Retrofitting soft-close to an existing slider

A slamming sliding door is hard on the glass, the frame and the hardware. Many top-hung systems can take a soft-close damper after the fact — some cannot. Here is how to tell.

How soft-close works

A spring-loaded damper is mounted in the head track near the end. As the leaf arrives, a catch on the carriage engages an activator (trigger) on the damper, and the damper pulls the last 60–80 mm closed slowly and holds it there.

What has to be present

• A top-hung carriage with a slot or a fixing point for the catch. Fully sealed budget carriages often have nowhere to attach it — you may need to swap the carriage.
• Enough clear track at the end (the damper body and its travel) — usually 80–120 mm.
• A head track profile the damper is made for. Universal dampers fit common sections; oddball profiles may not have one.

Fitting

1. Slide the leaf to the closed position and mark where the carriage sits.
2. Fix the damper in the track so the activator meets the carriage catch just before fully closed.
3. Fit the catch to the carriage aligned with the activator.
4. Test: the leaf should be caught softly and pulled home without a bounce. Adjust the damper position for the leaf weight.

Both directions

For a door that closes from either side, fit a damper at each end with a catch each side of the carriage.

Bring a photo of the carriage and the head track end, plus the leaf weight, and we will tell you if a damper fits and supply it.