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2×6 Pocket Door Hrdwr

| Posted in Construction Techniques on February 2, 2004 09:10am

Hello all,

     Johnson has hardware for 2×6 walls, (#1560).   Is it required to use that hardware?  I am under the impression you can use the #1500 hardware designed for 2×4 walls and just build it out.  My concern is not price, but ease of installation (least amount of work).  I don’t want to spend time modifying to make something work if I don’t have to. 

                                                               Thanks

“One measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions”
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  1. baseboardking | Feb 03, 2004 01:24am | #1

    Can I talk you out of that pocket door? I just put a Johnson 2x4 kit into a 2x6 wall. The only modification is to throw away the wood/metal slats/studs, replace them with the straightest  2x ? studs you can find installed on the flat. Works great.

    Baseboard been VERRRY good to me
    1. MelissaMay1 | Feb 03, 2004 02:51am | #3

      Say, miles...

      Are you trying to talk him out of the pocket door, or using the Johnson hardware?

      We have a living room that has french doors on one wall, and an opening on another wall that leads to the foyer. When the kids are in an adjacent room watching TV, the french doors cut out most of the noise, but the other opening lets it in.

      I've been thinking of a pocket door there. Putting a regular door would muck up where some furniture is. And opening out of the room would look goofy. So the pocket would be a nice compromise. I think it'd look nice, too.

      So what are the pros/cons of installing a pocket door in an already-existing wall? I'm not sure why that wall was framed with 2x6, but I'm guessing it was to match the wall on the other side of the foyer, which is 2x6 to carry some utilities to the second floor.

      Not having looked at the hardware setup, I'm guessing we'd have to tear out some drywall to get in there to install the stuff...

      1. baseboardking | Feb 03, 2004 03:44am | #5

        Melissa,there's a tongue-in-cheek expression among many carpenters that "life's too short for pocket doors" They tend to get stuck,warp,fall off the track,have nails & screws driven into them while closed. etc,etc...

        That being said, sometimes they are the best solution. The Johnson hardware is great, but please have your pocket doors installed by a trained professional !

        Baseboard been VERRRY good to me

        1. User avater
          BillHartmann | Feb 03, 2004 05:27pm | #6

          "The Johnson hardware is great, but please have your pocket doors installed by a trained professional !"

          Ok, how many pros on do you know that have been professional trained in the installation of pocket doors?

          Piffin, Mike, Mongo, Jim, etc, not to leave anyone out, have any of you had training in installing pocket doors.

          1. baseboardking | Feb 03, 2004 07:38pm | #7

            It's a joke, Bill

            Baseboard been VERRRY good to me

  2. gdavis62 | Feb 03, 2004 02:44am | #2

    I use the Johnson kit for 2x4 wall, but frame the opening with 2x6s, then center the Johnson stuff, and face off the door pocket with 5/4 (1" thick) stock.

    Beefs things up nicely.

    Another thing you can do is rip the opening frame material from 2x6 stock, slicing down to 5".  Then you do as described above, but face off the pocket, both sides, with 3/4" OSB or plywood.

    1. SunnySlopes | Feb 03, 2004 02:55am | #4

      I have double pocket doors (converging) that I am installing.  I never saw the 2x6 hardware and figured most guys just use the 2x4 hrdwr and build it out. 

      Thanks for the input"One measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions"

  3. Mark40 | Feb 03, 2004 08:45pm | #8

    I too installed a Johnson 1500 Pocket door and it works great.  I had no choice due to space constraints.  It has been three years and it works just fine..except... for the cheap door.  I bought a cheap hollow core door from Lowe's and the thickness at the bottom was not consistent.   I had to remove the door and shave off the high spots where it was rubbing on the guides.  The Johnson door will not come off track unless it is severely abused, but at this level of abuse almost anything will fail.  Since the door is in a high traffic area, i was concerned with one of the kids falling into the wall.  To offset this, i used two layers of 1/2" sheetrock glued and screwed, but looking back this was probably overkill.  I would recommend a Johnson lit with a good quality door.  It was incredibly easy to install and you can download the instructions from their website in PDF file format.  This allows you to read it a few times before you buy it.  I did my own millwork for the casings, so I was not concerned about the additional thickness.   Just make sure the opening is plumb and the header is level and you can not fail.  So you can increase the wall thickness by adding more material on the faces or beef up the 1500 prefabricated steel/wood studs.

    Regards

    Mark

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