A flush sliding door looks simple on a drawing: a panel that disappears into the wall line and glides across an opening. That simplicity is exactly why it is easy to under-specify. When the door schedule only says “sliding door, black frame”, the workshop has no choice but to guess — and every guess becomes a variation order later. Below is the specification sheet we ask for on Santerson Flush Sliding Doors, in the same order our team reads it, so a quotation comparison and a site handover both start from one document.
1. Openings and dimensions
Send dimensions for the finished opening, not the structural one. For each opening, record width and height in millimetres, the floor-to-ceiling height next to it, and whether the floor finish is already laid or still to come. Note the clear wall length beside the opening, because a sliding panel needs somewhere to travel: an unobstructed reveal on the closing side is what determines whether a single panel or a stacking arrangement is workable. If the opening sits in a partition with a services chase behind it, say so before the panel size is fixed.
2. Wall build and fixing conditions
A flush detail is only as stable as the substrate it meets. Tell us the wall type (masonry, steel stud, timber frame, tiled or plastered face), the finished wall thickness, and how much of the assembly is still open to amendment. We work from project-specific dimensions and details, so a wall build that changes after the panel is in production is one of the most expensive late changes on a door package. Where the reveal is to be finished flush with the plaster line, send the expected set-out drawing so the panel edge and the wall line are resolved together rather than on site.
3. Panel, material and finish
Specify the panel construction and the surface in the same line: substrate, edge treatment, and the finish being quoted — painted, laminated, veneered or glass. Colour references should always be a standard code plus a physical sample, never a screen value, and the sample should be checked against the flooring and skirting it will sit beside. For projects where the sliding door has to read as part of the wall, the finish of the panel and the finish of the adjacent wall are two separate line items on our specification sheet, even when they are the same colour. Related ranges such as Flush Wall Aligned Doors and Santerson Wooden Sliding Doors are specified the same way, which keeps one finish schedule across the whole door set.
4. Hardware and operation
State the operating requirements before hardware is proposed: frequency of use, the required clear opening width, handle or handleless detail, and any lock or privacy need. Note floor covering along the track line and any threshold, since these drive the track and floor guide selection. Where hardware is not yet decided, list the load and duty expectation on the opening so the hardware can be proposed and priced as a defined option rather than left as a provisional sum.
5. Quantities, locations and phasing
Give a door schedule with a unique mark per opening, room name, quantity and the phase or apartment it belongs to. Repeats are welcome — identical openings make production more efficient — but they should be marked as repeats on purpose, not assumed. If delivery is staged by level or by building, record the staging in the schedule, and confirm the sequence with the fit-out programme so the doors arrive when the wall openings are actually ready.
6. Documentation and approval
Before production, we confirm dimensions and the selected specification with the project team for each opening, and the approved set is what the workshop builds from. For a made-to-measure package, that confirmation step is the record: mark revisions, date them, and keep one controlling version. It is also the point at which final dimensions are re-checked against site conditions, so the approval is signed on real measurements rather than on a tender drawing.
7. Pack, delivery and handover
Say where the doors are going: delivery address, access constraints, storage available on site, and whether installation support is required. Packing is arranged against the schedule marks so panels reach the correct opening in the correct sequence, and the same marks are used on the handover list and the snag list. Clear logistics information at the specification stage is what keeps a door package out of the critical path.
A ready-to-use checklist
- Finished opening width and height per mark, in millimetres
- Clear wall length available for the panel to travel
- Wall type, finished thickness, and which work is still open to change
- Panel substrate, edge detail and surface finish, with sample reference
- Colour code plus physical sample matched to adjoining finishes
- Usage duty, required clear opening, handle or handleless, lock requirement
- Floor covering, threshold and track line conditions
- Quantity, room name and phase for every mark
- Delivery address, access notes, storage and installation support
If you send these fields with your enquiry, we can return a comparable quotation, a specification sheet you can issue to the site team, and made-to-measure panels built to the confirmed opening sizes — with dimensions and finish options confirmed for each project before production starts. A door schedule that answers these questions up front is what keeps a flush sliding detail quiet, precise and free of variation.