Pocket door does not slide smooth

I have a pocket door that is not sliding smoothly or easily. It looks like its on the track. I am thinking there is some debris at the bottom of the door that is causing to get blocked. Do I need to pop the molding off to take this door out? I don't see any other way to actually see what the problem is. I know popping molding will cause extra work in the way of painting etc...Any tricks for correcting pocket doors?
Thanks

 

More information would be helpful. But unless you have a dead rat under the door or a childs toy got stuck in there, the most likely problem is a stuck wheel, bad bearing or similar.

If the door has the proper clearance to the floor, then it's not likely that it's dragging on bottom. If it is dragging, the door likely can be adjusted upward. But we would need to see the type of roller you have. If you close the door against the jamb, it should be plumb... not a bigger gap on top or on bottom. As long as it's plumb and not dragging, I don't think anything sounds like it would be out of adjustment.

You could try spraying a small amount of silicone spray on the wheels and track, but if you do, be sure you block the back side of the door with some rags before you spray... and be ready to wipe off any excess that might want to drip or run.

Taking off trim is a last resort. Keep that in mind.

 

There are several good videos on pocket doors on YouTube. But Ron Hazelton's House Calls has a very good one that shows how to install and repair.

 

XSleeper and Norm thanks for the reply.

XSleeper-Ok the door is not plumb when shut all the way to the wall. I can see that the door is crooked. And it used to have clearance from the floor now it drags. I think youre right about the it being off track or a bad bearing but its hard to tell. I pulled the door out and looked at the first wheel and it appears to be on track. However the second wheel that goes deep inside the wall is very hard to see.

How do I get at that second wheel that is deep inside the wall? I pulled the door out and its still hard to see or tell if that wheel is off track. I loosened and tightened the screws at the top that are attached to the track wheels but that didnt do anything. How do I resolve this?? Should I try lifting the door up and wiggling it to get back on track?

 

OK, if it is not plumb against the jamb and it now drags, then one side of the door needs to be raised. With a trolley style of hardware, that's usually done by adjusting a nut on top of the door to raise the door on one end. So, if when the door is closed, the door contacts the side jamb at the bottom but not the top, it's the far roller (farthest from the jamb/handle) that needs to be turned up. And the reverse would be true.

Sometimes the door will rattle itself out of adjustment. Sounds like that's what's happened to yours.

You will need a thin wrench... the ones that come with pocket doors are offset and super thin. Like this one.

http://www.johnsonhardware.com/image...712400x400.jpg

You don't usually need to remove trim to adjust the roller higher (assuming this is the sort of roller you have- with an adjustable nut on top of the door) but if you need to, the top stop on one side or the other can be removed to allow easier access to the adjustment. The casing isn't "supposed" to be nailed to that stop, but be aware that not everyone installs pocket door trim with the idea that someone is going to have to work on it again someday.

If there is no nut, then you probably have the old style of door where the rollers kind of hang on one side of the door. It might take 2 people to work on it. One would be inside, one outside. One would pry up on the door while the other would push the door roller toward the track, then the other guy would let the door back down. Hopefully that would hook the roller back up if it's come off the track.

 

I removed casing on the one side of the door to get access to the rollers on top. The inside roller was off track. But now the door is still dragging on the floor. Looks like I have the "old style" rollers. At the top of the door (on the face of the door) there is a screw on each side of the door that connects to the rollers which I believe adjusts the height of the rollers? Does that make sense? I dont believe there are any nuts on top of the door to adjust the height. I can take a pic if that helps. I put some floor tile under the door to raise the door and then tightened these screws and that seemed to work. It is sliding now but its still not that smooth. And also its still not plumb.

I would like to take the door out to inspect the rollers just to make sure they are not damaged then I will adjust the height on the one side.