We are also looking at soft close mechanisms for our pocket doors. We are looking at KNCrowder and Richelieu. Would love comments on the same question - is it worth the price? Also, we have an existing pocket door and we really only want a track system that we can use to retrofit our existing frame. Suggestions?

My builder installed them and they do not work. Everytime they adjust them (factory rep came twice to assist) withing a day then stop working. Also, in my experience the parts are not made for heavy door or heavy use. I am using mine with the soft close pistons removed. An expensive way to get hardware to work.

Haefele all the way!

What happens if something goes wrong with the soft close? Should you open the wall? Is the regular system safer if the door is heavy? Just curious

Check out Anderson millwork here on houzz as he has a thread here about them and they look great. They are glass pocket doors.

Ken

Paige DiMercurio how did the soft close work on the pocket doors?

I would think that you would want a soft close system with a class panel door

We are installing 2 heavy (about 200 pounds each) pocket doors. We are using Real Sliding Hardware...is going worth the soft close worth it? We would rather not put the money in this spot if it's just overkill?

tatts thinks he's the "board monitor" telling people when and what to post. L

200 lb doors won't be easy to open and close, even with good hardware. They may just stay open after awhile and then the cat sleeps on the couch, like my house.

Leann Hilll, we are happy we are happy we went with the soft close. It gives us peace of mind when guests and children use the heavy doors. Protects both fingers and the doors. I also agree with canamrider07, the soft close helps the heavy doors slide open and close.

Nice!

thanks guys. I agree, will most likely just keep the door open most of the time...and the dog will sleep on the couch :) thanks for the feedback. helpful

For pocket doors with a Soft Close mechanism on both sides your door needs to be at least 34" (860 mm) wide – so that can you fit two soft close mechanisms within the track.

For most installations thought it makes sense to use a Push-to-Open mechanism on the pocket cavity side – you release the door from the cavity with just a gentle push and you completely eliminate the dreaded edge pull.

There are several vendors that offer these modern pocket doors, such as Angelbau (see the Dorsis Belport pocket door).

https://www.angelbau.com/dorsis-belport-tall-floor-to-ceiling-pocket-door.html

Our contractor installed a KNC Crowder soft-close pocket door for us, and we find it SOooo difficult to open. It's a heavy slab door, and it requires a lot of strength to get it past the soft close mechanism when opening it. We installed it in a powder room, and there is no way my little kids would be able to get out. Any advice??

@eatdrinkandbemary The first thing to investigate is the soft close mechanism itself and potentially the entire track. In our experience most German and Swiss pocket door hardware performs extremely well. The weight of the door slab should not be a concern — the soft-close mechanism that we ordinarily use for our Dorsis Belport pocket doors works seamlessly with doors that weight up to 176 lbs (80 kg) and a small child can operate it without applying any force.

So, I would recommend looking into replacing the the soft-close but potentially replacing the entire track with something like Häfele.