Pocket Doors

Pocket doors are doors that slide into a wall instead of opening on a hinge like conventional doors. When the door is opened it simply slides inside the wall out of sight. Pocket doors have been used for over a hundred years, although they disappeared during the early stages of their life - the noise and the fact that they frequently fell off the track became so irritating that their popularity declined. However, thanks to developments in design and material, good quality pocket doors are now fitted with smooth rollers to prevent them coming off of the track, and they have been manufactured to operate quietly. Pocket doors are now becoming increasingly popular, the main reason being the huge amount of space they save.

Most people want to make their home as spacious as possible, especially those living in smaller houses, and pocket doors can save you an average of ten square feet in floor space. In some instances this can be increased up to 20 square feet – if you can save this much space in a few of your rooms, your house will be visibly bigger. Though more expensive than other types of doors and a little more work to fit in existing homes, the final result is worth it. Those with disabilities often benefit from pocket doors as they glide easily along a track and take little exertion to operate, unlike standard doors that can be heavy and uneasy to swing open.

If you’re thinking of installing pocket doors into your own home always check what’s inside and above your wall before knocking through and realizing you’ve hit pipes or cables. Also make sure you find out if the wall is a bearing wall before you start as this will be much more challenging, yet still possible to work with. Both single pocket doors and double pocket doors are available. It is possible to mount nearly any type of door on pocket door hardware (e.g. panel, glazed, flush etc) as long as the hardware is able to handle its size and weight.

Small bathrooms and closets are usually areas that benefit most from pocket doors. If an open door on a closet is often in the way, or there’s no space in the bathroom to swing open the door, this could be an ideal solution. In bigger homes that have French doors separating living areas, pocket doors could free up valuable space. They are also particularly well suited for kitchens, bedrooms, dining rooms or anywhere that you’d like to free up that little extra space. Pocket doors open up spaces and create a clean, no barrier home, or alternatively can be used for the opposite purpose of closing off a room. They can provide a smooth transition between indoor and outdoor space too - opening up your home to your garden without wasting the space taken up by doors swinging around.