Dont purchase the junk units found at the big box stores. Johnson hardware is highly recommended by many on this forum, but you also want an installer that has experience installing pocket doors/hardware for a reliable and trouble free unit.

Here is a link that might be useful: pocket door hardware

I'll be straight forward...I HATE MINE! I had no choice and I guess if thats your case you must do it. They cause you NOT to be able to hang anything on either side of the wall it slides into. Mine marks on one side of the door from the sliding. There just seems to be no way to adjust it either to avoid the marring.

Do a pocket door ONLY if necessary. Mine door is not a cheap box store door either. My sister has one on a closet..she keeps it open most of the time because she has the same problem. I did find a super handyman, and I'm going to ask him if he can do some sort of adjustment for me. I'm hoping!

There's a thread on the same subject over in the Decor forum. One of the complaints with having the pocket door for the guest bathroom was the lack of privacy, difficulty locking, and noise in the middle of the night (from the sliding door) when overnight guests used the bathroom.

DS has pocket doors leading to his MBath and laundry and they work fine. You'll probably find you seldom close the one to the MB.

As sierra mentioned, buy a good unit and have it installed correctly. Also choose one that has an 'easy to grab' latch/handle. For areas with little floor space they can be great!

I'm with your contractor.

I put in two sets of doubles and one single at the customer's insistence for a custom home last year using pre-assembled units. Very tricky to align; tight clearances meant we could only use cheap cup handles, rather than heavy solid brass; and we reinforced the pocket door framing.

Since installation, some doors have come off track; stops and other bits have broken. The trim carpenter has been back several times. Biggest problem: they have a four-year old with a temper. (Who doesn't?)

When I used to reno old homes, there were inevitably beautiful solid wood sliders hanging broken in their pockets. We'd stick them up and cross our fingers.

We have had poocket doors in two houses now. We had them installed as one family member is physically challenged and pocket doors are much easier to open / close when you are in a wheelchair or walker.

In our prior house the builder installed them and we had no issues at all except for the locking mechanism which was 'finiky' to use. But, no scraping on either side.

In our current house which we have renovated top to bottom, much related to the family member's accessibility, the contractor installed them. If it was not due to the family memeber's need we would not have goen that route. To install a pocket door takes much more work where one did not previously exist. You nedd to build a second wall (framing, drywall, sanding, priming, painting, etc.), if you will, to create the 'pocket'. And, of course the upper and lower tracks need to be put inside the pocket before the drywall, etc..

For these two pocket doors in our family member's room, once between the bedroom and it's en suite bathroom and the other between the bedroom and it's walk-in closet, the doors do receive the markings on them when they are open and closed.

However, they do provide a lot of freed up space which is great.

Dan

i would like to install one in a new wall in our old house. i am planning on using the johnson hardware and pre-fab frame from our local HD. my question for you pocket door fans is, are there knobs available that stick out? or must you use those little cups?
kren

You can certainly put normal door knobs on. But then the doors won't open all the way into the pocket (they'll only go in up to the knobs).

Thanks for all the responses on pocket doors! Seems the decision is split on like/dislike. I have decided to only use one between the MB and closet area. It will allow more space in the closet.

I hate pocket doors. I redid my master bath last year, it was pulled out. Same for our family room. And they were of the high end type from years ago. When we purchased our home, we loved the fact they had pocket doors, seemed like cool things. Only after living with them did we become to hate them.

For doors continually in use, I would NOT recommend. They are a true pain in the butt to use all the time. If you do not have them, or have not used them in the past, give good consideration to not installing them.