How to Install a Pocket Door

What is a pocket door? And how do you install a pocket door? Understand the suggestions and methods for setting up a pocket door to conserve ground space from a regular hinged door swing. An outstanding alternative for tiny spaces or awkward door parts.

For additional tiny space answers, try out these: Recommendations to make a tiny space really feel open up, our Foldable Craft Table, and a Modest space homework or business office station.

How to Install a pocket door from Remodelaholic

Just before we show you how to install a pocket door — let us respond to the most widespread concern:

What is a pocket door?

A pocket door is a sliding door on a keep track of inside the wall. The place a sliding barn door and the barn door hardware are on the outdoors of the wall, a pocket door and pocket door hardware are mounted inside the wall and wholly concealed.

Concealed pocket doorways are wonderful answers for tiny spaces and 50 percent bogs, due to the fact they conserve the ground space from a regular hinged door swing, though still featuring additional privateness than a barn door. Pocket doorways are also wholly concealed when open up, so they really don’t require any adjustment to your wall decor both.

Similar Studying: Do-it-yourself Barn Doorways and Barn Doorway Hardware

How To Install A Pocket Door by Remodelaholic

For our pocket door install, we had a 50 percent tub at the conclusion of a hallway, with the door swinging out. We required a pocket door! You can see over how the door opened up into the hall and, with young children, it was just normally open up. Across the hall was our bed room doorway, so it was blocked and the shots on the wall were being only 50 percent visible.

Not the appear and really feel we were being heading for (particularly with our new board and batten wainscoting around the home) and it was undesirable for the going for walks site visitors movement, so a pocket door was the way to go for us. I Highly propose a prebuilt pocket door package and here’s how the system goes:

How To Put in A Pocket Doorway

*Bear in mind, just before starting off any challenge that impacts the construction of your property be confident to seek advice from with a structural engineer or architect!*

Update March 2019: We mounted another pocket door in our recent property and made a online video to show you the system! Look at it out above on our YouTube channel:

Products and applications for pocket door frame installation

This put up incorporates affiliate inbound links. Understand additional and study our whole disclosure plan below. 

 

Move 1: Opt for the location

This good blank wall with no electrical or plumbing inside made the excellent place for a pocket door.

Choosing the right wall for a pocket door. Remodelaholic.

Move two: Eliminate the present door

Ahh… the variation it helps make to just take off the door!  The wonderful detail about setting up a pocket door is that when you just take off the present door, you can see specifically how the space will really feel when you are finished: good and open up, no door blocking your path!  Pocket door installation with Remodelaholic

Move 3: Cling drop cloths

Just before starting off any demo, set up some drop cloths to include all. the. dust. (This drop fabric is hung in the space that shares the wall the pocket door is heading into.)

Pocket door installation process by Remodelaholic

Move four: Eliminate drywall

The pocket door will go in the wall that is concerning the 50 percent tub and our learn lavatory shower, so we reduce out the drywall on the 50 percent tub side quite very carefully (We even kept it in a person piece and reinstalled it! NO squander!). We scored the partitions deeply at all the corners, then reduce as a result of the other sections and employed a crowbar to carefully pop the nails out of the back of the drywall (you can also use a reciprocating saw to reduce the nails to get you started out).

Removing drywall to install a pocket door on Remodelaholic

Below is the enormous piece of drywall the moment removed…

Remove drywall to install a pocket door by Remodelaholic

Move 5: Eliminate studs

Future, we taken out the studs and header where the pocket door package will go.  (We did not construct a momentary wall since this home has two parallel partitions within just 3 ft on both side. If you do not have these supporting partitions, you may well have to have to construct a momentary wall just before getting rid of the studs. Consult a contractor, if required.)

Removal of studs and header to install a pocket door on Remodelaholic  Removing studs to install a pocket door, by Remodelaholic.

We employed a reciprocating saw to reduce the nails so that the studs could be reused.

Remove studs but use them again later in a pocket door install. Remodelaholic

Move six: Develop a door frame

Justin started out with a new header, and set the jack and king studs in spot.  (Jack signifies the a person supporting the header and the king is the whole height stud that sits outdoors the header.)

Pocket door installation, install a new header and jack and king studs on Remodelaholic.

Move seven: Incorporate the pocket door package

Now that the door framing is in spot, the simple portion is introducing the pocket door package. Basically, it is a slot (pocket) with space for the door to slide into and a keep track of on prime.

Pocket door kit installation by Remodelaholic  how to install a pocketdoor kit by Remodelaholic.

Use shims to be certain it sits in the proper spot.

Using shims to ensure a proper fit for a pocket door, by Remodelaholic.  How to use shims to ensure a proper fit for a pocket door by Remodelaholic

Move eight: Prepare the present door, if required.

Incorporate the keep track of hardware to the present door applying the guidelines that occur with the pocket door package. Also take out the aged door knob and hinges and install a manage plug, if you have to have a person.

 Pocket door kit installation by Remodelaholic  Using a pocket door kit by Remodelaholic

Move 9: Cling the door

And the closing effects?  Pocket door perfection… effectively, just about!

Pocket Door Installation by Remodelaholic

It achieved perfection when we mounted all the door trim and a good coat of black paint to match the other doorways!

Pocket door kit installation on Remodelaholic

Search how open up and unobstructed the space is now! I hung new family members photographs when all the wainscoting and trim was up… love it!)

Installing A Pocket Door, Tutorial From Remodelaholic

If you want to see the initially put up about the 1/two tub look at it out below!

Make sure you follow along with us on Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.

And locate additional wonderful door tutorials, these as:

How To Install A Pocket Door, a Tutorial From Remodelaholic

Revealed Aug 22 2012 // Up to date Apr 20 2020

Remodelaholic is a participant in the Amazon Products and services LLC Associates Application, an affiliate promoting software built to present a signifies for web-sites to gain promoting charges by promoting and linking to amazon.com. Make sure you see our whole disclosure below.

About Cassity