How To Install A Pocket Door

When completely open, a pocket door is a sliding door that recedes into the wall frame. If there isn’t enough room for a typical hinged door that swings open, these doors are suitable for smaller spaces and tight spaces.

Pocket doors are suitable for installation in pantries, closets, laundry rooms, and utility spaces in your home. This guide will show you how to mount a pocket door in your room with step-by-step instructions.

How To Install A Pocket Door

Measure the space

  • You’re able to start building your pocket door once you’ve decided on an interior door theme.
  • Use a tape measure and measure the space for the door.

Tip- To cover the door in the bag, it needs to be twice the width of the door.

Determine wall type

  • Determining your wall style is one of the most critical steps in learning how to build a pocket door. A pocket door cannot be mounted on a wall that has plumbing or electrical wires.
  • Determine if the wall is load-bearing or a partition with a stud finder.

Remove the old door.

  • Place a drop cloth on the ground before drilling or replacing the old door to cover your floors.
  • You should start removing the old door and frame until you’ve decided the wall is a partition.
  • Remove the old door from the door frame and the molding before creating a pocket door in an existing wall.
  • Using your reciprocating saw, cut the shims and nails.

Tip- When dealing with power equipment, remember to wear protective goggles.

Remove the drywall

  • Then, on both sides of the wall, you’ll need to cut the drywall.
  • Make sure there aren’t any wires that aren’t visible.
  • Both wires must be routed into a new junction box. If you need assistance relocating any hidden wires, contact an electrician.

Cut the Studs

  • Cutaway exposed studs with a circular or reciprocating saw to make space for the new door and header.
  • Using a hammer or a crowbar, trim the nails and pry the studs away.

Install a new header

It’s now time to start putting the pocket door together, starting with the header.

  • To evaluate the new header size, carefully read the assembly instructions.
  • Then, using your timber, hammer, and screws, create a new header.
  • Since most doors are 80 inches wide, your new stud should be 84 1/2 inches wide.
  • The majority of door jambs are 4 1/2 inches higher than the door frame.

Install pocket door slider kit

  • Install the package according to the instructions.
  • Using a level to ensure that the door slides uniformly and smoothly into and out of the bag.

Install door on track

  • Using your drill, insert the metal studs into the track.
  • After that, attach the hangers to the top of the frame.
  • The wheeled carriages should be slid into the track.
  • Now, secure the hangers to the carriages and check that the door is level.

Repair the drywall

  • Using your drill and screws, patch the hole with fresh drywall.
  • Until painting, fill in any gaps with joint compound and sand.

Install Latch

Using your drill, mount the pocket door hardware to both the wall and the new door.

Install door trim

  • Fix the trim to the jamb and door studs with a finish nailer.
  • Paint to match.
See also  Who Makes DieHard Batteries – Reviews 2022

What is a pocket door?

A pocket door is a sliding door that disappears into a compartment in the adjacent wall when completely opened. Pocket doors are used to create an architectural effect or where there isn’t enough room for a hinged door to swing open. They can ride on rollers suspended from an overhead track, as well as tracks or guides running along the floor.

Pros
  • Pocket doors are a perfect way to save space on the floor and on the walls. They’re particularly useful in cramped spaces like Jack-and-Jill bathrooms and tiny bedrooms, where a conventional door would take up too much room.
  • When pocket doors are open, they vanish, leaving more wall space accessible and a cleaner visual aesthetic than a typical swing door. When you hang pictures or a mirror next to a pocket door frame, you can still see them when the door is open. Open pocket doors often vanish in modern homes, leaving an uncluttered appearance.
Cons
  • Since pocket doors operate on a loop, it can be more difficult to fix the hardware if anything goes wrong. Purchase and mount the highest-quality hardware you can afford to avoid problems.
  • Check out the function of the hardware before installing a pocket door to make sure you’re happy with how the door can open and close once it’s installed. Pocket doors can be more difficult to operate than conventional swing doors for people with some physical disabilities.

Can you install a pocket door in an existing wall?

The pocket door device can be mounted against a wall that already exists. You just need to screw a sheet of plasterboard to the side that butts up against the wall after the simple and easy assembly. This adds to the system’s rigidity and strength.

The Rocket Pocket is just 100mm wide including plasterboard, so you won’t lose a lot of space in the room if you build a fake stud wall along the side of your current one with a space for the frame. Another significant benefit of the Rocket Pocket system is that it has a STEEL POCKET that is attached to the track, ensuring that it is still perfectly in line, unlike older systems.

You just need to screw a sheet of plasterboard to the side that butts up against the wall after the simple and easy assembly. This adds to the system’s rigidity and strength.

To keep the machine in-line, just use screws through the track, the back end of the pocket, and the base of the pocket when screwing it into the space you’ve left in the false stud wall. Screwing through the side of the frame will cause the device to misalign, which is something you don’t want.

