Pocket doors slide into a pocket in the wall instead of swinging open into a hallway or a room. With pocket doors you can gain a lot of storage space in the area that a swing hinged door opens into. Pocket doors maximize the unutilized areas around doorways and transform them into storage spots for plants, lamps, or another piece of furniture.

The swing of a standard interior hinged door uses as much as 10 square feet of floor space and that does not include the unusable wall space the door occupies when open. By gliding on a track, pocket doors simply disappear into the wall. By installing pocket doors you can reclaim that space and increase the usable square footage of your home.

If you are dealing with new construction the installation of a pocket door is quite easy but if you are remodeling, a portion of the wall will have to be removed to install the associated door track and door casing for the pocket door.

The big benefit of pocket doors is that they provide for more usable wall space, free standing furniture, and storage space. However, with pocket doors you must avoid penetrating the pocket door cavity of the wall with shelving, artwork nails, or drywall anchors which can damage the door or prevent it from sliding in its track. Adhesive backed wall hangers must be used to mount objects on the pocket cavity wall.

Pocket doors create a clean and airy look rather than the restrictions created by bulky hinged doors. There are many different door styles to choose from to accommodate your decor. On the down side, pocket doors don’t close as tightly as hinged doors and don’t seal out sound very well from one room to another.

Installing pocket doors:

· Installing a pocket door after construction requires demolishing and reframing the wall where you want the door located. Before demolishing the wall, investigate what may be inside the wall such as plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling ducts. If there are obstructions in the wall they will have to be rerouted or relocated which can be a daunting task. If the wall is a load bearing wall the door opening will need to be reinforced with a header.

· Good quality pocket door kits are available for approximately $300. The kits include the pocket door frame, heavy duty ball bearings, and nylon rollers that are guaranteed to not jump off their tracks.

· During installation of the kit make sure the door opening is square, plumb, and level. After installing the sliding door kit the frame worked is walled up with standard wall board (sheet rock), taking care that no nails or screw penetrate into the door cavity. Install the door trim and hardware and paint the wall.

Installing pocket doors offers a great alternative to the standing hinged door, providing more wall space and storage space in your home.

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