Most square pocket door locks feature a simple lever that flips out from the door edge and acts as a finger pull to slide the door out of the pocket.
What Is a Pocket Door? Rather than swinging like a hinged door, a pocket door slides into a hollow cavity, or “pocket,” in the wall. A type of sliding door, it consists of a conventional door mounted on rollers that glide along an overhead track.
Pocket doors were popular in the late 1800s, especially in Victorian houses. They had a resurgence of popularity in the 1950s. But because pocket doors from the past ran along raised tracks on the floor, the tracks were a tripping hazard, so builders and homeowners avoided pocket doors when possible.
Pocket door passage sets do not have a latching mechanism, just two flush pulls and an edge pull. Passage sets are used on doors that do not require privacy, such as pantry, hall or closet doors.
Pocket doors do not sit as tightly as conventional doors. As a result, they are not nearly as effective in preventing noise from traveling from one room to the next. Interior pocket doors are equally poor performers with respect to sealing off a room's smell (think kitchens or bathrooms).
Pocket doors are a great solution for smaller spaces that lack the wall space for a full swing door. This makes them perfect for small bathrooms, closets and connecting those two areas, for example between a master bath and the walk-in closet.
Disadvantages of Pocket Doors
There are lockable pocket doors; however, the design of the door can make it difficult to manipulate these locks. Double pocket door privacy lock sets exist, but they are not common and can be expensive. The tracks and hardware in a pocket door frame are largely hidden inside the wall.
What's Involved. To hang a pocket door, you need a rough opening that is twice as wide as the door itself. This means taking down the old swinging door, removing the jamb and disassembling the wall framing. You'll also need to remove drywall and relocate any electrical wires that are in the way.
At the very least, pocket doors do require thicker walls. This means an offset of more than 4 inches (100mm) to accommodate doors that have a usual thickness of 2 inches, with a bigger gap required for thicker door choices.
The pocket door system can be installed against the existing wall. This is done by creating a false stud wall along the side of your existing one with a space for the frame, the Rocket Pocket is only 100mm wide including plasterboard so you will not lose lots of space in the room.
During a new construction, pocket doors will cost between $500 and $1,000. As part of a remodeling project, their cost will be in the $1,000 to $3,500 range. These prices reflect both parts and labor. These doors hide inside a wall cavity instead of swinging out from a hinge.
Pocket doors are more expensive to install because they usually require construction to a home's structure. Both doors have a nominal cost of $400 for an average 30-inch solid wood door. However, the installation cost of a new barn door is anywhere from $100 to $300 per existing wall.
Fortunately, the standards for ADA door handle height are not much different than traditional recommendations. All handles, pulls, latches, locks, and other operable parts of the door should measure between 34 inches and 48 inches above the floor.
If you simply want to replace a pocket door or remove it in order to repair it, you don't have to tear into the drywall! That's great news. All you have to do is lift the door off the sliding track. In order to do that, you have to remove the trim around the door.
To install a pocket door in an existing wall, you have to remove drywall, and it's easier to uncover the entire wall instead of trying to work in a limited opening. That way, you can remove entire studs instead of cutting them and reroute wires as needed.
Pocket doors are a good option for smaller rooms that may not have space for a full-swing door. They're perfect for closets, connecting two spaces (for example between an en suite and a walk-in closet, and small bedrooms where floor space counts.
The major push that has ushered pocket doors into a new era is the outdoor and indoor living trend. Massive glass pocket doors offering a clear view onto a homeowners' backyard or view have continued to take over new construction, and even remodel projects, for the last several years.
Glass pocket doors can open your home and modernize the appearance of your living space. This type of glass sliding door has a lot of other potential benefits, too.
Soundproofing Pocket Doors – Do Pocket Doors Block Sound? The short answer is no – pocket doors do not block very much sound. Whether or not you chose to have pocket doors or the house came that way when you bought it, pocket doors aren't very soundproof.
While pocket doors slide into the wall completely out of sight barn doors slide along the outside of the wall so they are constantly visible.
Double the width of the desired door, or pair of doors, to determine the wall space that's needed to install the pocket door frame. For example, 48 inches is needed to install the frame for a 24-inch pocket door, and 64 inches is need to install the frame for a 32-inch pocket door.
To order a single pocket door, first determine your door size (door width, door height and door thickness). Next, select a frame kit that accommodates your door size. Keep in mind that if you don't see your exact door size, the frames can be cut down to accommodate a smaller size door.