This is great info but I need actual plans on how to build a pocket door frame. Free plans are good if anybody knows where to find them. I'm a single mom who bought a real, and I mean real fixerupper. I can use tools like any backyard home reno guy so I plan on doinglot of my renos myself. My bathroom roof came down not too long ago and I was up there with my son putting on a new roof....now no leaks!!So c'mon you guys help me out here with some plans.

PS I also can clean a fish better than most fishing men!!

Rose,
I am impressed by your skills. But the question is, do you have better map-folding skills than me? :->

Do you have a smelter and forge in your backyard? Do you have any idea how hard it is to make the track for the door?

You will spend more on materials trying to cobble a frame together than you would spend buying two high-quality factory-made frames that I mention in my other pocket-door columns. This is one time it pays NOT to do it yourself.

Well, actually they make a good residential pocket door, chase and all, just add door. The rule of thumb is 2xdoor size+ 1 3/4". Example.. 36" door, 75 3/4 opening in clear. And header is put at 85 1/2".

Hope it helps.

Sorry, to correct myself from above that example is 36" door = 73 3/4 opening.. 24"door = 49 3/4" opening.
All with headers, bottom at 85 1/2".

Along the lines of Rose's question...How hefty does the header need to be?

I want to install double pocket doors on a new wall i am building to enclose my living room. So i will have an opening of about 132" on a non-load bearing wall. What should i use for the header?

Chuck,
I can't tell you. I would need to know what part that wall plays in the structural game. You need to bring in an architect, engineer or a seasoned remodeler who can assist you. Sorry, I can't see all I need to see from my office.

Chuck,
I'm a residential designer...
If the wall you plan to put an opening in is not load bearing, you don't need a "header" per say. Headers are to carry the load from above. You would probably only need two 2x4s over the opening to hold the weight of the door when it slides.

Is it possible to put some kind of a door at the bottom of the stairway in the basement, which is now just open at the bottom. A pocket door would not work as there is no room for the door to slide on either side. Its open from the floor to the ceiling, and of course there is no door frame. I'm just wondering how to keep the noise in the basement as we have a very open floor plan upstairs. Can you help????

Mike

Mike,
You need to go read ALL of the columns I have written about Soundproofing and Noise Control.

what is the difference between the pocket door guides that are plastic and come with the doors.Or is the metal ones that are placed on the floor better to guide the doors.

David,
I have had good success with both types.

I have seen pocket doors added to the outside of an interior wall in a hotel to separate the bathroom from the sleeping area. It was very cool looking and acheived the same extra floor space as an inside the wall pocket door without the work to add to an existing wall/door opening.
Any idea where you can get that type of door hardware?

Don't try to build a frame....Here is the best way to do it. I'm in the middle of remodeling my bedroom and I have included 4 pocket doors for the 4 large closets. He's right....the space they'll save, not having to swing open, in invaluable. If you want to make this job simple purchase pocket door frames from your hardware store. I bought 4 of them at Home Depot. They include the whole thing, everything you need...the space for them to sink back into, the metal runners, the door slides, etc. The cost was great, at $64 each. Of course, you'll need a header that runs the entire length of the opening, not just over the 'closed door' section. It was very easy for new construction, but I'm not sure about tearing a wall down for old construction. For that, I would recommend swinging doors. I have these on spaces like the walk-in-closets adjacent to the master bath. It just uses your old door jamb, and all you need to buy is a regular door (without any hardware cut-out holes) and swinging hinges made for swinging doors. This door is great if you usually want to shut the door because it swings back and forth and rests shut, like a saloon door.

We have a 9 foot door opening with an arch at the top. The walls are 6" thick and the corners are rounded. We would like to install a pocket door in this opening. However, we aren't quite sure how to finish the door jambs and would like some type of finish that would not involve adding moulding around the door frame. Any suggestions?

I would like to replace an existing walk-in closet door in my master bath with a pocket door. There are no electrical outlets or plumbing on the wall which would be used for the 'pocket', so would this be a lot more involved that just removing the current door jamb and clearing out the wall, then adding the pocket door system?

everyone mentions the width and height of the rough opening for a pocket door, but no one has mentioned depth. do pocket doors fit with in standard 2x4 walls?

I live in a fifty year old home with pocket doors between several rooms. Thes rooms all attach to one room to which I have recently redone the floors with wooden floors. As a result the doors need to be shortened and I attacked the doors to remove them. I am currently stuck and cannot remove them from their tracks.Ther must be an easier way since someone years ago had to have a way to hang them. Any ideas will be appreciated.
David

I want a pocket door between a dining room and a library. The library has floor to ceiling bookshelves. Do I need to remove them? Can I remove the wallboard and the studs from the dining room and leave the backing (plywood or wallboard) to the bookshelves?

How wide is the raw unfinished cut out for a 30 inch pocket door? I have lost my instructions

I was wondering what might be a reasonable price to install a door in a bedroom closet. I just got a quote for $975.

We own a mobil home in Florida and I am thinking I would like to install pocket doors to increase wall/floor space. Our mobil home is a double-wide. All the doors I would like to install pocket doors are on either "side" of the mobil home. Are there plans available for such an installation? I am fairly handy with tools. Please let me know.