"Understanding Your Home" by Building Inspector Mark Visser
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Pocket doors. Pocket door kits. Pocket door hardware.

BENEFITS
With the growth in the real estate market for condominiums and town homes there is a renewed interest in the space-saving pocket door and for good reasons.
- Pocket doors are used when there is no room for a regular door.
- They are ideal in narrow hallways and for basement washrooms where there is no room for a swinging door. Pocket Doors can also be used for dining rooms, master bathrooms, wardrobes, kitchens or where ever floor space is at a premium.
- The use of a pocket door, rather than a hinged door, will free up previously unusable wall and floor space.
- Pocket doors are ideal for homes with a disabled resident. It is much easier to enter or leave a room if there are no pull open (hinged) doors.

DISADVANTAGES
Pocket door framing, hardware and tracks are inside the wall which makes it difficult, if not impossible, to make repairs. Fixing the problem may require removing the door, trim and opening up the wall. Repairs tend to be costly as it not only involves repairing or replacing the track but also removing and replacing wall finishings.

WALL HUNG OR "OPEN POCKET DOOR"
For retrofit installations it may not always be possible install standard pocket door. A wall-hung variation called an "open pocket door" may be used where an in-wall installation is impractical.



Pocket Doors and Required RSO
RSO - Rough Stud Opening





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Pocket doors. Pocket door kits. Pocket door hardware.
Pocket doors are one of the most overlooked and misunderstood options when planning or renovating a home. It is not because pocket doors are something new on the market because they have been around for a long time. The doors were particularly common in Victorian homes to close off such areas as sitting rooms or dens. As the name already suggest the doors, when opened, slide into a pocket or compartment in the adjacent wall. The majority of older doors would move on rollers from an overhead track and sometimes along tracks on the floor. Finding tracks and rollers to retrofit Victorian age pocket doors may be a challenge. Door pulls and locks are easy to find especially if you shop online.
Let's have a closer look at pocket doors and their
Basic framing requirements
Applications
Why it is not always possible to install a pocket door
Benefits
Disadvantages
Surface or open pocket doors
Hardware

BASIC FRAMING REQUIREMENTS, ROUGH STUD OPENING (RSO)
NOTE: In this RSO table the add on value is 1 1/2" (38.1 mm). The required RSO may differ, depending on hardware used and manufacturer of the pocket door kit.
Always buy the pocket door kit first and check the RSO requirements before you start opening the wall.

Rough Stud Opening (RSO) for a single door
RSO width is always twice the width of the door plus 1 1/2" (38.1 mm)
Door width RSO - width RSO - height
24" (610 mm) 49 1/2" (1257 mm) 84 1/2" (2146 mm)
28" (711 mm) 57 1/2" (1462 mm) 84 1/2" (2146 mm)
30" (762 mm) 61 1/2" (1562 mm) 84 1/2" (2146 mm)
32" (813 mm) 65 1/2" (1562 mm) 84 1/2" (2146 mm)
36" (914 mm) 73 1/2" (1867 mm) 84 1/2" (2146 mm)
Rough Stud Opening (RSO) for double doors
RSO width is always twice the width of the two doors plus 2" (50 mm)
Example: Single door width of 30" times two (60") times two (120") plus 2" = 122" (3099 mm)
RSO height: Same as for single door installations, 84 1/2" (2146 mm)

APPLICATIONS
Depending on space needed and/or available, pocket doors kits can be purchased for single or double door applications. With improvement in the hardware and the growth of the market for condominiums and town homes, there has been a resurgence of interest in this space-saving feature. Pocket doors are ideal bathrooms, closets, laundry or utility rooms, or home offices.

IS IT ALWAYS POSSIBLE TO INSTALL A POCKET DOOR?
No. Find out why not.





HARDWARE
Tracks, rollers and framing members usually come in a kit. Installation is relatively easy and fast. Locks and door pulls have to be purchased separately and come in a large variety of styles and finishings.

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