Replies

1. 
   Mark | May 09, 2006 04:16am | #1

   Yes, they can be 2x4 walls.   Just go to the lumber supplier and get a couple of johnson brand pocket door kits,  the kit will have everything you need and detailed instructions on how to frame everything.

   One caveat....   Check those two door slabs for bows and twists.  Pocket doors can be very unforgiving of a twisted or bowed door slab, and you will not have the recourse of just sending it back to the door supplier to exchange it for a better one.

   " If I were a carpenter"
1. 
   JohnT8 | May 09, 2006 10:47pm | #11

   Do the kits include the hangers?  In the reply I got from them, it sounded like the hangers were purchased separately.

    jt8

   "The difference between greatness and mediocrity is often how an individual views a mistake..."-- Nelson Boswell

1. 
   diesel | May 09, 2006 11:25pm | #12

   This weekend I installed 3 pockets 1 single and 1 double with edge grain fir doors with space for glass transomes above.  Not sure what you guys think of the prefabricated pockets but thats what I used and they where very quick and easy to install.  I can't recal the brand but they look like the prefabed ones on the site referenced by JT8.  I'm in Northern British Columbia.  If I remeber right the ones I used were made in Richmond B.C..  Accomodating Glass transomes does complicate the issue but I made it work relativly quick & easy with these prefabs. 

   Not sure if it's standard practice but I would recommend hanging the door and making sure the fit & operation is right before drywall.  A friend of mine had his house built, when he moved in one door rubbed every time he closed it.  Sure enough the contractor had installed the frame without test fitting the door and neglected to notice the less than perfect track.  Another friend had a double pocket installed in his basement.  Same story the contractor never hung the doors before drywall.  When the doors were hung after drywall paint etc. there was about an 1" extra in length because of the double assembly.

   Happy door installing Brad

    

2. 
   docotter | May 10, 2006 07:40am | #23

   John, the 1500 is offered with two different hangers: one rated at 125 lbs, and a ball bearing unit rated at 200 lbs. There's a small price difference -- like $10-15, but IMHO, well worth it given the PITA factor of replacing track and hangers when they wear out. The ball bearing units should last pretty much forever. In my house all of the pocket doors pretty much died a couple years after we moved in, so I've had the pleasure of putting new tracks in and have used the Johnson 100PD track with the ball bearing hangers (same track and hangers as the 1500). The ball bearing hangers slide sooo smooth. I'm doing a bathroom remodel now and am using two of the 1500 kits with the ball bearing hangers.

1. 
   JohnT8 | May 10, 2006 10:02pm | #25

   the 1500 is offered with two different hangers: one rated at 125 lbs, and a ball bearing unit rated at 200 lbs. There's a small price difference -- like $10-15, but IMHO, well worth it

   Does it say on the kit box whether they come with the 125 or 200?

   On a side note:  In your opinion, does a heavier door make a better pocket door? jt8

   "The difference between greatness and mediocrity is often how an individual views a mistake..."-- Nelson Boswell

1. 
   Sphere | May 11, 2006 12:07am | #27

   Heavier just means more purple finger nails when it gets away from you closing it.

   Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

   Damm, I miss that stuff

2. 
   Waters | May 13, 2006 05:46am | #29

   It seemed my supplier only stocked the BB rollers and they are worth it for sure.

   Pat

3. 
   Waters | May 13, 2006 05:48am | #30

   Kit does include hangers--they're taped to the track.

   P

4. 
   Mark | May 14, 2006 11:35pm | #32

   Hey John,  Sorry I didn't respond to you in a timely manner.  I've been away from the computer for a while.  nevertheless I see that you got your question answered quite succinctly without me.  

   On a side note,  I too like to put pocket doors in a 2x6 wall whenever I can.  However I also feel that a person should do his first couple of pocket doors "by the book"  and should develop a pretty good working knowledge of how they work, and what might go wrong with them before they begin to stray from the beaten path.

   One other thing that hasn't been adressed in this thread is finished floor height.  If the finish floor will be more than 1" higher than whatever floor is there when you are framing,   you might want to bump the header track up to a commensurate height.

   This is a very rare occurance, but a bit of foresight might save you from having to plane 1/2" off of a door slab to get it to work." If I were a carpenter"

2. 
   Cork in Chicago | May 09, 2006 05:13am | #2

   Hey there Waters,

   Get the header on the pocket door framing job "perfect". It's the key to the whole job. It must be extremely solid for the entire lateral span of the opening plus the entire span where the door slides into the wall pocket. This will allow the door to slid in and out without scraping and also allow for the reveal to be even and flush. Get the header perfectly straight, and level, and the installation should be a breeze, get the header off just a little and it will turn this project into "the doors from Hell".

