Category: Guides

Everyone wants to make the most of their space. No matter how big your home is, you want to make sure that you are not wasting any of it. How you design your rooms can affect this. While you can make clever use of your furniture and layouts to help keep your rooms spacious and efficient, they are not the only way. The design of your rooms themselves can help you maximise the use of your space. A pocket door can give even small spaces a boost, while staying private and stylish.

What is a Pocket Door?

A pocket door is a type of sliding door. Unlike traditional sliding doors, it does not need a floor rail to slide along. It slides along an upper rail into a hidden area – referred to as a pocket. This means that the door appears to disappear when it is opened.

Why Choose a Pocket Door?

A pocket door can help to make the most of the space that you have. Think about the layout of most rooms. You are likely to leave space behind a door to ensure that it has room to swing into. This is potentially wasted space that could be used for other purposes. A pocket door allows you to plan for 100% of the room’s floor plan.

A Pocket Door is particularly suitable for rooms where space is at a premium. This could mean rooms that are traditionally small parts of the house – like a laundry room or a boot room. However, it could also mean rooms that were not always separate rooms. This might include an alcove space that you have tuned into a study.

Do I need to Install a Pocket Door when I renovate?

A pocket door is a little more complicated to install than a traditional door. This is because they need a pocket to be constructed or fitted. Some walls are easier to start with than others. If you have a home with hollow walls, such as a drywall / plasterboard construction, then it is easier to fit the pocket. However, if you have solid walls, you will need to construct and artificial gap for the door to slide into.

This means that if you need to undergo further work to make a pocket door practical, it might be easier to do this while completing a broader renovation. However, if you are in an easier place to complete the installation, then you will not need to plan around it as much.

Can I install one myself?

It is perfectly possible to install a pocket door yourself. If you have some understanding of DIY, then the installation guide that comes with our kits should make fitting a pocket door simple. However, they should be within the knowledge base of most professional builders / joiners. As a result, it should not be difficult to find a professional who is capable of completing the installation for you, if you would rather not do it yourself.

To learn more about pocket doors, check out our full range, or get in touch today.

When you are redecorating your home, you need to think about a few things. You might have to consider paint schemes, new furniture, even the layout of the rooms themselves. One thing you might not have given much thought to is the doors you use in your home. Traditional doors are not always the most suitable for every space. Pocket Doors are an alternative that can make the most of your space, lend a sense of flow to your home and free up your floor.

What is a Pocket Door?

A Pocket Door is a type of sliding door. Imagine a classic sliding barn door – but in your home. It’s a little more complicated than that, however. Unlike a traditional door, the Pocket Door slides in and out of your wall. They can slide on either a rail on the floor, or an overhead track. Depending on the width of the doorway, you can use a single or a double pocket door to fill the space.

Using the interior space of your wall means that your doors can almost disappear when you are not using them, and reappear when you need them. They have been around since the Victorian Era, where they were used to separate less formal areas like Dens.

Advantages of Pocket Doors

The number one advantage of the Pocket Door is space. You don’t need to keep the same space free that a regular door needs to swing. While this is particularly suitable for smaller spaces like apartments and subdivisions of larger rooms, it also lends more space to all sorts of rooms.

A pocket door can create a sense of continuity and openness between rooms in a way that a traditional door cannot. A disappearing door can help you build a natural flow between rooms.

Disadvantages of Pocket Doors

A Pocket Door is potentially not as heavy as a traditional door. This does not mean that it isn’t study enough. It means that it might not have as much sound-deadening potential. A traditional door is supported on hinges, so it can be heavier and thicker. Both of these qualities can help block sound passing through. As a Pocket Door needs to be light enough for you to slide. As a result, you are likely to have some potential noise leakage.

How do you Fit a Pocket Door?

The most effective way to fit a pocket door is to have a professional do it. Even if you have hung a door before, this is a whole new process with more room for error.

You need to make sure that you have the space. This might seem simple, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t check before they buy. Your wall needs to be at least twice the width of the door to fit in the mechanism.

If you are replacing an existing door, you don’t need to remove the drywall around the door. However, if you are installing a pocket door for the first time, you will do. This is best handled by a professional. The door needs space to be fitted, so you may have to remove a significant section of drywall.

 

To make the most of the advantages of pocket doors, check out our full range today.

When you are remodelling your home, you need to make a few decisions. You need to decide how you want the rooms to look, how you want them to work and how you want them to flow into each other. One thing you might not have considered is the type of door you use.

How you use doors can have a greater effect on the rooms than you might realise. Traditional doors take up space. They close off areas, and require you keep an area free so that they can swing. For many types of rooms – particularly in smaller homes – this is restrictive. Pocket doors open up a range of new options.

What are pocket doors?

A pocket door is a sliding door that fits inside your wall. They disappear into a pocket within your wall. A pocket door runs on a rail or track. This can be either on the ceiling, or on the floor. You can fill any sort of interior space with pocket doors, although wider areas may need a double door.

Is a pocket door right for my house?

Pocket doors are not the same as traditional doors – either in construction or in use. They are lighter and thinner than a traditional door. Generally, this means that they are used for separating off less formal areas or subdividing a larger space. However, a pocket door can also help minimise wasted space in a smaller room, such as a bedroom in a smaller apartment. Not all walls can fit a pocket door – a solid wall would need too much work to be feasible in comparison with a false wall.

Do I need planning permission for pocket doors?

You are unlikely to need planning permission to fit a pocket door. The only time that you might need permission is if you are renovating a listed building. While there are different grades of listing, and different regulations, you would generally need to ensure that you do not damage any areas of the original building that are protected. This might cover the skirting board, the architrave or the floor boards. If you do damage or remove these, you will probably need to ensure that your renovations are in keeping with the rest of the property.

How do I design around a pocket door?

Pocket doors are not just used in smaller spaces. They can also be used to lend a sense of flow to a series of rooms. Pocket doors – when open – provide a clear pathway between different areas, while still enabling you to close areas off when you want. You can even use them to continue a design or decorative scheme that you have used throughout the room. Due to the design of a pocket door, you can cover them with the same wall paper or paint that you have used throughout the room, to continue a design theme.

Pocket doors are an easy way to maximise a space. However, there is more to them than that. They are particularly suitable for people who use wheelchairs. They can be used to section off areas of a room, such as an alcove that you use as a home office. Whatever you need a pocket door for, the Pocket Door Company can help you. Get in touch to discuss your options.