Roomscape? Anyone ever heard of that word? I’m sure it’s widely used somewhere, but for the time being I’m under the delusion that I made it up! I made it up because I was looking for an interesting word to describe the way a room feels; the way it looks; and the way it flows !
I’m going to show you a super cool way to make it better!
Wish You Had A Pocket Door?
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in people’s homes and had them say to me, “I just wish they would have put a pocket door here when they built this place. It’s been driving me nuts for years!”
These owners are often unwilling to part with the money it takes to tear out the drywall, remove and alter framing, install a pocket door frame, maybe re-route electrical and/or plumbing, and fix it all just to get that pocket door.
Pocket doors are great space savers because they eliminate the space needed for the door to swing, and they open up wall space where the door would normally “park” when open. They just aren’t the easiest thing to do after-the-fact! Enter this great new product…
Wall-Mounted Sliding Door Hardware
How cool is that? This new hardware from Johnson Hardware does some great things:
- Allows you to retro-fit a pocket “like” door where there is a swinging door now.
- Gives you an option to close off a dining room or home office in a classy manner (easily!)
- Just plain looks cool!
I promise you that you’ll be seeing this in new houses that could have easily installed a pocket door. They want to show off the door, and the cool hardware. I know because I’ve installed similar systems in some high-end projects. Do this, and you’ll be on the cutting edge.
It’s Johnson
I’m not getting paid a penny to tell you this, but I want you to know that Johnson makes some great hardware. I learned this the hard way unfortunately. The chief complaint about pocket doors is that they don’t operate properly. I’ve had to fix more than I care to remember.
Even in recent years I’ve had jobs finish only to get a call-back on the pocket door hardware. When I went to look…they put in the cheap stuff. It’s hard to believe because every time I ever send a carpenter after a pocket door frame, I tell him “Get the Johnson, make sure it’s the Johnson .” Literally…just like that!
So, you can rest easy with this hardware. It’s the Johnson Hardware’s Series 200 Wall Mount. You can buy it at Home Depot, Lowes, and local building supply outfits nationwide. (if they don’t have it in stock, you can special order the one you need)
Thanks, RG. This is exactly what I’ve been looking for (want to have some sliding panels that can be used to partially close off part of our family room. Now, just to figure out if I can use them on the portion of dropped soffit that includes the HVAC ductwork?
Oh – right! Great! Now to convince the hubby 🙂
Very cool! I guess I’m one of the lucky ones since they DID install the pocket door a hundred years ago when this house was built! But I’ll be sure to save that idea for later! It would look very cool in a dining room or office, or a master bath …
I’m glad to hear that this might work for you. I would think there has to be a way to make it work where the soffit is. If you can find the wood framing of the soffit, you should be able to attach to that without damaging the ductwork.
I am wishing I didn’t have pocket doors Tim! Upstairs they made pocket doors for the 3 bedrooms out of plywood!!! They are noisy and very hard to shut- no way to be quiet when the guests are here especially in the middle of the night when one needs to use the powder room!!
blessings
mary
LOVE this. I need to figure out if it would work for our situation (ceiling slants and there might be a wall in the way). If I can convince my husband to try this, do you think that there is a way to salvage the existing door? Maybe hang it? Is that how this system works?
Can you add a locking mechanism to these doors?
With regard to the question above re: locking mechanism. Could you use this sliding door for a hall bathroom? So much space is wasted in that room by the door that can’t open clear against the wall.
Hi Judie,
It looks like I missed Maria’s question, but the answer is yes. There are a number of hardware mechanisms that work for sliding doors which you want to lock. The specific lockset depends on how to door hits the jamb (the side of the opening where the lock/handle would be). You can find these online, or by taking a sketch of your door and opening to a local hardware shop. Amazon.com sells some that might work: Sliding Door Hardware Lock at Amazon
Just be careful to make sure you consider safety and building codes. (doors that are difficult to unlock can be unsafe in an emergency)