Contractor closet doors in the GTA: measure, order from the job site, pick up
Measure the finished opening once, on site. Enter the width and height in the Buildr app while you're standing there, check the ready date, and order. You pick the doors up in the GTA and hang them yourself or with your crew. Buildr doesn't install.
If you fit out closets for a living, you already know where the time goes. It's rarely the hanging. It's the second trip to re-measure and the standard door that's an inch off and has to be cut down. Custom sliding doors built to your numbers skip that, as long as the numbers are right the first time.
This is the routine we'd follow on a typical job, from tape measure to pickup.
Measure on site, after the demo
Take the old doors, trim and track off first. You want the opening the new doors will fill, not the one the old doors were hiding.
- Width. Measure at the top, the middle and the bottom. Write down all three.
- Height. Measure the left side, the middle and the right side, from the finished floor to the underside of the header or bulkhead.
- Use the smallest number in each set. If the opening is a quarter inch narrower at the top, that's your width.
Older houses and some condos run out of square, and a tape measure won't lie about it. If the three widths are far apart, fix the opening before you order. Shim it, patch it, or square up the header. The doors can't fix a wall. Our guide on how to measure a closet opening shows each step in more detail.
Two height traps catch trades more than homeowners.
- Flooring that isn't in yet. Hardwood, tile or thick carpet over a subfloor takes height away. If the floor isn't down, measure to where the finished surface will be.
- Bulkheads. In condos and basements the top of the opening is often a dropped drywall box. Measure to its underside, not the ceiling. The condo closet doors guide covers this.
You enter the opening, not a door size
Sliding doors overlap in the middle so there's no gap when closed, so a two-panel door isn't two boards each half the opening wide. You don't have to work that out. In the app you enter the opening width and height, and the panels are built from those numbers with the overlap already allowed for. The sliding closet door sizes guide explains why.
What you do choose is the rest of the spec.
- Panel or mirror. Panel doors are White or Black. Mirror doors use clear mirror only.
- Framed or frameless. Framed mirror doors come in White or Black. Frameless is the only way to get Silver.
- Number of panels. 2 to 5. Wide openings often suit three or four, so each door stays a manageable size.
- Height. Doors come in 83" and 98.5". Framed mirror also comes in 110.5" for tall openings. Match the finished opening you measured.
Every mirror door has an anti-shatter backing that holds the glass together if it breaks. That's worth knowing for kids' rooms and rental turnovers. If you'd rather have no glass on a job, panel doors are the simpler pick. Our mirror vs panel and framed vs frameless posts go through the trade-offs.
Order from the job site
Because you're already holding the numbers, you can place the order from the same spot. Open the Buildr app on your phone, enter the opening, pick the spec, and the exact price shows on screen before you pay. The app also shows your ready date, so you can line the pickup up with the day your crew is on site.
There's no quote to chase. The price you see is the price you pay, and a homeowner sees the same one. Buildr has no separate trade rate.
Measure every closet on its own. If a job has a bedroom closet, an entry closet and a basement closet, each opening gets its own numbers. Two closets in the same house often differ even when they look identical.
Before pickup day
Doors for a big closet are long and awkward, and glass makes them heavier. A bit of planning saves a damaged corner.
- Check the ready date in the app and confirm someone can collect that day.
- Bring a vehicle that fits. The doors are as tall as the opening you measured. A van or a truck with a rack handles them. A small hatchback won't.
- Pad and strap them. Moving blankets, flat on edge, with nothing sliding around.
- Check the delivery path at your end. If the job is in a condo, book the freight elevator and check the building's renovation rules. A 98.5" door doesn't turn a tight lobby corner easily.
- Look the doors over at pickup, so any problem is sorted out before you've driven across the city.
What a typical job looks like
Say you're redoing three closets in a Scarborough bungalow. You measure each one after the demo, and the entry closet comes out a quarter inch narrower than you guessed. You order three sets from the driveway, check the ready date, and book your install day around it. On pickup day you load the doors in one trip. Next morning you hang them. Nobody comes back with a tape measure.
Our take
Measure once, after the demo, and use the smallest numbers. Enter the opening rather than a door size. Check the ready date before you promise your client an install day. And plan the pickup, because that's where most damaged doors happen, not in the factory.
FAQ
Can contractors order custom closet doors in the GTA without a trade account?
Yes. Anyone can order in the Buildr app, and trade and homeowners see the same price. There's no separate trade pricing to apply for.
What size do I enter for sliding closet doors?
The opening. Measure the width at the top, middle and bottom and the height on the left, middle and right, then enter the smallest of each. The app builds the panels from those numbers with the overlap allowed for.
Does Buildr install the doors?
No. Buildr makes the doors to your measurements and you pick them up in the GTA. You hang them yourself or use your own crew.
What if the opening is out of square?
Order to the smallest width and height, and fix the opening where you can before you hang the doors. If the numbers are far apart, shim or patch the opening first.
Are the mirror doors safe for kids' rooms and rentals?
Every Buildr mirror door has an anti-shatter backing that holds the glass together if it breaks. The mirror is clear glass. Panel doors are the choice if you want no glass at all.
Order your closet doors from the job site
Measure first, then open the Buildr app on iPhone or Google Play. Choose panel or mirror, the colour, the number of panels and the height, and enter your width and height. The exact price shows on screen before you pay, and the app shows your ready date.
Want the city-specific view? See closet doors in Toronto. Not sure what suits a tricky opening? Call, text or email us with a photo and we'll tell you what we'd do.
