Pocket sliding doors

[deuce22]

Hi.

I am looking for some advice on pocket sliding doors. I am in the process of putting all the stud walls up in a new build and trying to decide on whether to use standard or sliding doors.

I have 15 doors in total and the kits I’ve looked at are around £200. I don’t really won’t to pay 3k for the kits, so if this is the only option, I’ll go down the standard door route.

I had a quick chat with a carpenter and he said you don’t need the kits, just good quality parts/fixings.

I just want to know if these can be framed without the kit and if so, are they still quality, or is it just a bodge job.

Thanks.

[Thorfun]

1 minute ago, deuce22 said:

Hi.

I am looking for some advice on pocket sliding doors. I am in the process of putting all the stud walls up in a new build and trying to decide on whether to use standard or sliding doors.

I have 15 doors in total and the kits I’ve looked at are around £200. I don’t really won’t to pay 3k for the kits, so if this is the only option, I’ll go down the standard door route.

I had a quick chat with a carpenter and he said you don’t need the kits, just good quality parts/fixings.

I just want to know if these can be framed without the kit and if so, are they still quality, or is it just a bodge job.

Thanks.

we had 3 pocket doors designed. in the end we converted 2 of them to normal doors as they were in an en-suite and we discovered that we couldn't get the electrics to the towel rail we wanted to hang on the back of the frame nor could we put the light switch for the bathroom on the side we wanted. so, just be aware that you won't be able to fit light sockets or cable runs safely within the frame.

 

and it may be that you only need good quality parts and fixings but the Eclisse pocket doors are so simple to put up (took my carpenter and me about 30 minutes tops) that you need to consider the labour costs of NOT using a kit and calculate if it's still worth not using a kit. 

[deuce22]

Thanks Thorfun for the advice.

 

I've just spoken with the chippie again and he has given me a bit more info. He said that the kits vary in thickness, but as he doesnt use the steel wrapped timber studs, he works with a 120mm thick stud wall. He rips down all the timber to 35mm on the table saw, fixes these top and bottom, which gives a 50mm void for the door. He believes that doing it this way gives a sturdier wall, compared to the kits and costs a fraction of the costs.

This seems pretty straight forward for me, but I'm wondering if this wall will be sturdy enough. I may just try 1 and see, unless somebody can confirm it on here.

I'm wondering why pipes, cables and sockets/switches/back boxes can't be used between the 35mm stud or is it that your kits use much thinner steel wrapped studs.

Edited July 16, 2023 by deuce22

[Mike]

48 minutes ago, deuce22 said:

whether to use standard or sliding doors

Standard doors every time. Sliders are noisier and often don't fit well, and pocket doors present additional problems for cleaning and maintenance.

[deuce22]

Thanks Mike.

 

I didn't think about cleaning or maintanance. Maybe I will regret putiing them in.

[Russdl]

We have two floor to ceiling pocket doors that are pretty much permanently open, to my mind that is the best use of a pocket door i.e. where it's seldom used.

 

If it's a door that will be opened and closed frequently then noise of the door opening/closing may be an issue. If the doors are painted (ours are) then repainting the doors, especially for the system we have (Portman pocket doors) will be pretty much impossible, I think with the Eclisse system the door can be removed from the pocket after installation so that problem would go away. As already highlighted but obviously depending on the pocket build up, services will be tricky on the pocket side of the door.

 

If pocket doors are not essential for space saving I would recommend against them.

[Temp]

We've got a slider but only because it was the best solution to a space issue. Avoid if possible, especially on any door that is frequently used like a kitchen door. They are far more awkward to use quickly, harder to accelerate the door, then harder to slow it down to a stop without crashing into the buffer. You will end up leaving them open.

 

The door must also be wider for the same opening width because not all of the door can go into the pocket.

 

Door handles need to be tall rather than wide  or they also make the door even bigger.  Need to be chosen when the door is installed and adjusted, possibly before plasterboarding the frame.

 

 

 

 

[Russdl]

1 minute ago, Temp said:

The door must also be wider for the same opening width because not all of the door can go into the pocket.

