How to Install, Adjust, or Remove a Pocket Door

Stylish, elegant, and space-saving, pocket doors disappear when opened to solve space problems and ensure a clean look. The metal and wood cage that the pocket door slides into is usually installed when the walls are framed. If not, you can buy a pocket door kit, which includes all of the hardware for the door, and build it into the existing wall. If you're looking to update your style and remove a pocket door or install a new one, here's how to do it.

Pocket door systems are all installed in roughly the same way, which means installing one is usually the same no matter where you bought it. Follow these instructions to install a pocket door:

1. Construct the opening or modify an existing opening if you're replacing a pocket door.
2. Adjust the pocket door header-and-track assembly to fit, cutting it to the required length with a hacksaw if it's too long.
3. Start with the top jamb and install the header-and-track assembly with the brackets and fasteners. The end plate should then be nailed to the wall studs.
4. Attach the split jamb stiffeners to the floor bracket. Plumb them with a level before nailing the brackets to the floor; then nail the split jamb to the header. The middle pocket stiffeners are installed the same way.
5. On the top of the door, fix the hanging hardware and slide the wheel hangers into the track. Hang the door on the two hangers and adjust until it's plumb. If you have a handle or lock, install it now before removing the door to install drywall over the door pocket.
6. Place drywall tape and a few coats of drywall compound to the joints and reinstall the door.
7. At the mouth of the pocket, install the door guides on the inside and outside of the door. Make the door flush by nailing the two-piece side and head jambs to each side of the door.
8. Install the strike plate and nail the door casing to the jamb and the pocket door studs.

Pocket doors are designed to be removed with some ease. Slide the door to just a few inches of being closed and release the clip that's closest to the strike side of the door. Grab the edge and slide it toward the strike and then pull it toward you. When the door is at an angle and past the jamb, you can pull it off completely.

Pocket doors are installed with adjustment in mind. Look for the narrow space at the top of the door where the nuts meet the hanger. Turn the nut clockwise to raise the door and counterclockwise to lower the door. If the door leans crookedly, adjust the opposite nut for an even hang.