A pocket door requires a “sleeve” inside the wall to retract into. For a traditional 32-inch-wide interior door, you'll need at least 66 inches of linear wall space: 32 inches for the door and the rest for the housing.
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.
There are some drawbacks to pocket doors. For example, they are space savers in the bathroom, but they way they sit on tracks within the wall means that they don't seal as tightly as traditional doors and this can be a problem for some people. They also do not create any acoustic privacy.
Advantages of Pocket Doors
Pocket doors save valuable floor space by eliminating the room you need for traditional doors to swing open. Because a pocket door slides into the wall, you need to have enough clearance in the wall framing for the door(s) to accommodate the door when it's pushed into the wall pocket.
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.
Pocket doors are notorious for problems with functionality. They often fall off their tracks, move with difficulty, are problematic to lock, and screech when rolled. Accessibility. Sliding pocket doors are hard to manage for anyone with limited use of their hands, such as arthritis sufferers.
Pocket Doors Are Noisy
On the other hand, pocket doors will always make some noise as they roll along their tracks. Modern pocket doors with upgraded hardware can minimize this noise, but they will never be as quiet as swinging doors. This is a serious consideration when thinking of installing them as bedroom doors.
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.
Interior doors provide privacy and soundproofing—but they do take up room. A 30-inch interior door requires more than 6 square feet of unoccupied swing area.
The reasoning is a 2x4 wall really has no room for framing other than a 1x2 or 1x4. These thin framing members just don't have enough rigidity so the opening can be flimsy. This is most noticeable around the pocket opening where the door sits.
Determining what size to make rough openings for single pocket door framing is a simple process. Almost all hardware manufacturers state in their instructions, width of the rough opening is two times that of the door plus one inch and the height is seven feet one inch.
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.
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.
The average cost range to install a pocket door is between $800 and $2,500, with most people paying around $1,050 to install a 36” solid wood pocket door in an existing wall. This project's low cost is $500 to install a 30” hollow core door in new construction.
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.
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.
An off-track pocket door could be the result of: Door or frame warping. Broken or faulty door hangers. Broken or dirtied track wheels.
Pocket Doors Warp – Problem
A little warp will damage the finish of the door, while a more severely warped pocket door will cause the door to get lodged within the wall, making it difficult to pull out without causing other complications or damage.
A: Hi Lucky, the rough opening for this pocket door frame is approximately: RO Width: 58 in. RO Height: 84.75 in.
A: Hello, the rough opening dimension is 84-1/2" x 65-3/4", height and width.
Pocket doors that are 4 feet wide would require a header that spans the opening of 8 feet, plus another 4 feet on each side where the doors tuck away. It's 16 feet long, heavy, unwieldy and often constructed of two 2-by-10s or more depending on the load above.