Whether traditional or modern, pocket doors serve as excellent space savers. While hinged or even at times sliding doors can take up valuable space in your home when open, the unique design of pocket doors allows them to completely disappear. Read on to learn more about interior pocket doors for your home.
How Pocket Doors Work
Unlike conventional swinging doors, pocket doors use metal runners and rollers to slide into a hollow opening in the wall. While they can be used to stylishly separate large living rooms from the rest of the home, pocket doors' easy-to-hide design also helps to save space in small, cramped spaces like bathrooms and closets. Homeowners should still consider the space needed to install a frame in the adjoining wall for the door. However, pocket doors can save up to ten square feet of extra space needed for a swinging door to open and close.
Pocket doors, like this one in a master bathroom, can be practical ways to save space. | © CC BY-SA 2.0 flickr.com / cleong
General Costs for Pocket Doors
Prices for pocket doors tend to be higher than their swinging counterparts. Generally, the cost of pocket doors in your home can range widely, as the final price relies on several factors such as material. For a complete remodeling project or new home construction where the walls are already removed, prices for pocket doors usually begin between $400 and $1,000. Installation is much more straightforward in these situations, when the wall cavity for the door to slide into can simply be built in the wall.
To replace an already existing door with pocket doors, however, requires the existing wall to also be torn out as well. This can add $1,000 to as much as $3,500 to the overall cost.
Hardware for Pocket Doors
Pocket doors are usually hung from an overhead track, which is recessed above the door opening. In order for the door to glide smoothly along the track, rollers are mounted to the top of the door, which are sized along with the track to bear the door's weight. In situations where the wight-bearing capacity above the door is limited, floor rollers and tracks are excellent alternatives to traditional top-hung pocket doors. This is because the bottom of the door bears the majority of the weight instead of the top of the door. While floor tracks can be recessed, they still can collect debris or pose as a tripping hazard, making it best to avoid installing pocket doors in high-traffic doorways.
The rollers used for pocket doors can make a big difference. Many less expensive pocket doors or hardware kits use two or three-wheeled roller configurations. While these rollers do save money, they can be noisy and create less smooth and stable rolling surfaces. The more expensive four-wheel, ball-bearing rollers for either under or overhead tracks ensure a smooth sliding surface and reduce any noise.
Bottom Line: Pocket Doors Save Space
Elegantly opening up a room and maximizing the floorspace, pocket doors are unlike any other interior door design. No matter what your specific needs may be, pocket doors are a convenient, attractive, and practical interior door to consider.
