Bifold door hardware help.

Home Owner from USA
We just moved into a home and when the painters did the walls, they took down our mirrored metal bifold doors and we are having problems putting them back up. The tracks were bent but I've been able to mostly re-align them. The biggest problem is tightening the stationary bracket that holds the upper pivot rod to the upper track. The bracket tightens to the track with a flanged nut. The nut rides below the track and (I guess) is supposed to snug to the track and hold the bracket in position. If I just snug the nut, the bracket slides. If I tighten the nut, it ends up partially slipping inside the track as shown in the pictures and the whole thing becomes a mess. Unfortunately I have no information on the brand of the doors.

The track measurements are approx 11/16 wide and high
User submitted photos of closet hardware.
6 Replies
Paul
Paul from SWISCO
SWISCO
Expert
Thanks for posting. Can you take a few pictures of the pivot bracket that keeps coming loose? That will help us come up with a solution.
Quick Learner from Toms River, NJ
Attached please find some added pictures of the pivot bracket. I'm not sure the screw and nut are assembled properly though.
User submitted photos of bi-fold door hardware.
Paul
Paul from SWISCO
SWISCO
Expert
Hmmm... how about going to a local hardware store seeing if they have a large washer that is wider than the track? That may be the easiest solution. It would also need a hole large enough for the bolt to slide through. All you'd have to do is reverse the installation. Instead of the nut being exposed, have the bolt with washer on top with the nut below the pivot bracket. You would want to loosely put the pivot together and slide it into the track. As you tighten the bolt, the washer will press down on the track and should hold on tight. What do you think?
Quick Learner from Toms River, NJ
The washer would add too much thickness, I already tried that. I ended up removing the nut and bolt entirely and getting a 1/4-20 screw with a head that was small enough to just fit inside the track. I put the pivot plate into the track and by tightening the screw, it forces the pivot plate against the track. This seens to work. Unfortunately, I cracked one of the mirrors on one of the doors.

Thanks for the advice but I've spent so much time and effort trying to fix these things that I've given up. The doors were sized and purchased for the opening prior to the installation of tile by the previous owner and we installed a floating floor on top of that so now, the top-bottom clearance is very tight and I don't want to spend time digging into the floor or routing out the top trim to recess the track. We're just going to replace everything with some other type of doors.
Paul
Paul from SWISCO
SWISCO
Expert
Gotcha, I understand where you're coming from. Sometimes the restoration can be too frustrating. I'm sorry to hear about the unsuccessful outcome, but if you ever need anything else we would be happy to help as best as we can.
Reply to Thread
Current Photos: