Cavity Slider in SA?
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Typical Cavity Slider Costs SA
Retrofit into an existing wall$1,800 - $4,500
Install during a renovation$900 - $2,200
Load bearing wall, with lintel$3,000 - $7,000
Surface mounted slider instead$600 - $1,500
Cavity frame kit supply only$300 - $900
Repair a jammed or derailed door$250 - $800
Relocating services in the wall$400 - $2,000
Making good and painting$400 - $1,500
Figures on this page are indicative 2026 SA estimates only and vary with wall construction and whether the wall carries load, the presence of services in the wall, available wall length beside the opening, door and hardware specification, flooring and threshold work, making good and painting, and any engineering input required. Quotes should always be obtained for your specific property. Building, electrical, licensing and consumer protection requirements are set by legislation, the National Construction Code and Australian Standards and are periodically updated, so confirm the current position with the relevant authority and your builder before relying on any figure.
Cavity Slider Services SA 2026 - Get Quotes
The door has to go somewhere when it opens, and that somewhere is a hollow section of wall as long as the door itself. A 820mm door needs at least 820mm of clear wall beside the opening with nothing in it, which rules out a great many positions before anybody has quoted anything. Walk up to the wall and measure from the edge of the opening to the next corner, window, power point or return, because if that measurement is shorter than the door you are looking at a surface mounted slider or a rehung hinged door instead. Then check what is in that section of wall, since light switches, power points and anything plumbed all have to be relocated before a cavity can be formed. Those two checks take five minutes and they decide most of this job. Two other things are worth knowing before you commit. The track and frame are buried in the wall for the life of the house and cannot be upgraded without opening it again, so hardware quality is the item least worth economising on here. And sliders perform noticeably worse acoustically than hinged doors, because the leaf sits against the wall instead of sealing into a rebated frame, which matters for a bedroom or a study and matters very little for a linen cupboard. Post your job on The Quote Yard to reach South Australian builders and carpenters.
At a Glance - Options Compared
| Option | Cost | Wall Opened | Looks | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cavity slider, renovation | $900 - $2,200 | Already open | Cleanest | Any wall being rebuilt |
| Cavity slider, retrofit | $1,800 - $4,500 | Yes, one side | Cleanest | Where wall length allows |
| Load bearing wall | $3,000 - $7,000 | Yes, plus lintel | Cleanest | Where nothing else works |
| Surface mounted slider | $600 - $1,500 | No | Track visible | Short wall, tight budget |
| Barn door style | $700 - $2,000 | No | Deliberate feature | Where the look is wanted |
| Rehang the hinged door | $250 - $600 | No | Unchanged | Swing direction is the issue |
The Wall Length Check That Decides Everything
A cavity slider needs a pocket the door can disappear into, and that pocket has to be at least as long as the door leaf plus a little for the frame.
Measure from the edge of the existing opening along the wall in the direction the door would slide. What you need is clear wall with nothing interrupting it, so the measurement stops at the first corner, return, window reveal, or the point where the wall ends. For a standard 820mm door you want a minimum of around 850mm, and more is better because the frame needs somewhere to fix at the far end.
Then look at what is on that wall on both faces. A light switch, a power point, a wall light, a heating vent or a television point all sit inside the wall and cannot stay there, because a cavity frame fills the space completely. Relocating them at $400 to $2,000 is possible and it is a genuine cost that separates an accurate quote from an optimistic one. Where the wall adjoins a bathroom, kitchen or laundry, there may be plumbing in it as well, and that is the situation most likely to make a cavity slider impractical.
Wall Length, Direction and Position
Measure from the opening edge along the wall in the direction the door will slide. That single number decides whether a cavity slider is possible. The wall beside the opening decides it. A standard 820mm door wants around 850mm of uninterrupted wall. Anything less than that and the door cannot fully disappear. Double cavity sliders need clear wall on both sides, which doubles the requirement and rules out most domestic positions.
