Shop door - redux

[Bas]

Shop demolition is proceeding slowly but slowly. This work thing keeps getting in the way! Wall #1 (which ran left-right)is almost completely removed, and the drywall is off wall #2.

Yes, wall #2 is a very odd wall. There is only two feet between this wall and the partition wall behind it. I have no idea what the function of this nook was. Storage? noise buffer? Someone misread the plans? At any rate, I'm reclaiming some space.

View image in gallery​

I thought about removing the wall (with the remaining pocket door that opens to another part of the shop) behind #2 as well, but I'm going to keep it. It will help keep noise the noise down, and confine the dust to this room, which is important. But the pocket door has to go. The door opening is only 29" wide, which is too narrow to easily move projects and tools.

My original plan was to take out the pocket door and reframe for a conventional 36" door (which I already have). Jeff (jlwest) asked in a previous thread if I could use the 36" door as a pocket door...which I can't. But it got me thinking. What if I left the pocket door in, and put the one I just took out of wall #2 next to it! Now I have an opening of almost 60", without any loss of space in the shop due to the doors swinging out.

Here is a closer look at how wall #2 is framed. I can only assume that the wall behind it is framed identical, which helps visualize things. (Just for absolute clarity, the wall that's just a frame is going to go, the wall that's still drywalled and currently has one pocket door would get a double pocket door.)

View image in gallery​

In theory, I could take off all the drywall, remove the three studs on the left hand side, remove the blocking, cut out most of the bottom plate, add the jack studs on the left hand side, remove the header and replace it with one twice as long, add the blocking back in, then cut out the jack studs in the middle. Reverse the pocket door on the right (so it slides open to the right and closed to the left), and install the pocket door on the left. Tadaa!

I'm a bit concerned about stability. There are metal supports (one is depicted above) that screw into metal brackets that are attached to the floor and header that help keep everything from moving, and I suppose I could use a larger header (e.g. 2x8 or even 2x10). That would help. The other part I'm concerned about is getting everything to line up properly. If I don't get the track right exactly, the doors may not meet properly which would look very sloppy.

Am I nuts to try and retrofit things this way? I was thinking that having one already installed would make it easy to copy things, but that may be wishful thinking. Then again...I searched for a kit for a double pocket door, and there doesn't appear to be such a thing, meaning using two individual kits is the standard way to do things.

:dontknow: :dontknow: :dontknow:

 

[McRabbet]

Two comments -- First, be absolutely sure any wall you remove is not a load-bearing wall or you'll be in a heap of hurt. Second, have you looked into the sliding door mechanisms that Tractor Supply has? They are designed for doors on barns (or Norm Abrams shop) and slide on a metal track -- something you might want to consider in that nook.

 

[Bas]

Two comments -- First, be absolutely sure any wall you remove is not a load-bearing wall or you'll be in a heap of hurt.

Thanks Rob. I had an engineer come out and look at the walls before I started busting them out, the walls with pocket doors run parallel to the floor joists. The wall I took out has a steel girder running above it in a soffit. So I'm quite sure. But it definitely pays to double check these things!

Second, have you looked into the sliding door mechanisms that Tractor Supply has? They are designed for doors on barns (or Norm Abrams shop) and slide on a metal track -- something you might want to consider in that nook.

Are you talking about this?


That's pretty much what I have for the pocket doors. Maybe not quite as beefy, but certainly strong enough. What I do like is that the rail is 144" long - long enough to have one continuous track for both doors. Should be simpler to manage than lining up two sections.

 

[Gotcha6]

Don't worry about the alignment of the doors when they close. You'll probably get more heartache from warpage in the doors. Just be sure the tracks are level and the pocket centered in the wall. The pulley brackets for the top of the door are adjustable in both Y & Z axes (X doesn't matter - it's the track axis). Also, get them adjusted BEFORE you install your stops and be sure you have a center bump stop on the track to keep the doors from coming out of the pockets entirely(DAMHIKT).
Also, check the screws supporting the track. Over time they can work out and they are a PITA to fix.
Good Luck.

 

[Travis Porter]

That wall placement is odd. Maybe they meant to make a closet and forgot to cut out the opening.

As for doors on a track, I think you can make it work. I don't think you have an issue with support or stability since it is not load bearing. Since it isn't load bearing, I would think you could just put a longer header in and be done with it.

It will look pretty bad if you don't do a good job up front, but you have enough tools and experience I doubt it will be an issue for you. Get it square, plumb and level and you should be good.



My only concern is where the two doors come together in the middle, especially at the bottom. Door and such have a tendency to want to warp/twist and yours will be unsupported in the middle.