So, once the false wall is screwed and locked into place, add the final plasterboard on the outside of the false wall, mount the door according to the directions, and finish with the architrave of your choosing.

 

How difficult is it to install a pocket door?

Pocket doors are more complex and time-consuming to build because they are placed on a track that passes through the doorway and into the adjacent wall. This makes it much easier to mount since the track can be seen at all times, removing the need to open or refinish the wall after the track is built.

See also  How Many Spark Plugs Does a Diesel Engine Have?

How much does it cost to put in a pocket door?

A pocket door is an ideal way to conserve space when space is at a premium. The pocket door slips into a pocket in the nearby wall rather than opening inward or outward. These doors are also appealing because of their simplicity and the variety of style options available. They can also be a good choice as an open door, which is one of the other benefits. Pulling a door open toward oneself, for example, can be difficult for someone in a wheelchair. This enables them to have easier access to various areas of their home.

They are more costly than conventional doors, and they have the potential to fall off their tracks, which can be difficult to repair. This should not be an issue if correctly mounted.

Other considerations and costs-

  • It is less expensive to instal pocket doors during the building process of a home than it is to do so during the remodelling phase.
  • Pocket doors come in a wide range of sizes, including normal door widths. Larger doors are also open, but they will come at an additional cost.
  • Strong wood, glass, and aluminium are only a few of the materials used to make pocket doors.
  • The cost is also influenced by the location of the door.
  • Double-pocket doors are a choice for those who need larger openings.
  • For an additional fee, automatic doors are open.
  • A removal and disposal fee will be paid when an old door is removed.

What is needed for a pocket door?

The wall is a poor candidate for a pocket door if:

  • It is traversed by pipes or electrical wires. Rerouting pipes and wires is beyond the typical do-it-skill yourselfer’s set, and it adds to the construction expense. You won’t be able to mount a regular switch or outlet in the pocket door wall because of the width of the electrical box in which it’s located.
  • You’ll need a wall anchor or fastener that can reach 12 to 34 inches of drywall to hang a large frame. This will obstruct the door’s movement and cause it to gouge.
  • You’ll need heavy-duty wall anchors to mount an assist bar or fixture. Split studs in the pocket door cage may accommodate a towel bar or toilet-paper holder, but they don’t meet the specifications for a weight-bearing fixture. You’ll have to mount the wallboard to the bottom plate below the pocket door compartment if the pocket door frame is made of steel studs rather than wood.

How to remove a pocket door?

Pocket doors are common in most new homes, but as with all standard home fittings, they eventually wear out and need to be replaced, necessitating the purchase of new doors. If you know how to remove a pocket door on your own, you can save some money.

This removal process is not quick, no matter how simple it appears. Furthermore, if you’re new to pocket door repairs, you’ll appreciate a helping hand now and then. For the removal and installation of the pocket door, you’ll also need high-quality pocket door hardware.

See also  Symptoms of Bad Rocker Arm: Replacement Cost

Furthermore, whether you’re a novice or a seasoned pro, our guide will teach you how to remove pocket doors. We also split them into two parts for clarity’s sake. This pocket door removal guide is divided into sections that cover how to remove pocket doors with or without the trim.

Step 1- Scratch off the Caulk on the doorstop

To begin, fully open the door to gain access to the door stop, where you will find the caulk. Then, using a sharp object such as a kitchen knife or a razor, gently scrape off the caulk around the doorstop. Make sure you scratch the caulk lines of the stop slowly, as any error will result in loss or spoilage.

Remove the wood if you won’t need it after you’ve scratched off the caulk and accessed the doorstop. You won’t need a pry bar to cut down the wood if you want to recycle it.

Step 2- Removing the doorstop

Once you’ve removed the caulk, you’ll need to separate the doorstop from its frame entirely. Given the fact that removing the stops isn’t difficult, you’ll need a pry bar to do so. You should not be alarmed if you see a doorstop attached to the side of a building with a nail.

All you have to do now is take it out of the wood to avoid any dents. Of course, if the wood rots, you will be given a new one. It’s best if you close the sliding pocket door so you have enough space to remove it from the frames.

Step 3- Lifting out the pocket door entirely

When you lift the pocket door fully out of its tracks, you’ll note that there’s a section that needs to be opened. Then, go to the open side of the door and lift it up. Start pulling the screen towards you until both sides are open on the same side.

Try to raise the door slowly as you pull it open to get the rollers out of their tracks. If the door is too wide for one person to open, you’ll need assistance. When required, this person will assist in pushing and pulling the door open.

Step 4 – Pull out the pocket door

Finally, after you’ve completed these preliminary measures, you may remove the pocket door and set it aside. Yes, you’ll have to move it away from your exit. For certain people, this is the most difficult part of the process. The size of the door also decides how difficult it would be to open; you will need assistance.

If the track gets into the wall, however, you can employ a professional to remove the door. Doing it yourself can consume all of your time and energy without completing the task.

 

 

 

Leave a Comment