Hey everyone! My wife and I recently bought an older home, and we're working on replacing some of its classic features over time. One big project we're tackling is swapping out a troublesome pocket door for a traditional swinging door. The pocket door has so many issues—it's dragging, and the track is bending.
We're complete novices at DIY, so we could really use your advice! We're not planning to buy a prehung door as the frame is in good condition, and we'll just need a 24x80 door with hinges.
The pocket cavity is only 2 inches wide, and it doesn't have any structural mechanisms, so we're wondering what's the best way to fill it for support? Should we use 3/4" or 1" plywood? How do we attach it to the existing frame? And for hinge support, standard frames have studs but we won't have that.
If anyone has tips or alternatives, we're all ears! Thanks a ton!
2 Answers
Before you go ahead, make sure to think about where the door swings in the room. Pocket doors are awesome for tight spaces, so just double-check that the new door won’t clash with anything in the room. And I'd steer clear of barn doors since they don’t block sound or light very well and just went out of style!
You might want to just remove the trim and go with a prehung door. You can even leave the old slab in the pocket. Just make sure the hinge side is on the opposite of the pocket side since that side lacks the support for a new jamb. If you want hinges on the pocket side, you'll likely have to tear open the wall to add additional studs, and that's quite a bit of work!