QA

How To Frame A Pocket Door Wall

Can you put a pocket door in a 2×4 wall?

Pocket doors are really convenient when you are tight on space, but they aren’t always the easiest doors to use. This is especially the case on pocket doors that are taller than the standard 6’8″. The reasoning is a 2×4 wall really has no room for framing other than a 1×2 or 1×4.

How thick does a stud wall need to be for a pocket door?

The idea is to build the pocket to the same thickness as the studwork – 75mm (3″) or 100mm (4″) which are the two standard studwork sizes generally in use – so that you can directly continue the standard 12.5mm plasterboard over the pocket providing the finished wall thickness of either 100mm (4″) or 125mm (5″).

What is the rough opening for a pocket door?

Determining what size to make rough openings for single pocket door framing is a simple process. Almost all hardware manufacturers state in their instructions, width of the rough opening is two times that of the door plus one inch and the height is seven feet one inch.

Does a pocket door need a header?

Pocket doors that are 4 feet wide would require a header that spans the opening of 8 feet, plus another 4 feet on each side where the doors tuck away. It’s 16 feet long, heavy, unwieldy and often constructed of two 2-by-10s or more depending on the load above.

Do pocket doors need wider walls?

Because pocket doors have to slide inside a wall, that wall can’t have be built with wall studs because the studs would block the pocket door. So building a thicker 2×6 wall will give the pocket door wall more strength and stability than the typical 2×4 wall. 3.

Can you do a pocket door in an existing wall?

The pocket door system can be installed against the existing wall. After the quick and easy assembly you just have to screw a sheet of plasterboard to the side that butts up to the wall. This gives the system extra strength and rigidity.

Are pocket doors a good idea?

Pocket doors are a great solution for smaller spaces that lack the wall space for a full swing door. This makes them perfect for small bathrooms, closets and connecting those two areas, for example between a master bath and the walk-in closet. A large opening can reduce the structural integrity of the exterior wall.

How thick is a sliding door wall?

Standard jamb thickness is 1 3/4″ (45mm); interior sill thickness is 2″ (50mm); depth is 6 5/8″ (168mm) or milled to required project dimensions. Door frames are built to +/- 1/16″ (1mm) tolerance.

How wide is a pocket door frame?

A standard sliding pocket door has the same sizes as a corresponding hinged door. It typically measures 30″ or 36″ in width and 80″ in height.

How thick should Door frames be?

Standard interior door jamb thickness on pre-hung doors is 4-9/16 inches. The door jamb is the frame that installs in the wall and supports the door via hinges. This thickness is designed for installation in a standard two-by-four wall (constructed by studs that are actually 1½ inches by 3½ inches).

How difficult is it to install a pocket door?

If you have simple tools, you can install the pocket door frame and hardware with little difficulty. Installing the door into the pocket is also fairly easy to do. The rough opening is the wide and tall archway created with regular framing wall studs that houses the pocket door track and thin studs.

What is the rough opening for a 30 pocket door?

The rough opening width should equal two times the door width plus 1” (25.4mm). For example, a 30” (76.2 cm) door multiplied by two equals 60” (152.4 cm) plus 1” equals 61” (154.94 cm) rough opening width.

How big of an opening do you need for a pocket door?

The rule of thumb for sizing the opening is door width times 2 plus 1 ¾”. For example, to install a 36” pocket door you’re going to need an opening that is 73 ¾” wide – (2 X 36 = 72, 72 + 1 ¾” = 73 ¾”) while installing a 32” door would require an opening 65 ¾” wide.

What is the rough opening for a 32 inch pocket door?

For example, a 2-foot 8-inch door (32 inches) the rough opening needs to be 65 inches. The height of the rough opening off the rough floor surface is usually 84.5 inches.

Can you put a pocket door in a wall with plumbing?

The wall may be suitable for a pocket door if the available space equals twice the width of the door itself plus about 3 or 4 inches wiggle room. An interior wall free of plumbing pipes or electrical wires is ideal, but if there are a few wires, it isn’t a big deal to move them.

Can you put a pocket door in a wall with electrical?

The pocket door literally fits into a pocket inside the wall and typically slides on rollers on a track above the door. One downside to the pocket door is that it often leaves little room for anything else in the wall, such as plumbing or electrical (such as outlets or switches), so careful planning is required.

Do pocket doors have a bottom track?

Typically, pocket doors have an upper track only, but if you plan ahead you can have a bottom track. This gives the sliding door a robust fixing and makes it less likely to flap about when in the open position. It involves fixing the track into the floor — one way to do this is with a router in a timber floor.