   Have a good one Waters,

   Cork in Chicago

1. 
   BruceT999 | May 15, 2006 12:54am | #33

   Latch-side RO should also be plumb and lined, otherwise the jamb will look bad and/or the door will not close neatly. You also have to shim the jamb carefully top to bottom. There is no stop to hide high/low spots in the jamb as there would be on a hinged door. BruceT

3. 
   Shep | May 09, 2006 05:20am | #3

   Johnson kits are the way to go.

   just remember to use short nails to install the trim, or the door won't open.

   I'm not  gonna say how I learned that one.

1. 
   Dinosaur | May 09, 2006 06:42am | #4

   ROAR!!

   Time to change those 2½-inchers outta the trim gun, eh?Dinosaur

   How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....

1. 
   Shep | May 10, 2006 12:56am | #13

   What I can't figger out is-

   if yer supposed to learn from your mistakes,

   HOW COME I'M NOT A FRIGGEN' GENIUS BY NOW??

1. 
   nikkiwood | May 10, 2006 02:06am | #14

   Here is a BT link about pocket doors from a year or so ago. Here, Hafele is recommended as an alternative to Johnson:http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=60379.4********************************************************
   "It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."

   John Wooden 1910-

1. 
   BryanSayer | May 10, 2006 02:31am | #15

   As long as we are discussing hardware, I need to make a pocket door for a bathroom. I have the Johnson track hardware, but I'm wondering about what to use for a latch mechanism? I want something flush on the door, but I guess that is probably obvious.

2. 
   Cork in Chicago | May 10, 2006 03:11am | #16

   Hey there BryanSayer,

   Here are a couple of links for pocket door hardware. The first link is pretty much generic type pocket door hardware and the second has higher quality and better selection.

   If you have some money in the budget you may consider something with "extra good looks and function". As the pocket door is concealed in the wall you would expect people to not even "give a hoot" about the door but I have noticed on most installs the people really "rave" about high end hardware on pocket doors. I don't know if this is because they personally had a say in picking out hardware for these particular doors, or if they went along with the GC/arch/designer and were very well impressed with the results. 

   Have a good one,

   Cork in Chicago

   http://www.handlesets.com/pageload.cfm?keyword=pocket+door+hardware&Submit.x=8&Submit.y=7

   http://www.woodwardsace.com/baldwin/general/pocket.htm

3. 
   BryanSayer | May 10, 2006 06:00am | #20

   Thanks Cork and Nikki!It is my door, so the budget is whatever I care to spend. It is for the 3rd floor bath, which is finished attic space. It is supposed to be the guest suite, as soon as we finish the room that is supposed to be our bedroom. So I want something that is obvious as to how to operate. But I'm going to try and make a door that looks like a shoji screen, so I want it to look appropriate.

4. 
   mccarty12 | May 10, 2006 10:15pm | #26

   Gary Katz has a good article on pocket doors in the Feb 2006 issue in JLC.

5. 
   nikkiwood | May 10, 2006 05:15am | #18

   I've used the cheap pulls, but better quality stuff like this makes for a much classier door:http://www.woodwardsace.com/baldwin/general/pocketdoors/rustic_flush_pull.jpgI just pulled this from Cork's link.********************************************************
   "It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."

   John Wooden 1910-

6. 
   cowtown | May 15, 2006 09:22am | #34

   use the cheaper pulls, but don't skimp on the cheaper rolling track.I've see solid poplar panel doors toast cheapo track in less than a year, and also watched folks tear off drywall before the doors got hung cause they knew the cheapo tracks would not last.it was just like the "money pit" moviee......in fact, still is. Eric in Cowtown

2. 
   Dinosaur | May 10, 2006 04:47am | #17

   if yer supposed to learn from your mistakes,

   HOW COME I'M NOT A FRIGGEN' GENIUS BY NOW??

   Yer obviously not making enough mistakes....Dinosaur

   How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....

1. 
   Waters | May 10, 2006 06:03am | #21

   Probably a year ago I took your rec. on windows for my own place.

   Since then I've gone into business for myself--Waters Construction LLC--and things are going great.

   I see your handle come up so much, you must live on this site!

   Thanks for all the good advice and humor.

   Pat

2. 
   Dinosaur | May 10, 2006 07:20am | #22

   Probably a year ago I took your rec. on windows for my own place.

   Since then I've gone into business for myself

   See how much trouble you can get yerself into on the internet?