The measurement stops at the first interruption of any kind. A corner, a return, a window reveal or the end of the wall all count. A pocket has to be at least as long as the door leaf, so around 850mm of clear uninterrupted wall for a standard 820mm door, measured to the first corner, return or window reveal. Builders who fit these regularly measure the wall first. A household comparing three quotes will usually find the spread traces to whether the wall was actually investigated. Furniture placement changes afterwards, because nothing can be fixed into a cavity wall once the door lives inside it.
Which side the door slides to is frequently determined by the wall rather than preference. One side often works and the other does not. Double cavity sliders need clear wall on both sides. That doubles the requirement and rules out most domestic positions. The disappointment arrives when a household discovers the pocket is 40mm short and the whole plan collapses. A quote naming the frame system is telling you something that a quote simply saying cavity slider is not.
Furniture placement changes afterwards because the wall becomes unusable. Nothing can be fixed into a cavity wall once the door lives there. Picture hooks, shelves and wall mounted televisions are all ruled out on that section. Fixing things to walls generally sits at handyman services. On a pre war home with solid internal walls, the honest answer is usually a face fixed slider rather than a cavity one. Moisture entering the unventilated pocket is a real consideration in a bathroom where extraction is poor.
| What You Measure | What It Tells You | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Clear wall beside the opening | Whether the pocket fits | Under 850mm rules it out |
| Which side has more wall | Slide direction | Often decided for you |
| Switches and points on the wall | Wiring inside | Relocation needed |
| Adjoining wet areas | Possible plumbing | May rule it out |
| Wall runs under an upper storey | Possibly load bearing | Engineering input |
| What hangs on that wall now | What you lose | Plan for it |
What Is Inside That Section of Wall
A cavity frame fills the wall completely, so nothing else can occupy that space. Every service in there has to move first. Nothing else can live in that wall. Light switches beside a doorway are the most common obstacle. They are also the cheapest of the services to relocate. Roughing in the frame and hanging an ordinary door for now still costs far less than opening the wall again later.
Power points on either face indicate a circuit running through. Both faces need checking and not just the one you look at. A cavity frame fills the space completely, so every switch, power point, wall light, data outlet and duct in that section has to be relocated first at $400 to $2,000. A tape measure answers the feasibility question in two minutes. Where a bedroom is involved, the acoustic penalty is worth weighing carefully before anything is opened up. Locking options on a slider are fewer and generally less robust, which is worth resolving deliberately rather than discovering.
Wall lights, television points and data outlets all count. Anything on that wall is in that wall. Relocating circuits and points sits at electrical services. Plumbing in a wall adjoining a bathroom or laundry is the hardest case. Moving pipework costs a great deal and is sometimes impractical entirely.
Ducted heating and cooling occasionally runs inside internal walls. A duct in the pocket position needs rerouting entirely. Homes built before the late 1980s may have asbestos in wall linings, and removal work is governed by AS 2601 and the relevant safety regulations. Identifying it before the wall is opened sits at asbestos inspection. A builder who asks what hangs on that wall now is thinking about what the household loses as well as gains.
| What Is There | Difficulty | Cost to Move |
|---|---|---|
| Light switch | Straightforward | Lower end |
| Power points | Straightforward | Lower end |
| Wall light or data point | Straightforward | Lower end |
| Heating or cooling duct | Moderate | Mid range |
| Plumbing to a wet area | Difficult | Upper end or impractical |
| Nothing visible | Still check | Inspection hole first |
Load Bearing Walls and Adelaide Construction
A cavity frame removes the studs from a section of wall, which matters enormously if that wall is carrying anything above it.
On a non load bearing partition the frame simply replaces the existing framing and the job is carpentry. On a load bearing wall the opening needs a lintel sized for the span with the load above, temporary propping while it goes in, and engineering input at $500 to $1,500, which is why those installations sit at $3,000 to $7,000 rather than $1,800 to $4,500. Several indicators help a household understand what they are dealing with, though none is conclusive and the assessment belongs to somebody qualified. Walls running perpendicular to ceiling joists are more likely to carry load than those parallel with them. A wall directly beneath an upper storey wall is a strong indicator. Adelaide adds a specific complication, because older homes with traditional cut roof framing instead of prefabricated trusses sometimes have internal walls carrying struts that prop the roof structure, and nothing visible from the hallway reveals that. Solid masonry internal walls, common in pre war Adelaide housing, cannot take a cavity slider at all in the conventional sense, since there is no framed cavity to work with and forming one means substantial structural work. Framing work sits at carpentry services and larger structural jobs at home extensions.
