Adding A Pocket Door To An Existing Wall

Before we get into pocket door installation it s important to understand the function and design of this door type.

Adding a pocket door to an existing wall.

Attach to the ceiling by screwing through the frame into the ceiling joists. Be sure to screw the brackets into the studs. Installing a pocket door in a load bearing wall requires replacing the old header with a longer one. This can be done with plenty.

With the old door removed you can cut a hole in the drywall next to the existing doorway for the pocket. Cut wall space. Make sure the frame is level. Installing a pocket door is not quite as fast a project as installing a sliding barn door on the exterior of the wall but like we mentioned last week we really love it for the sleek space saving benefits especially in an already narrow hallway every inch counts extra privacy and it still gives us that bit of hallway wall space to decorate.

If the pocket is not deep enough the door will not recess completely into the wall. Glue and screw together the 2 by 4s to build a pony wall a smaller non load bearing wall for hanging the track for the pocket doors. In some older homes a sliding pocket door was used to create privacy and separate a living room from a parlor or dining room. The total space should be about twice as wide as the door.

To install a pocket door start by removing the existing door and the drywall on one side of the wall. Pocket doors slide into the wall and disappear completely from view. A pocket door slides into a metal and wood cage that is installed as the walls are framed. Doors in these walls will have headers usually laminated beams over their openings.

Then cut the exposed studs to make room for the new framing. Next install the slider track using the rails that came in your pocket door kit. 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. There are double sliding doors that meet in the middle and one sided sliding doors that meet the wall along the door frame when closed.