you should have no need to crawl into roof space but let the builder handle it, unless you… 3 5641 |