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Tralfaz
Tralfaz Reader
5/17/15 7:28 a.m.
patgizz wrote: yeah johnson hardware costs a fortune. i was trying to get a triple bypass closet door setup for my bedroom and they were the only ones that made the tracks, and it was going to cost close to $800 for the tracks and wheels. i have probably 2 customers who are willing to pay for their products if needed.

Everything is relative. Johnson is a bargain next to the HAWA stuff we sometimes use.

SVrex is spot on. It's easily doable with quality work and products

DILYSI Dave
DILYSI Dave MegaDork
5/17/15 8:25 a.m.

I'll be a voice of decent. I grew up in a house built in the late 80's, so it had the pressed hollow doors and I know the builder didn't drop a grand on hardware. But he did love pocket doors. I think there were 5 in the house. Even being surrounded by teenagers, I never saw one with issues.

SVreX
SVreX MegaDork
5/17/15 1:19 p.m.
OHSCrifle wrote: I find pocket doors made to fit in a 2x4 stud space to be quite flimsy. If you have the space, frame real stud walls on either side of that flimsy crate they call "the pocket" amd stiffen the whole wall up substantially.

No it won't.

Unless you buy a pocket door frame designed for a 2x6 or thicker wall, you will still have flimsy.

In fact, it could be worse, because the 2x4 pocket door frames get some of their strength from the Sheetrock attached the the frame. If you put one of these frames in a thicker wall, the Sheetrock won't be secured to the pocket door frame, and it will be more flimsy.

A 2x4 pocket door frame is built for a 4 1/2" thick wall. When you subtract 2 thicknesses of Sheetrock, a 1 3/8" door, and required gaps each side, you are left with 3/4" wall framing. So, you are right, the 2x4 pocket door frames are flimsy. But you can't make them stronger just sticking them in a thicker wall.

Flight Service
Flight Service MegaDork
5/17/15 1:27 p.m.

I just wanna see finished pics

OHSCrifle
OHSCrifle HalfDork
5/17/15 6:36 p.m.

In reply to SVreX:

I mean real stud walls oriented parallel.. with the 3.5" pocket kit sandwiched in between them.

All the old homes with pocket doors, had walls much thicker than 4.5".

SVreX
SVreX MegaDork
5/17/15 7:35 p.m.

In reply to OHSCrifle:

I understand what you were describing, but there would be no way to secure the 3 1/2" pocket door frame kit to the 2 stud walls that were sandwiching it, and the frame would not have Sheetrock on it. It would be a MORE flimsy.

The walls would be sturdier, but the pocket door frame would be flimsier, and the door would be more prone to binding.

You are right the old style walls were much thicker, but they also did not have a frame that was integrated into the design of the roller track. The walls were the walls, and the roller track was independent. That's not how new pocket door frames and hardware works.

Plus, your idea would make the finished wall 11 1/2" thick. Newer houses don't have enough square footage to give up that much to wall thickness.

Rusnak_322
Rusnak_322 Dork
5/18/15 1:46 p.m.

Not sure what your décor is like, but I had a house with barn door hardware in my basement. They concealed two huge walls that hid the washer/dryer and water tank. The panels were built with 2x4 and probably weighed 300 lbs each. They never had an issue. You could make the hardware part of your decoration or hide it.

https://www.google.com/search?q=interior+barn+doors&biw=1119&bih=1041&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=lzNaVazyHIq3sAWehYCwBg&sqi=2&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAg

Barn

Since this is GRM – how about something like this? Bonus points for installing a opener.

roll up

RossD
RossD PowerDork
5/18/15 2:17 p.m.

I have a closet that has a maybe 30" wide opening with hollow core French doors. The doors then are only sticking into the hallway by 15" or so.

Please ventilate the room with an exhaust fan and a transfer opening in the wall. Use the space between the studs as the transfer duct and put one grille high and the other low to keep the sound transmitted down.

SVreX
SVreX MegaDork
5/18/15 2:57 p.m.

Barn door hardware is gorgeous, and generally works very well. It virtually never jumps the track, because it is not concealed in the wall with tight tolerances.

Pricetag will start at 3-4X the cost of a pocket door, and can be a lot more, depending on the door.

DrBoost
DrBoost UltimaDork
5/18/15 4:26 p.m.

Why not just build the barn hardware inside the wall? I don't see any reason why not. ????

OHSCrifle
OHSCrifle HalfDork
5/18/15 9:07 p.m.

In reply to SVreX:

You made sense the first time.. when I read it a 2nd time.

And fair point in the 2nd post also, regarding wall thickness.

I was visualizing attaching the flimsy 1x pocket frames to additional stud framing, with some screws - not just letting it float inside.

Regardless, I see what you mean.

oldopelguy
oldopelguy SuperDork
5/18/15 9:28 p.m.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/national-hardwarereg%3B-5116-box-rail-galvanized-8-ft?cm_vc=-10005

Plus two of:

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/national-hardwarereg%3B5005-box-rail-hanger-zinc?cm_vc=-10005

Plus reasonable carpentry skills should let you build your own pocket door out of any old door and have it be worry free for years.

SVreX
SVreX MegaDork
5/19/15 7:13 a.m.

In reply to oldopelguy:

The OP didn't say he was looking for a cool visual element, nor that he had a particular love for the sliding mechanism.

He said he was trying to conserve space.

Barn door style hardware is surface mount, and makes the wall space on 1 side essentially unusable.

I am not getting the impression this is a "feature door".

I am getting the impression this s a low usage, utilitarian, space saving application.

Standard pocket doors are good for that.

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