Structural Considerations
A non load bearing partition is the straightforward case. The cavity frame replaces the existing studs and the work is ordinary carpentry. Load changes the price substantially. A load bearing wall needs a lintel and propping, with timber framing sized to AS 1684 or the engineer's specification. Span and load above determine what the engineer specifies.
Solid masonry internal walls, common in pre war Adelaide homes, cannot take a conventional cavity slider. There is no framed space to form a pocket in. A partition is ordinary carpentry, while a load bearing wall needs a lintel sized for the span, temporary propping and engineering input, which is what moves the job from $1,800 to $7,000. That figure decides whether this job is possible at all. Anybody fitting these regularly will name the track system unprompted, since a good job and a callback often come down to that choice.
Older homes with cut roof framing may have internal walls carrying roof struts. Somebody should look in the roof space before anything is cut. Ask whether building approval is required for the alteration. Structural changes may need consent depending on what is altered. Planning and building information for the state is published at sa.gov.au, and builder licensing is checked with Consumer and Business Services.
A pre purchase or condition report can identify wall types. A wider condition assessment of the house sits at building inspections. Two openings of the same width can reach different answers. Carpenters will raise it on site where it applies. The marginal cost during a renovation is so much lower that raising it whenever a wall comes off is simply good sense.
Frames, Tracks and Why Hardware Quality Matters
The frame and track are buried in a wall and cannot be upgraded later without opening it again. That makes hardware quality the decision least worth economising on. Buried hardware cannot be upgraded. Cheap track systems sag and bind under a heavier door. The symptom appears a year or two in, when the door starts catching.
Check the track is rated for the door weight you intend to hang. A solid core or glazed door weighs far more than a hollow core one. The track and frame sit inside the wall for the life of the house, so a cheap system that sags and binds under a heavier door means opening the wall again to fix it. It belongs in the first conversation rather than the third. Rollers wearing after years of use are ordinary, and whether they can be replaced without demolition was decided at installation.
Steel reinforced cavity frames outperform timber only ones for straightness. A frame that bows pinches the door. Soft close mechanisms are worth specifying at installation. Retrofitting them means opening the wall again. Floor guides keep the door from swinging at the bottom.
Their detail affects how the threshold looks and how it cleans. Ask whether the door can be removed for maintenance without demolition. Good systems allow it and poor ones do not. Hanging and fitting the leaf sits at door installation.
| Component | Why It Matters | What to Specify |
|---|---|---|
| Track system | Buried, cannot upgrade | Rated above door weight |
| Cavity frame | Bowing pinches the door | Steel reinforced |
| Rollers | Wear point | Replaceable without demolition |
| Soft close | Retrofit means opening the wall | Fit at installation |
| Floor guide | Stops the door swinging | Suits the floor finish |
| Flush pull | Hard to grip | D pull where grip is limited |
What a Cavity Slider Does Less Well Than a Hinged Door
These are genuinely useful in the right position and it is worth knowing where a hinged door still wins, because households occasionally fit one and then regret it. Acoustic performance is the main limitation, since a sliding door sits against the wall rather than sealing into a rebated frame, and sound passes around the edges far more readily. That matters most for a bedroom, a study used for calls, or a toilet off a living area, and it is the complaint reported most often. Light leaks around the edges for the same reason. Draughts travel through the gap and, in a bathroom, so does moisture into the cavity if extraction is poor. Locking options are more limited and generally less robust than a hinged door's, which matters for a bathroom or a bedroom. The flush pull is difficult for anybody with reduced grip strength, though a D pull addresses that. A door that derails or binds is harder to fix than a hinged door that drops, and severe cases need the wall opened. And the wall itself becomes unusable for anything fixed to it. Against all that, a cavity slider frees the floor area a swing would occupy, which is precisely why they suit small bathrooms, tight hallways and rooms where a swinging door consumes space nobody can spare. Bathroom layouts sit at bathroom renovations.
