Interior Pocket Doors

Information For Interior Pocket Doors

Interior pocket doors are designed to save space. When pocket doors open the door actually slides right into the wall. Pocket doors do have their places and can solve problems, particularly in tight places. An example of where a pocket door may be used is in a small half-bath where a swinging door would be clumsy and inconvenient. Other places where pocket doors are used are closets, laundry rooms and even between two rooms where the entry is large. This sometimes requires a pair of pocket doors and can be very elegant especially if these pocket doors are raised 6-panel doors. An example would be between a dining room and kitchen or living room and kitchen.

Some Things to Consider Before Installing

When pocket doors open the door slides into the wall so any electrical or plumbing and other mechanical equipment obviously would have to be moved. This could make installing a pocket door a huge and expensive project. An interior pocket door has its own frame and the entire wall would have to be opened up and re built to accommodate this frame. Other things to consider are that when a pocket door is installed the pocket doors frame or structure is weaker than that of a conventional wall and cannot act as a structural bearing support wall. Hanging cabinets or any type of shelving on a pocket door wall should not be attempted. These are some things to be considered before attempting to install a pocket door although the space saved may be well worth the cost.

Accuracy is Important For Installation

I have installed many of these doors and accuracy from the start of installing the pocket door frame to the finish of trimming the door out is extremely important. If care is not taken throughout the process you will end up with a door that you absolutely hate because there are so many potential problems that can occur. That is not saying that it can’t be done just that the time taken to do the job right will save many headaches in the future. These doors also come in all the same styles as swinging doors such as solid core 6 panel to hollow core flush. When installed properly these are very nice doors and save a tremendous amount of space. These days they are very popular in homes with handicap people. Whether you install the pocket door yourself or not it would be a good idea to have a basic understanding of how pocket doors operate.

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