Case Study: Flat Track Sliding Door Hardware Adds Space and Style

When the design team at The Ranch Mine took on the project of remodeling a midcentury home, one of the key questions was how to reimagine two unusual door openings.

“This project was a remodel of a 1954 home,” says Cavin Costello, Chief Designer at The Ranch Mine, a Phoenix, Arizona-based architectural and design firm. “We had a wall that was originally an exterior wall for a carport that was enclosed years ago to create more livable space. We were dealing with an existing, 8″ thick solid brick wall and limited space.”

This non-traditional approach to add living space created openings that were irregularly sized and large. “We didn’t have much room for swinging doors, and the mass and rawness of the brick walls necessitated something elemental to pair it with,” Costello remembers.

The doors link the dining/living room and two small bedrooms in this single family residence. Because the house was very simple and elemental, they wanted a sliding door hardware style that fit that theme.

After extensive research, the design team chose to go with the old industrial style of Flat Track by Leatherneck Hardware. Costello says they chose the hardware because it is what it needs to be – no frills, no excess. “What I like is the form follows the function. The beauty lies in the raw simplicity. The hardware is very easy to operate and it looks fantastic on masonry walls, particularly walls with character and mass. The doors and hardware become artwork on the wall.”

The Ranch Mine specializes in designing homes in midcentury and historic neighborhoods. When redesigned properly, they believe homes can be extraordinary and can inspire community development. The team was named Phoenix’s best emerging creative duo, selected as two of the top 35 Arizona Entrepreneurs, featured on the NBC Today Show, and won the Best of Houzz award for their design work.

The Hardware

Leatherneck Hardware has been manufacturing a line of flat track hardware since the late 1970’s. The basic designs came from their predecessor company, Allith Prouty, and its unique, industrial fire door hardware styles, dating back to the turn of the century.

The original Allith styles were much larger than would be used for a residential sized door so the design team at Leatherneck went to work to create a smaller version that would eventually become the #142 series. “We really started the residential line because of the many requests we were getting from customers who wanted this industrial-style hardware in residential, apartment and hotel settings,” said Dale Carlton, Leatherneck’s CEO. “We took the Allith concept and sized it to fit standard doors. Then we took it further, stylizing the design and finish to create an architectural look and feel.”

The company committed early to using only high quality materials. And they continue the process of making every improvement to allow the hardware to work smoothly and function maintenance free. The solid construction allows the hardware to move even heavy door panels with ease.

Carlton says the hardware does what it was designed to do – provide an architectural style dimension for every opening with quiet, functional hardware.

Flat Track by Leatherneck Hardware has recently been featured on HGTV, DIY Network, a network TV series, and Ellen. Additional unique installations of Leatherneck’s Flat Track Hardware can be found on Houzz and Pinterest.