Timing, and Why a Renovation Halves the Price
The single largest saving available on this job has nothing to do with negotiating and everything to do with when the work happens. A cavity slider fitted while a wall is already open during a renovation costs $900 to $2,200, where the identical door retrofitted into a finished wall costs $1,800 to $4,500, and the difference is entirely the opening up, the services relocation and the making good. Several situations put a household in that cheaper position without planning for it. A bathroom or ensuite renovation opens the walls around it anyway. A rewire or a replumb has trades in the wall cavity already. Removing a wall or altering a layout means framing is being handled regardless. Replacing wall sheeting after water damage or removing asbestos linings both expose the framing. New build and extension work is the obvious case. The practical lesson is that a household contemplating a cavity slider at any point in the next several years should raise it whenever a wall is coming off for any other reason, because the marginal cost at that moment is a fraction of the standalone job. Even roughing in the frame and hanging an ordinary door for now costs far less than opening the wall again later. Sheeting work sits at gyprock installation.
Where a Hinged Door Is Still Better
Acoustic separation is noticeably worse with a slider, and sound ratings for wall and door systems are measured under AS/NZS 1276. Sound travels around the edges because nothing seals into a rebate. Sound passes around the edges. Bedrooms and studies suffer most from that. A household wanting quiet should think carefully before converting one.
Light leaks around the perimeter in the same way. A hallway light will be visible from inside a bedroom. The door sits against the wall rather than sealing into a rebated frame, which is why a bedroom or a study used for calls is the position where a hinged door still performs better. Installers tend to approach the services question in different orders.
Locking is less robust and the options are fewer. That matters for bathrooms and bedrooms and not linen cupboards. Moisture can enter the cavity from a poorly ventilated bathroom. Extraction matters more where a slider is fitted. Sizing and ducting extraction sits at exhaust fan installation.
Flush pulls are awkward for anybody with limited grip. Wider accessibility changes sit at door widening and accessible entry. Settling it early keeps the quotes genuinely comparable. Most builders will open an inspection hole before committing.
The Systems Actually Specified Here
Because the frame and track are buried in the wall for the life of the house, knowing which system a quote uses matters more here than on most jobs.
CS Cavity Sliders is the long established Australian name and its frames turn up in a great deal of newer South Australian housing, with a range spanning standard domestic frames up to heavy commercial systems. Hume and Corinthian supply door leaves in most of the sizes and finishes households want, including solid core and glazed options. Cowdroy and Brio supply track and roller hardware used in both cavity and surface mounted applications, and Brio's surface mounted systems appear regularly where opening a wall is impractical. Henderson is another established name in sliding gear. For surface mounted and barn door hardware, Bellevue and Zanda both supply through Australian channels. A handful of practical points follow from that. A quote naming the frame system is telling you something a quote saying cavity slider is not. Track systems carry a maximum door weight and a solid core or glazed leaf can exceed what a budget system is rated for. Rollers are the wear component, and whether they can be replaced without opening the wall varies between systems. And soft close is available as an option on most of these, fitted at installation rather than added afterwards. Door supply sits at door installation.
Surface Mounted and Other Options
A surface mounted slider at $600 to $1,500 runs on a track fixed to the wall face. Nothing is opened up and the door hangs in front of the wall. Renovation timing halves the cost. That works where wall length exists but opening the wall does not suit. Renters and masonry walls both fall into that category.
Barn door hardware is the same idea presented as a feature. It suits interiors where the look is wanted instead of tolerated. The same slider fitted while a wall is already open runs $900 to $2,200 against $1,800 to $4,500 as a standalone retrofit, and the difference is entirely opening up and making good. The distance to the next corner answers a great deal.
A surface slider still needs clear wall for the door to sit against. The wall length requirement does not go away. Rehanging a hinged door to swing outward at $250 to $600 solves many of the same problems. That option deserves pricing ahead of anything more involved.
