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We have had new carpet installed, and our old wardrobe doors are rubbing on the carpet and aren’t sliding properly. They didn’t slide that well before the carpet, due to small tracks. We are hoping to keep the current doors and update the track system. The wardrobe doors have previously been cut down and as they are hollow inside, there’s not much room left to shave from the height. I was recommended a cowdroy system. Is there something like that where I could replace the top and bottom tracks so the doors run smoothly?
In most wardrobe systems @NicoleDIY, the doors are actually carried by rollers at the top, with the bottom track acting only as a guide to stop the doors swinging, rather than taking the weight. True bottom-roller systems do exist, but they are generally designed as a complete system from new and are not very forgiving when retrofitted to existing hollow-core doors. That makes them quite tricky in a situation like yours.
The Cowdroy system Jacob mentioned is a top-hung system and it is designed to allow two doors to share the same track, with height adjustment built into the rollers. That adjustment is usually what solves carpet clearance issues, rather than changing where the weight of the door is supported. Trying to convert your current doors to a bottom-running system would still require very accurate alignment and may not actually gain you any extra clearance over the carpet.
Given that your doors are hollow and have already been cut down, swapping the entire track system is not guaranteed to fix the rubbing issue and can easily turn into a fiddly job with mixed results. In many cases, poor sliding is caused by worn or damaged top rollers, bent tracks, or a lack of adjustment rather than the track design itself. Repairing or replacing the rollers, straightening or renewing the existing tracks, and then adjusting the door height is often the simplest and most reliable solution.
If there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the existing setup, keeping the current system and restoring it to work as intended is usually far less hassle than trying to retrofit a completely different style of track. If you are unsure, a carpenter or wardrobe installer can quickly assess whether new rollers and adjustment will solve it, which is often the cleanest outcome without risking further damage to the doors.
My major concern here is that simply installing a new track system isn't guaranteed to provide any additional clearance and could make clearance worse. If your doors are too large to clear the carpet, they need to be adjusted, and if there is no more room to do so, you might need someone to re-install a new bottom frame into the door at the correct height.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
