Pocket Door Install

Cristy Gies

Cristy Gies

Designer and Founder - DIYGirlfriend

Pocket doors are a great solution for smaller homes, where you can’t afford to lose space with a traditional door. Pocket doors are most used for small bathrooms or closets.

The sink placement in a bathroom can limit the amount of space you have for a hinged door. Often there isn’t enough room to open and enter the room. This is where the pocket door can save the day.

Closets can also present the same problem or can just add more space to the closet area and allow you to have complete visibility. A traditional door can limit the room you have to install closet organization systems.

Pocket doors are simple! The slide on a track that is hidden in the wall allowing the door to fit in a built-in pocket in the wall. These doors are easy to slide open and shut with a latch and can be lockable as well.

In this DIYG tutorial will show you how to install your own pocket door. We are building our pocket door so that we can eliminate an entry door and a closet door from swinging into each other. This will reduce damage to the doors and allow for easy entry into the room.

Let’s get started.

Here is What you will need:

Materials:

Measure your door opening and current door to determine what size pocket door kit you will need.  You’ll need twice the width of the door opening for the pocket door and frame.

Tools:

You can find these items in any local home improvement store. At the bottom of this article we have provided some links to make locating these items easier.

Watch the video for a step-by-step tutorial.

Or, you can follow the step-by-step instructions below.

Step 1: Remove existing door and trim

DIYG Tip:

Prior to doing any demo or work on the wall, examine the wall to determine if you need to hire a professional to compensate for any of the following:        

  • Load bearing wall
  • Electrical outlets
  • Electrical light switches
  • Plumbing

Step 2: Remove existing drywall

Step 3: Cut away existing studs

Step 4: Install new header for the pocket door

  • Match the lumber and material to the same sized lumber and thickness as the one removed to make the new header.
  • Most doors are 80 inches tall, so your new 2 x 4 stud should be cut and placed at 84 1/2 inches.
  • Most door jambs are 4 1/2 inches wide.

DIYG Tip: The new header will be longer than the old one because the header for a pocket door needs to run the full length of the pocket door frame.

Step 5: install pocket door frame according to manufacturer directions

Step 6: Hang pocket door inside frame

DIYG Tip: Make sure and use a level to ensure the slider is level so the pocket door will slide evenly and easily.  This is one of the most common mistakes when installing a pocket door and can cause the door to rub against the door frame.

Step 7: Install pocket door hardware and re-attach the door frame molding

DIYG Tip: Make sure and use a level to ensure the slider is level so the pocket door will slide evenly and easily.  This is one of the most common mistakes when installing a pocket door and can cause the door to rub against the door frame.

Step 8: Repair the wall

DIYG Tip: Try to use as large of pieces as you are comfortable to carry, hold and screw up. This will lessen the amount of drywall joints you will need to tape, mud and sand.

DIYG Tip:

  • use a drywall screw every 18 inches as a best practice and make sure each screw goes into a wood 2 x 4 stud!
  • screw the drywall screws just past the surface of the drywall. Later you will spread drywall mud over the screw for a smooth finish.

DIYG Tip: Make sure you have a drop cloth on the floor to protect the floor from any spillage

Step 9: admire your new Pocket door.

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