Removing a door entirely costs almost nothing where privacy is not needed. Plenty of internal doorways exist out of habit. Bi fold and concertina doors suit some openings. Architraves and trim details sit at skirting boards and architraves.
| Situation | Best Option | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Wall being rebuilt anyway | Cavity slider | Cheapest time to do it |
| Enough wall, framed, no services | Cavity slider retrofit | Cleanest result |
| Enough wall, masonry | Surface mounted | No cavity to form |
| Short wall beside the opening | Rehang or remove | No pocket available |
| Renting | Surface mounted | Reversible |
| Bedroom needing quiet | Keep the hinged door | Acoustic performance |
Small Bathrooms, Where These Earn Their Keep
The best argument for a cavity slider is a small bathroom where a hinged door swinging inward consumes the only floor space somebody has to stand in.
South Australian housing has a great many of these, particularly in pre war cottages where a bathroom was carved out of an existing room, and in units and townhouses where every square metre was accounted for. The door swing in those rooms frequently overlaps the space in front of the basin or the shower, which means the person entering has to step around it awkwardly and the door cannot be closed until they are past it. A slider removes that entirely and the improvement is immediate and obvious. Two cautions apply specifically to bathrooms. Moisture entering the cavity is a real consideration where extraction is poor, since warm damp air finds its way into the pocket and there is no ventilation in there at all, so a properly ducted exhaust fan matters more once a slider is fitted. And locking options on sliders are more limited, which is worth resolving deliberately rather than discovering afterwards. Where the wall length does not allow a cavity slider, rehanging the existing door to swing outward achieves much of the same benefit for $250 to $600 and is often the overlooked answer. Ensuite work sits at ensuite renovation.
| Ask Every Builder | Why It Matters | A Good Answer |
|---|---|---|
| Is there enough clear wall | Decides feasibility entirely | Measured, with the figure given |
| What is in that wall | Everything must be relocated | Investigated before quoting |
| Is the wall load bearing | Doubles the cost | Assessed, roof space checked |
| What track system | Buried, cannot upgrade later | Named, rated for the door |
| Can the door be removed later | Maintenance access | Yes, without demolition |
| Is making good included | Patching, cornice, painting | Itemised either way |
Renting, Strata and Reversible Options
Forming a cavity in a wall is a permanent structural alteration, which puts it well outside what a tenant can arrange and makes it a substantial ask even of a sympathetic landlord. The wall has to be opened, framing replaced, services moved and the surface made good, and none of that can be reversed cheaply at the end of a tenancy. Tenants wanting the benefit have genuinely workable alternatives. A surface mounted slider fixes to the wall face and leaves only screw holes behind, which is a far smaller ask and can be removed and made good in an afternoon. Rehanging an existing door to swing the other way is reversible entirely and frequently solves the same space problem. Removing a door and storing it costs nothing and can be undone by simply rehanging it. In strata and community title properties the position depends on whether the wall is within the lot or is common property, and a wall shared with another unit is generally not the owner's to alter, so the corporation decides. Anybody in that situation should establish which applies before engaging a builder and not after. Rules for altering a rented property come from Consumer and Business Services.
Regional Considerations Across South Australia
Pre war Adelaide homes regularly have solid masonry internal walls. Those cannot take a conventional cavity slider without substantial structural work. Masonry walls change the answer. The same homes have narrow hallways where a slider would genuinely help. That tension is common and the surface mounted option resolves it.
Post war and mid century homes with framed internal walls are the easy case. Installations in those homes are predictable and reasonably priced. Pre war Adelaide homes with solid internal walls have no framed cavity to form a pocket in, which is exactly where a track mounted slider for a similar figure becomes the sensible route. Joiners see this constraint often enough to advise quickly.
