Pocket Doors How They Work

Pocket doors are actually quite unique and have been around for years sliding into their metal and wood cages installed when the walls are framed.

Pocket doors how they work. A certain number of people complain how the pocket doors rub going into and out of the pocket. More common in mid 19th century houses floor track doors roll in and out of their pockets on sheaves or rollers that ride on a metal track. Pocket doors come in two basic types floor track and top hung. You don t need any clearance on either side of the door so they re great for tighter spaces and small rooms such as powder rooms.

Pocket doors are sometimes a great solution to a space problem. All of these pocket door problems can cause a person or a friend to avoid using pocket. The disappearing aspect of the doors presents a neat aesthetic option to a home and for certain floor plans this feature is critical to avoid doors that interfere with the natural flow of foot traffic. Interior pocket doors are equally poor performers with respect to sealing off a room s smell think kitchens or bathrooms.

Pocket doors are a mystery to most people. Noise smells and light. However i hate them because they inevitably fall off the rail which is difficult to fix. Problem free pocket doors hang pocket doors so they work for a lifetime.

By jim peterson issue 264 dec 2016 jan 2017. In this video i ll show you what s inside the walls and how to end up with a good door. It s tough or impossible to adjust the doors once they are trimmed out. Builders revile these doors because they often lose adjustment and rub against the split jamb.

Pocket doors have long been popular because they disappear into a wall so there s no swinging door in either adjoining room. Old pocket doors may be hard to operate or don t work at all. Before you begin to troubleshoot your pocket door problems determine what kind of doors you have. I have a love hate relationship with pocket doors.

I ve put far too many pocket doors back on their rails over the years. As a result they are not nearly as effective in preventing noise from traveling from one room to the next. In this article finish carpenter jim peterson provides a step by step lesson in. The doors jump off the track.

Sadly pocket doors aren t a panacea. Some regularly jump their tracks. How does a pocket door work. Pocket doors do not sit as tightly as conventional doors.

Unfortunately they can be tricky to install and to align precisely. I love them because they re a great space saving door. Designers are long gone before the pocket door s shortcomings become painfully apparent.