    

   And, no, I don't live here. I just keep forgetting to go home....Dinosaur

   How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....

4. 
   gdcarpenter | May 09, 2006 07:49am | #5

   They can be 2x4 walls, using the 3/4" 'thick' 'studs' that come with the kit. I much prefer building them in a 2x6 stud depth wall, using 2x4's on the flat on either side wall. There have been previous discussion on this if you can use the search feature.

   Some, when using the kits, install plywood between the '3/4"' studs that come with the kit. Done with a 2x4 wall they are never that sturdy, and then there's the problem of how you hang anything heavy on those walls.

   Let's not confuse the issue with facts!

1. 
   TomT226 | May 09, 2006 01:38pm | #6

   I'm about to build out a couple of these, and I already have the Johnson kits.  Do you reccomend not using the split studs and just using 2X material on the flat?  I need to hang about a 50 lb lighted mirror from one wall, and was considering using the split studs and 1/2" ply with PL 400 and short screws.  The width isin't critical. 

   Thanks 

1. 
   gdcarpenter | May 09, 2006 02:42pm | #7

   You're an early bird. I like to buid solid and those split studs never give that feeling. So as not to have to waste or find an alternate use for the split studs you can attach them with screws widthwise to the narrow side of the 2x4 'stud onthe flat' for extra rigidity. If it's mounted tight to the wall a 50 lb mirror is probably not that big a deal in sheetrock, mostly dealing with shear loads. I've never had the chance since I heard of it, but the idea of a sheet of ply between the studs sounds good to me, mount anything anywhere then.Let's not confuse the issue with facts!

1. 
   TomT226 | May 09, 2006 07:30pm | #9

   The early bird gets wormed.  ;-) Thanks for the tips. 

5. 
   Waters | May 09, 2006 04:40pm | #8

   I post--

   I go to bed--

   I wake up--

   and now I know exactly what to do, what to get and what to look out for!

   Thank you very much gents!

   Pat

6. 
   JohnT8 | May 09, 2006 10:45pm | #10

   I've got a upcoming pocket door or two (or three) on my current project.  Johnson seems to be popular with BT'ers, so I checked out their site http://johnsonhardware.com/pdindex.htm and emailed them asking advice.  It took a few days to get a reply, but they did answer my question :

   =============My Question============

   I visited the Johnson Hardware website in search of pocket door kits.  There seems to be a wide variety of hardware options, so I am sending this email in the hopes that you can suggest the kits that would best suit my needs.  The home has 8' ceilings, so we will be using standard size doors (80").  We are currently gutting the home down to the 2x4 studs, so access isn't an issue. 

    

   We have three proposed pocket door projects:

   1. 36" pocket door in the living room

   2. 30" closet door in the master bedroom

   3. Double 24" pocket doors in the dining room (like French doors..except pocketed instead of swinging).

    

   Thanks,

   John.

    

   ==========The Reply================

   John,

       I would suggest the 1500 series with ball-bearing hangers.  They should work great for you.  For the converging door application, you will need 2 kits and a 1555 converging door kit.  You can use the following link for further information:

    

   http://johnsonhardware.com/1500.htm

    

   Thank you for your interest,

    

   Nathan E. Johnson
   Sales and Operations
   L.E. Johnson Products
   http://www.johnsonhardware.com

   jt8

   "The difference between greatness and mediocrity is often how an individual views a mistake..."-- Nelson Boswell

1. 
   Waters | May 10, 2006 05:59am | #19

   fantastic!

   I just used their dealer locator from the site using your link.

   I'm good to go.

   Sometimes this site is just TOO good.

   Thanks!

   Pat

1. 
   JohnT8 | May 10, 2006 09:55pm | #24

   I have even seen one or two of their kits at a nearby Lowes.

    jt8

   "The difference between greatness and mediocrity is often how an individual views a mistake..."-- Nelson Boswell

1. 
   Waters | May 13, 2006 05:45am | #28

   Hey John,

   All,

   My HO's doors are 7' so I had to order the kit special for the 84" door.  I found them locally though, and they come as an 'adjustable' kit for the width of the door--I got the 1500 kit with BB rollers and the kit adjusts from 2' to 3' width by hacking off the end and trimming the nailing part of the header and it's trims on the sides.

   I had two and puzzled over the first one a bit..just careful.  The instructions are good but take note for the taller door, the RO has to be taller than what the instructions that come with it say...  Basically add 4 ".  Pretty simple all told.

   Thanks all for the guidance!

   Pat

2. 
   Huck | May 13, 2006 04:07pm | #31

   Sometimes this site is just TOO good

   I'll second that!"he...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain