How to Install a Pocket Door

How To Install a Pocket Door | This is what the pocket looks like before drywall is added to the wall where the pocket door will hide. This column was SO GOOD that I shared with the 31,000 subscribers who read my April 3, 2020 AsktheBuilder Newsletter. Photo Credit: Tim Carter

How to Install a Pocket Door - Easy with Instructions

• How to install pocket doors
• New technology created better door hardware
• Video link
• Picture of wall framing for pocket door

DEAR TIM: The house I grew up in had magnificent pocket doors that disappeared into the walls. In several rooms, the two doors would slide out and meet one another so the two rooms could be closed off from one another. What’s the secret to installing a pocket door? How do you create the cavity? Is this a task a do-it-yourselfer can tackle or is it far too difficult? How do the doors stay on the track? Leslie S., Columbus, OH

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DEAR LESLIE: While none of the older homes I’ve owned had these doors, I had the good fortune to visit and work in many large stately homes that sported these practical and space-saving doors. Some of the doors were massive in size, but they glided easily on the overhead tracks.

Are Modern Pocket Doors Better Than Old Ones?

The good news for you is modern pocket doors are far better than the technology from 120 years ago. If you purchase the new hardware that I’ve used for years, you’ll discover it’s more durable and the doors will never ever jump off the track. That’s a common problem that you have with old doors or modern ones that have an inferior suspension design.

How Hard is it to Install a Pocket Door?

But it gets even better. If you have simple tools, you can install the pocket door frame and hardware with little difficulty. When it comes time to install the actual door into the pocket, that’s also fairly easy to do. As with many home improvement jobs, much of it is just having the proper attitude, the time to do the job and taking a few moments to read the instructions before you get started.

How Many Pocket Doors Have You Installed?

I’ve installed countless pocket doors in my career. Just a few years ago I installed my most recent one. The most important thing to take into account when installing a pocket door is the rough opening must be square, plumb and in the same plane. The rough opening is the wide and tall archway created with regular framing wall studs that houses the pocket door track and thin studs.

How Important is the Rough Opening for the Pocket Door?

Frequently rookies underestimate the importance of this and don’t take the time to ensure the rough opening is not twisted or a helix. To keep the rough opening in the same plane and not a helix, it’s important for you to chalk two lines on the floor that represent the invisible wall that might take the place of the pocket door. Think about it, if the pocket door was not there, you’d have a regular wall.

Should I Hunt for Straight Studs?

At the ends of these chalk lines you have regular full-height wall studs that must be perfectly straight and plumb. While it may take some time to find straight wall studs, it will be worth it for this opening. The best studs are the ones cut from the center of the tres.

The piece of lumber on the top was harvested from the forest in 2013 and cut from the center of the tree. You can see the tiny core of the sapling. The one on the bottom was taken from the slopes of the Rocky Mountains just after the end of the Civil War or War of Northern Aggression. Photo Credit: Tim Carter

How Big Should the Rough Opening Be?

The instructions that come with the pocket door will guide you as to the size this over-sized opening needs to be. The high-quality pocket door frames and hardware I’ve always used have precut wall studs that connect with the overhead track and special clips that screw to the floor. If you just follow the instructions, you’ll discover it’s child’s play to get the track installed at the correct height.

What Are the Best Pocket Door Studs?

The cavity the door hides in once the walls are finished and all the trim is on is created with thin wall studs that are made with preformed steel channels that are filled with a wood core. The metal channels ensure the wall studs will not bow at a later date causing the door to rub against them as the door slides in and out of the pocket.

The metal also prevents the drywall installer from installing screws that are too long that could also create scratches on the door as it glides back and forth in and out of the narrow cavity. Believe me, the inferior pocket door frames that are just made from thin wood strips don’t prevent these problems.

What Are the Best Trolleys That Glide in the Track?

The pocket door hardware and track I prefer has a unique trolley design that makes it impossible for the door to come off the track. Cheaper pocket door frames cause countless headaches for homeowners and I routinely get questions on how to get pocket doors back on their tracks.

The trollies that I use have three nylon wheels. This tri-wheel design is the secret as two of the wheels travel in one channel in the track and the single wheel travels in a parallel track. Because the tracks have solid walls and a tight tolerance, it’s impossible for the trollies to move sideways thus prohibiting them from ever jumping the track. You install the trollies as you install the track and wall studs and once the door itself is installed the trollies stay on the track.

How Does the Door Attach to the Trolleys?

Metal brackets are screwed to the top of the door after the pocket is covered with drywall, plaster or paneling. These brackets have a slot that allows you to permanently connect them to small metal studs that hang down from the trollies. It’s extremely simple to connect the door to the trollies. The studs are threaded and a small wrench allows you to adjust the door so it’s perfectly plumb.

You can watch a quick video showing the components of a pocket door once installed but before the drywall hides everything. Visit this page at the AsktheBuilder.com website:

http://go.askthebuilder.com/pocketdoor

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