 

Ours disappear completely into the pocket when open and are basically invisible. To close it you push it in against a spring loaded plunger that ejects the door out of the pocket enough to access the recessed handle and pull it closed.

[Thorfun]

4 hours ago, deuce22 said:

I'm wondering why pipes, cables and sockets/switches/back boxes can't be used between the 35mm stud or is it that your kits use much thinner steel wrapped studs.

according to my sparky and chippy there just isn't space to fit a back box in the Eclisse metal frames and even though you could potential run a cable in a gap we all thought that the risk of it catching on the door and causing issues was too high to justify it. so we just built out the timber wall to hold standard doors instead. still have one Eclisse pocket door though as I said. I just fitted the header wall above the door today as a matter of fact. 🙂 

 

[deuce22]

Thanks for all your help.

 

I've thought against doing all the door openings like this now. I'll just do the 2 that are needed and the rest will be standard doors.

 

Thanks.

[eandg]

I'm about to hit the button on two Eclisse doors but am now thrown a wee bit as I hadn't thought about light switches (@thorfun) though my main query is whether we need the door in situ when making up stud or whether this can be retrofitted after plasterboard has been fixed?

[Thorfun]

1 hour ago, eandg said:

I'm about to hit the button on two Eclisse doors but am now thrown a wee bit as I hadn't thought about light switches (@thorfun) though my main query is whether we need the door in situ when making up stud or whether this can be retrofitted after plasterboard has been fixed?

as far as i know the door on the Eclisse system can be fitted later after all the plasterboarding has been done. i'm pretty sure when i read a thread by @pocster that was how he ended up doing it.

[eandg]

40 minutes ago, Thorfun said:

as far as i know the door on the Eclisse system can be fitted later after all the plasterboarding has been done. i'm pretty sure when i read a thread by @pocster that was how he ended up doing it.

Thanks. I had planned on two pocket doors in a tight wee space between utility and a (very small) downstairs shower room but think we'll just go with one and an archway and hide the electrics in the stud where we'd have had the second pocket. 

[Thorfun]

12 minutes ago, eandg said:

Thanks. I had planned on two pocket doors in a tight wee space between utility and a (very small) downstairs shower room but think we'll just go with one and an archway and hide the electrics in the stud where we'd have had the second pocket. 

i was quite fortunate as when i was shopping for pocket doors i decided to buy just 1 for the time being to see how easy it was to fit rather than buying all 3 at once. there was no discount for all 3 at once either so it made sense. so glad now as otherwise the other 2 would be sitting here and i'd be trying to flog them!

[Jilly]

Repainting the inside is amusing too, In an en-suite, you‘ll have to sit tight whilst it dries, and you can’t get to the deep inside bit 

[Thorfun]

1 hour ago, Jilly said:

Repainting the inside is amusing too, In an en-suite, you‘ll have to sit tight whilst it dries, and you can’t get to the deep inside bit 

can't you just remove the door from the runner and paint it and then refit it? 🤔

[Mr Blobby]

On 16/07/2023 at 13:55, Russdl said:

 

Ours disappear completely into the pocket when open and are basically invisible. To close it you push it in against a spring loaded plunger that ejects the door out of the pocket enough to access the recessed handle and pull it closed.

 

Your doors sound good.  Which ones do you have?  eclisse?  Another?

Edited July 18, 2023 by Mr Blobby

[Russdl]

@Mr Blobby We used the Portman Pocket Door System.
 

They are good but they are not without their issues though. As I said earlier I would only recommend them where they are seldom used (for the potential noise issue) or where they are the only solution and where they won’t need redecorating. Ever. 

[Jilly]

4 hours ago, Thorfun said:

can't you just remove the door from the runner and paint it and then refit it? 🤔

Worth asking the question as my friend has an en-suite like this, the door  doesn’t come off 

[Thorfun]

10 minutes ago, Jilly said:

Worth asking the question as my friend has an en-suite like this, the door  doesn’t come off 

https://www.eclisse.co.uk/blog/how-to-guide-how-to-remove-the-door-from-an-eclisse-classic-pocket-door-system/
 

maybe this is why Eclisse are the bees knees for pocket doors?