Newer estate housing often has cavity sliders already, particularly to ensuites and walk in robes. Repairs rather than installations are the common need there. Homes extended over decades have mixed construction throughout. The wall type varies from room to room in the same house.
| Housing Era | Typical Wall | Usual Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Pre war cottages and villas | Solid masonry internal | Surface mounted instead |
| Interwar and post war | Framed partitions | Straightforward retrofit |
| Mid century | Mixed construction | Assess each wall |
| Newer estates | Framed, often already fitted | Repairs more common |
| Homes extended over time | Varies room to room | Check the specific wall |
| Units and townhouses | May be common property | Corporation consent first |
| Item | Cost | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Install during a renovation | $900 - $2,200 | Wall already open |
| Retrofit, framed wall | $1,800 - $4,500 | The common domestic job |
| Load bearing wall | $3,000 - $7,000 | Lintel, propping, engineering |
| Surface mounted slider | $600 - $1,500 | No wall work at all |
| Relocating services | $400 - $2,000 | Frequently omitted from quotes |
| Making good and painting | $400 - $1,500 | Follows the carpentry |
When an Existing Slider Sticks, Drags or Derails
Plenty of South Australian homes already have cavity sliders, and the common enquiry is a repair instead of an installation. Not all of those need the wall opened.
Several faults account for most complaints and they vary enormously in difficulty. A door dragging on the floor usually means the rollers have worn or dropped, and many systems allow height adjustment through the door edge without touching the wall. Any door binds partway along often has debris in the track or a bowed frame, and the first is trivial while the second is not. Rollers themselves wear out and good systems allow replacement with the door removed from the opening rather than by demolition, which is why that question matters at installation. A door that has derailed entirely may go back on with patience or may need access, depending on the system. A flush pull that has pulled loose is a five minute fix. A door binding only in summer points at seasonal timber movement and not a hardware fault. The repair range of $250 to $800 covers most of these, and the cases that exceed it are the ones where the frame itself has failed inside the wall, which means opening one side to replace it. A tradesperson who asks what the door does rather than assuming demolition is giving better advice. Adjustment and repair work sits at door repair and installation.
What Cavity Sliders Cost
Installing during a renovation at $900 to $2,200 is the cheapest way to get one. The wall is already open and the frame goes in with the new framing. Most repairs are not demolition. A retrofit into an existing framed wall at $1,800 to $4,500 covers opening one side, fitting the frame and making good. Anything living inside the wall adds to that figure.
A load bearing wall at $3,000 to $7,000 includes the lintel, propping and engineering. That figure represents the upper end of the range. Worn rollers, debris in the track and a dropped door all have adjustments available through the door edge, and only a failed frame inside the wall requires opening one side. The wall construction shapes what is realistically achievable here.
A face fixed slider at the same price avoids all of the wall work. It is the practical answer in masonry homes. Relocating services at $400 to $2,000 is a genuine and frequently omitted line. Sheeting and patching afterwards sits at plasterboard installation. Making good and painting at $400 to $1,500 follows the carpentry. Painting the made good surface sits at interior house painting.
What to Look Out For
Measure the clear wall before speaking to anybody. If it is shorter than the door, a cavity slider is not an option regardless of budget. Insist the wall is investigated before the quote is final. Services inside it are the most common source of variations on this job. Do not economise on the track and frame. They are buried and they cannot be upgraded without opening the wall again.
Think about acoustics before converting a bedroom or study. Sliders leak sound in a way hinged doors do not. Confirm making good is included in the price. Guarantee rights are set out by the ACCC, and disputes have a pathway through SACAT.
How to Get Useful Quotes
Give the door width and the clear wall measurement beside the opening. Those two numbers answer the feasibility question immediately. State the wall construction if you happen to know it. Framed, masonry and sheeted walls lead to different answers. List every switch, point and fitting on both faces of that wall. Every one of them counts as a separate relocation.
Say whether the wall adjoins a bathroom, kitchen or laundry. That signals possible plumbing inside. Mention the door you want, including whether it is solid core or glazed. Weight determines the track specification. Have each quote state the clear wall available, what services need moving, whether the wall is load bearing, the track system by name and whether making good is included. Settle those five points and the quotes line up properly against each other, and wider joinery sits at built in wardrobes.
Cavity Sliders Across South Australia
We connect households with roof cleaning operators across South Australia for cavity slider retrofits, renovation installs and repairs, from inner Adelaide and the coastal suburbs through the plains and the Adelaide Hills, out to the Barossa, the Fleurieu, the Mid North and the South East.
