Bi-fold doors for wardrobe?

We are thinking in making a wardrobe/very-wide-tall-cabinet for storage in our laundry room. The space had a freestanding refrigerator and a deep freezer from the previous owners. It is 61in wide, 83in tall, 24in deep. There is a wall on one side and laundry cabinets on the other side (base and wall cabinets). We wanted to store big items in there, so we thought two bi-fold doors would be more convenient than sliding doors. However I am concerned about the weight of the bi-fold doors...

My first thought was to put a melamine panel on each side. One against the side of the cabinets (srewing it to the base and wall cabinets) and the other against the wall (drywall). Maybe drilling long screws to get to the stud. Would need something stronger (a stud?) for the top since the space is so wide so that I can safely attach the top railing from the bi-fold doors. So those two vertical panels plus the top would be my kind of door jamb for the bi-fold doors... Still I am not 100% sure this would do it? What do you think? I am specially concerned about the top corner against the laundry cabinets, as the wall cabinets only provide partial support (they are not 24in deep...). The room has drop ceiling, so not easy to get to the joists for extra support...

Thank you in advance!!

 

Put french doors in, not bifolds.

 

Welcome to the forums! You don't need a second opinion, but French type doors are best in this situation.

 

Thank you! But wouldn't french doors have the same issue? They also need jambs attached to some structure to withstand the weight of the door...

 

Sorry, don't know what your "issue" is. Yes, doors need jambs. Put a bulkhead (such as a double thickness of melamine, floor to ceiling) on each side if you want each side to match.

 

Can you post a picture of the proposed area for us. We can't see what you see, and are having a difficult time imagining it. Thanks. http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...your-post.html

 

Sorry for the late reply - here are a couple of photos of the space.




XSleeper - yes my concern is whether the melamine closet structure would be enough of a "jamb" for the door... if I put some sort of strong bulkhead it would eat up the tight space I have for the doors. The space is 61in wide and planned to put two 30in doors... how much can I safely trim off the long side of bi-fold doors?

 

Now that we can see it, I would suggest your bulkhead be a triple thickness. It looks good when the middle layer is set back 3/4" and makes it kind of decorative. Glue all 3 layers together, it will be strong enough to hold a door. You then set the hinges back 3/4" as well.

If you do that on both sides you would have a 56 1/2" opening... perfect size to use with 28" doors. Add door stop to the inside perimeter... ball catches to latch the doors on the top jamb.