[SFNM2942]

This is really a vocabulary question. I'm trying to build a pair of bi-fold doors for a room divider between our living room and my husband's office. I'd like them to be top-mount, but ideally they'll pivot at the center of each panel, so that the doors do not stick obtrusively into either room. I've seen glass panels mounted with center pivots, but cannot find any of the hardware for the pivot, let alone ones that are lighter weight for a thinner wooden door (it'll be a shoji-style door to match ones already in our house). Apparently, I'm not searching under the right terms. Does anyone know what I'm looking for or how I should be searching? Or have an alternative way to hang the doors so they don't take up too much space?

[ma0641]

Why not use the standard bifold hardware? Typically the doors only protrude 1/4 the door width.

[SFNM2942]

These are going to be custom-sized doors. Based on the measurements I have, it looks like basic bi-fold door hardware will cause the doors to hang into either room over 10 inches. On one side of the opening is a walkway, and the other is the center of the office (which is only 7' wide to start out), so ten inches lost is a big chunk.
If I could center the pivot point, the doors would stick into each room less than 5 inches, which is much more functional. Not to mention, I can't mount anything to the floor, which regular bifold hardware requires for the bottom pivot point (or any bottom mounting would have to be temporary).

[creahands]

The ideal type of door for your condition would be a pocket door.

If the area is large enough, a 5 foot opening or more you would end up with a door 1/2 the size of opening. There would be no area of door protruding into either room. A 5 foot opening would give you a 28'' door. This would also increase the wall area by the same amount.

Chuck

[SFNM2942]

The reason we were thinking bi-fold was because the default position for the door is going to be open. We want to keep as much of the opening accessible as possible. A pocket door might have worked if we had wall space available on either side of the opening, but there are built-in pass-through bookshelves on either side (I've already built shoji shutters to cover these when the office needs privacy). The plan was to make doors to match the shutters. I think I've found the hardware I need--the key was finding something that would both slide and pivot. The magic word for the doors themselves was center-fold. No, not the pornographic kind. The first door that I build will be half the size of the other two to create the proper accordion effect. That said, the hardware is going to be "heavy duty" bifold hangers--which have dual casters that sit in a C-channel and have a pivot point below. When I get them all done, maybe I'll post pictures.