How to Install a Pocket Door
What is a pocket door? And how do you install a pocket door? Discover the tips and tricks for putting in a pocket door to save ground room from a classic hinged door swing. An exceptional option for tiny spaces or awkward door areas.
For far more tiny room alternatives, check out these: Recommendations to make a tiny room sense open, our Foldable Craft Desk, and a Modest room research or place of work station.
Prior to we demonstrate you how to install a pocket door — let’s response the most common issue:
What is a pocket door?
A pocket door is a sliding door on a observe inside the wall. Exactly where a sliding barn door and the barn door hardware are on the outdoors of the wall, a pocket door and pocket door hardware are installed inside the wall and absolutely hidden.
Concealed pocket doors are wonderful alternatives for tiny spaces and 50 % loos, considering that they save the ground room from a classic hinged door swing, when nevertheless giving far more privateness than a barn door. Pocket doors are also absolutely hidden when open, so they really don’t require any adjustment to your wall decor both.
Similar Looking through: Do-it-yourself Barn Doors and Barn Door Hardware
For our pocket door install, we experienced a 50 % bath at the finish of a hallway, with the door swinging out. We essential a pocket door! You can see over how the door opened up into the hall and, with kids, it was just always open. Across the hall was our bedroom doorway, so it was blocked and the shots on the wall had been only 50 % visible.
Not the glimpse and sense we had been going for (especially with our new board and batten wainscoting about the home) and it was lousy for the going for walks site visitors move, so a pocket door was the way to go for us. I Highly advise a prebuilt pocket door package and here’s how the system goes:
How To Install A Pocket Door
*Remember, just before commencing any undertaking that affects the framework of your property be absolutely sure to talk to with a structural engineer or architect!*
Update March 2019: We installed yet another pocket door in our current property and made a video to demonstrate you the system! Check it out about on our YouTube channel:
Components and tools for pocket door body installation
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Stage 1: Select the location
This good blank wall with no electrical or plumbing inside made the great location for a pocket door.
Stage 2: Eliminate the current door
Ahh… the change it makes to consider off the door! The wonderful issue about putting in a pocket door is that when you consider off the current door, you can see specifically how the room will sense when you are done: good and open, no door blocking your path! 
Stage 3: Hold fall cloths
Prior to commencing any demo, place up some fall cloths to comprise all. the. dust. (This fall fabric is hung in the space that shares the wall the pocket door is going into.)
Stage four: Eliminate drywall
The pocket door will go in the wall that is amongst the 50 % bath and our grasp lavatory shower, so we cut out the drywall on the 50 % bath facet quite thoroughly (We even stored it in one piece and reinstalled it! NO squander!). We scored the walls deeply at all the corners, then cut as a result of the other sections and employed a crowbar to gently pop the nails out of the back again of the drywall (you can also use a reciprocating noticed to cut the nails to get you began).
Here is the enormous piece of drywall at the time removed…
Stage 5: Eliminate studs
Next, we eliminated the studs and header wherever the pocket door package will go. (We did not create a short-term wall due to the fact this home has two parallel walls within just 3 feet on both facet. If you do not have all those supporting walls, you may perhaps need to construct a short-term wall just before eradicating the studs. Consult a contractor, if essential.)
We employed a reciprocating noticed to cut the nails so that the studs could be reused.
Stage six: Construct a door body
Justin began with a new header, and set the jack and king studs in area. (Jack implies the one supporting the header and the king is the complete peak stud that sits outdoors the header.)
Stage seven: Include the pocket door package
Now that the door framing is in area, the uncomplicated portion is including the pocket door package. Essentially, it is a slot (pocket) with room for the door to slide into and a observe on prime.
Use shims to guarantee it sits in the correct area.
Stage eight: Prepare the current door, if essential.
Include the observe hardware to the current door applying the directions that occur with the pocket door package. Also get rid of the aged door knob and hinges and install a manage plug, if you need one.
Stage 9: Hold the door
And the last effects? Pocket door perfection… effectively, virtually!
It achieved perfection when we installed all the door trim and a good coat of black paint to match the other doors!
Glimpse how open and unobstructed the room is now! I hung new relatives pics when all the wainscoting and trim was up… enjoy it!)
If you want to see the initial write-up about the 1/2 bath test it out here!
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And find far more wonderful door tutorials, this kind of as:
Printed Aug 22 2012 // Current Apr 20 2020
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