How Victorian Pocket Doors Work

Victorian Pocket Doors

• The pocket door has no hinges, and when open, it slides into a compartment in the wall, effectively disappearing. Many Victorian houses have relatively small rooms compared to the modern era, and these doors were often used when a hinged door had no room to swing out. Generally, the pocket doors travel by rollers attached to overhead tracking or have floor tracks. Depending on the width of the entry, pocket doors may be single or double.

Floor-Track Doors

• Floor-track doors are often found in earlier Victorian houses. These doors roll in and out of the wall opening on rollers on a metal track in the floor. The track may rest on the surface of the floor or is recessed into it. Antique floor-track doors often stick, warp or do not move all the way in or all the way out of the pocket. Doors on floor tracks may go off the track, a relatively simple thing to fix by lifting and realigning it into the track. Due to houses' settling over time, floors may bow. Place approximately 1/4-inch shims underneath the track to alleviate this issue.

Top-Hung Doors

• The later 19th century saw the installation of top-hung pocket doors. Found more often today than floor-track doors, the top-hung doors have wheels running in a track above the doorway in a specially-designed recess. As technology progressed in the 19th century, top-hung pockets door tracks became available in single or double roller or trolley styles. To fix these doors, try adjusting the roller height. If gaping, make sure the door itself has not warped over time.

Creating a Pocket Door

• If you want to install a pocket door to replace a standard, hinged door, make sure the doorway wall can bear loads. If the walls run parallel to the joists, they generally are not load-bearing, while walls at right angles to the joists often are. Use a stud sensor to determine the location of ceiling joists. Non-load-bearing walls may be modified to support the pocket doors. Remove any coverings, such as the plaster or wallboard, to expose studs. Remove the current door frame, the beam above it, the studs above the beam and all studs interfering with the need to widen this opening for your requirements.