▶ Adelaide City & Inner Suburbs 16 areas
▶ Adelaide Metro 13 areas
Eastern Suburbs
Western Suburbs
▶ Adelaide Northern Suburbs 15 areas
Inner North
North East
North & Playford
▶ Adelaide Southern Suburbs 19 areas
Inner South
South & Marion
Outer South & Onkaparinga
▶ Adelaide Hills 12 areas
Hills Face Zone
Outer Hills
▶ Adelaide Beaches 9 areas
Bay & Western Beaches
Port Adelaide & LeFevre
▶ Barossa & Clare Valley 10 areas
Barossa Valley
Clare Valley
Mid North
▶ Fleurieu Peninsula 7 areas
South Coast
Inland Fleurieu
▶ Yorke Peninsula 7 areas
Copper Coast
Southern Yorke
▶ Eyre Peninsula 8 areas
Upper Eyre
Lower Eyre & West Coast
▶ Limestone Coast 9 areas
Mount Gambier Region
Coonawarra & Penola
Upper Limestone Coast
▶ Riverland & Murray 8 areas
Riverland
Murray Bridge & Mallee
▶ Kangaroo Island 5 areas
▶ Flinders Ranges & Outback 9 areas
Southern Flinders
Flinders Ranges
Outback SA
Cavity Slider FAQs - SA 2026
What does a cavity slider cost in SA?
Installing during a renovation runs $900 to $2,200 since the wall is already open. Retrofitting into an existing framed wall is $1,800 to $4,500, a load bearing wall $3,000 to $7,000, and a surface mounted slider $600 to $1,500.
How much wall do I need beside the opening?
At least as much as the door is wide, so around 850mm of clear uninterrupted wall for a standard 820mm door. Measure from the opening edge to the first corner, return, window reveal or the end of the wall. Under that figure and a cavity slider is not possible.
What about switches and power points on that wall?
They all have to move, because a cavity frame fills the wall completely and nothing else can occupy that space. Relocating them runs $400 to $2,000. Check both faces of the wall, since a point on the far side sits in the same cavity.
Can I fit one in a solid brick wall?
Not conventionally, since there is no framed cavity to form a pocket in and creating one means substantial structural work. That situation is common in pre war Adelaide homes, and a surface mounted slider on the wall face is usually the practical answer instead.
Is my wall load bearing?
It needs assessing by somebody qualified. Walls perpendicular to ceiling joists and walls under an upper storey are more likely to carry load. In older Adelaide homes with cut roof framing, an internal wall may be carrying roof struts, which nothing visible from the hallway reveals.
Are cavity sliders good for bedrooms?
They are the weakest choice acoustically, since the door sits against the wall rather than sealing into a rebated frame and sound passes around the edges. Light leaks the same way. For a bedroom or a study used for calls, a hinged door performs noticeably better.
Why do they jam or drag?
Usually worn or dropped rollers, debris in the track, or a bowed frame. Many systems allow height adjustment through the door edge without opening the wall, and repairs typically run $250 to $800. Only a failed frame inside the wall requires opening one side.
Does hardware quality really matter?
More than on almost any other door, because the track and frame are buried and cannot be upgraded without opening the wall again. Cheap track systems sag and bind under a heavier door, and the symptom appears a year or two in when the door starts catching.
What about bathrooms?
They suit small bathrooms particularly, where a hinged door swinging inward consumes the only floor space to stand in. Two cautions apply. Moisture can enter the unventilated cavity where extraction is poor, and locking options are more limited than a hinged door's.
Is there a cheaper alternative?
Rehanging the existing hinged door to swing outward at $250 to $600 solves many of the same problems and is worth pricing first. Removing a door entirely costs almost nothing where privacy is not needed, and a surface mounted slider at $600 to $1,500 avoids opening the wall.
Door and Carpentry Specialists - SA
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Figures on this page are indicative 2026 SA estimates only and vary with wall construction and whether the wall carries load, the presence of services in the wall, available wall length beside the opening, door and hardware specification, flooring and threshold work, making good and painting, and any engineering input required. Quotes should always be obtained for your specific property. Building, electrical, licensing and consumer protection requirements are set by legislation, the National Construction Code and Australian Standards and are periodically updated, so confirm the current position with the relevant authority and your builder before relying on any figure.