Try This: In Your Bathroom -- Metal Tiles, Swinging Doors

Stylish, functional, simple, environmentally friendly projects for your natural bath.

September/October 2005
By Natural Home Staff 
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Glass globs (also called glass flats, nuggets, pebbles, gems, or half-marbles) are most often used to fill the bottom of a vase. They’re available in a dazzling array of colors and finishes from frosty tumbled textures to pearly iridescent. Find them at craft stores, florist shops, or online at MegaGlass.com.
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NOT YOUR GRANDMOTHER’S MOSAIC TILE
Want a unique and lovely high-end custom look for a bathroom backsplash at a very down-to-earth price? Just take a creative approach to what you call “tile.” With the help of a clear sticky mounting sheet made for mosaics, you can turn lots of unusual things into mosaic tile: glass globs, pebbles, seashells, horn buttons, seaglass, pennies, even galvanized steel hardware.

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TILE ONE ON If you’ve never set tile before, start by familiarizing yourself with the tools, materials, and techniques of setting mosaic tile. Check out the how-to instructions at TheTileDoctor.com.

a variation METAL TILES 

For a splashy border with a fun, industrial edge, use galvanized steel washers or flanges. Raid your local hardware store’s fasteners department for lots of interesting possibilities. The galvanized finish on most hardware makes it perfect for a watery locale. Add a splash of color with tiny glass marbles, or stay with the hardware theme and use nuts or tiny brass washers.

No room for swingers 

INCREASE YOUR BATHROOM’S SQUARE FOOTAGE without adding on an inch. A swinging door requires almost 9 square-feet of space to operate. A sliding door needs just a 2-inch wide slice. With bathrooms taking on so many functions—laundry space, storage area, water closet— too many doors eat up too much space. Simple hardware made for sliding barn doors allows you to create sliders without the complicated carpentry required to install a pocket door. Added bonus: the door doesn’t have to fit perfectly into the door opening. This is a great way to recycle and reuse those cool old doors you can find by the dozens at architectural salvage and building surplus yards.

BARN SLIDERS 101 

Every installation will vary slightly depending on the configuration of the bathroom. This overview should help you design an installation perfect for your setting.

MOUNTING A SLIDING BARN DOOR REQUIRES:
A DOOR YOU LOVE It needs to be wide enough to cover the opening in your wall with 2 inches to spare. The height should cover the wall opening. It’s fine if it’s taller, just adjust how high you hang the rail.

BOX RAIL (A) This is the track that the door slides in. Cut it long enough to span the wall opening plus the width of the door so it can slide all the way out of the way. Keep in mind that nothing can be flush against the wall where the box rail is hung because the door will slide along the entire length (that includes light fixtures).

BOX RAIL BRACKETS (A) are simple brackets that mount flush on the wall and hold the box rail for your door to slide in. You need about one bracket every 24 inches to support the rail and the weight of the door. The brackets attach using one wood bolt.

BOX RAIL HANGERS (B) with trolley (the wheel assembly) and strap (the plate that attaches to the door). You’ll need two hangers on each door. The hanger attaches to the door via the metal strap using three nuts and bolts that go through holes drilled through the door (C). These can be countersunk for a cleaner look.

BOTTOM GUIDES (D) There are many ways to make sure your door slides straight. One easy version is to attach a piece of 2x2-inch wood to the floor a couple inches out from the wall creating a “track” for the door to glide in to. This strip of wood acts as a guide only. It need not run along the threshold of the door opening, but only along the wall that the door slides in front of when it’s open. The guide can be secured directly into the floor with decking screws.

ASSEMBLY: Measure, mark, and predrill all pieces of your door system and assemble it completely before hanging. Attach the hangers to the doors first. You’ll need an adjust­able crescent wrench or appropriate-size socket wrench to tighten the bolts. Next, slide the trolleys into the box rail. Slide the hangers onto the box rail. Attach the hangers to the wall using your predrilled holes. This last step will require a strong helper to hold the door while your screw the hanger bolts in place. Add your bottom guide, find a cool door handle and you’re all set.

An excellent source for barn slider hardware is National Manufacturing (NatMan.com). Their hardware comes with all the elements discussed here including the nuts and bolts needed for installation.

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