Pocket Door
#1
02-18-04, 05:41 PM
Pocket Door
I have a couple pocket doors in my house and I'm looking at removing them and installing regular bedroom doors. How do I do this?
#2
02-18-04, 05:53 PM
Banned. Rule And/Or Policy Violation
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: Northeastern NC On The Albemarle Sound
Posts: 10,701
Upvotes: 0
Received 1 Upvote
on
1 Post
Remove the door trim around the pocket door opening and remove the door from its track.
You will need to reinforce the rough door framing on the pocket door side in order to install the new pre-hung door to fit the door opening. With your back to the hinge side, the direction of the door swing will determine whether it's a "right hand" or "left hand" door.
Allow at least a half-inch of space around the rough door framing for the new pre-hung door frame width.
Block up the new door frame so that the door itself clears the finished flooring that it's sweeping over at least 1/2". Trim off the bottom of hte pre-hung door frame, if necessary.
Use beveled shims from both sides behind the hinges to level and plumb the hinge side of the pre-hung frame first, finish-nail it in place, and then use a framing square and level to work around the rest of the door.
The key is to get the frame plumb and level all the way around, so that the door hangs where you leave it.
lefty can give you more tips than I can. He's a pro at it, I'm not.
Good Luck!
Mike
You will need to reinforce the rough door framing on the pocket door side in order to install the new pre-hung door to fit the door opening. With your back to the hinge side, the direction of the door swing will determine whether it's a "right hand" or "left hand" door.
Allow at least a half-inch of space around the rough door framing for the new pre-hung door frame width.
Block up the new door frame so that the door itself clears the finished flooring that it's sweeping over at least 1/2". Trim off the bottom of hte pre-hung door frame, if necessary.
Use beveled shims from both sides behind the hinges to level and plumb the hinge side of the pre-hung frame first, finish-nail it in place, and then use a framing square and level to work around the rest of the door.
The key is to get the frame plumb and level all the way around, so that the door hangs where you leave it.
lefty can give you more tips than I can. He's a pro at it, I'm not.
Good Luck!
Mike
#3
02-18-04, 09:24 PM
This is the "culprit" from the left coast checkin' in!! (LOL!!)
What Mike said.
MESA79, you need to realize that a pocket door has a rough opening that is basically twice as wide as the door that you see. There is nothing supporting the sheetrock of the pocket. You'll need to support it. That means working in a stud at the center (or so) of the pocket. Don't worry about the header -- what's there is fine -- leave that alone.
How wide is this pocket door, and what's on each side? I'm assuming that you have 2X4 walls, so it's going to be tight to reach in 15" or so. But you need to. You'll need to attach a block to the header and one to the floor plate, then use those blocks as stops to attach you stud to. I would use a screw gun to attach the blocks, then screw the stud to those blocks. (Start the screws in the blocks before you slip them in-- it's easier.) Once that stud is in place, then add 2 more blocks (one top, one bottom), then attach your trimmer stud that will form the rough opening for your swinging door. Then it's just a matter of installing the pre-hung door that will replace the pocket door, and casing it out.
What Mike said.
MESA79, you need to realize that a pocket door has a rough opening that is basically twice as wide as the door that you see. There is nothing supporting the sheetrock of the pocket. You'll need to support it. That means working in a stud at the center (or so) of the pocket. Don't worry about the header -- what's there is fine -- leave that alone.
How wide is this pocket door, and what's on each side? I'm assuming that you have 2X4 walls, so it's going to be tight to reach in 15" or so. But you need to. You'll need to attach a block to the header and one to the floor plate, then use those blocks as stops to attach you stud to. I would use a screw gun to attach the blocks, then screw the stud to those blocks. (Start the screws in the blocks before you slip them in-- it's easier.) Once that stud is in place, then add 2 more blocks (one top, one bottom), then attach your trimmer stud that will form the rough opening for your swinging door. Then it's just a matter of installing the pre-hung door that will replace the pocket door, and casing it out.
#5
02-20-04, 08:21 PM
You probably won't have to mess with the sheetrock. In fact, if you can leave the pocket door frame behind the sheetrock alone, you won't even have to work a stud into the pocket. You'll just need to install a trimmer and a jamb in place of the trim that the door presently slides into.
