Pocket Door

[DrivingMissLazy]

I drilled a 5/16 inch hole in the upper right corner of the door frame all the way thru to the inside of the bath. I drilled it first with the door open and then with the door closed. I found a nice stainless rod that fit a little snug in the hole and went clear thru. It works great and you can lock the door open or closed from either side.
Richard

[FloridaCliff]

I used a standard 1 3/8" hollow core oak for ours, cut it down to the proper height, used standard pocket door hardware and frame, also cut to size. Very light and easy rolling. I will see how it holds up, been in for about a year now.

FWIW,

Paul

Paul,

Thats what I did also.  I put in one for the bedroom and one on the half bath.

I was willing to give up a few inches to use there design and hardware...

Cliff

[philiptompkjns]

How are you guys using pocket doors on buses with non-raised roofs (except for later models that have more headroom)?  I'd love to have pocket doors, but I can't sacrifice the room to frame to get a straight surface.  It seems like there's too much curve in the ceiling to mount some sort of track directly on it.  Has anybody successfully installed a pocket door without framing down any?  I seem to remember a while back somebody had a door that slid on drawer slides...

David

This is was a concern of  mine as well as I am 6'5".  I could picture a pocket door with a curved top track that would open towards the center of the bus (uphill).  Then you might need some sort of counterweight system or its going to be really hard to operate because your going to be lifting the door about a foot every time you open it.   Anyone have any ideas as to weather this'll work out?
I decided against the above mentioned idea anyway because I wanted to insulate both the bedroom door  and wall and I can't really see that working out with a pocket door anyway.

The best place for a pocket door in my bus looks like the poop house.  I have decided that it needs a door for a variety of reasons. and that door will work because it goes front to back (no curve)
Now I have a few pocket door questions...
I have never installed one before, but I've seen/used them in houses and S&S MH's....
I'm wondering things like:
How much of a gap is  required for the door?  Just the width of the  door  plus 1/4" on each side? 
I guess the overall width of the wall would depend a lot on the thickness of the wall material and door... but is there any other framing other than  a  track or rail screwed to the ceiling?
Should  the door be longer than the door-hole? so you won't be able to see behind it while it's closed? If so how much longer?
And what hardware do you guys recommend for the bus?
I've operated some house pocket doors that were horrible and would bind up all the time, and I've used others that were smooth as could be.
Is that kind of stuff available at HD? or is that more of a special order thing? Or is all the pocket door stuff at HD  really poo?
I've also included the most revised version (after taking some of you guys and a girlfriends advise into account) of my sketch showing my pocket door application.  I wan't it about 28" long and to side into a  28" wall.
Also, should I have started a new thread?  I was searching for pocket door stuff and this seems like the most relevant thread but it's a little older than me.

Thanks,
Philip

[HighTechRedneck]

What if the pocket door used drawer slides at the top and bottom and a roller at the bottom of the leading edge of the door to help support it instead of being suspended from a track above it?  That way no lifting is involved and nothing is overhead to cause you clearance problems.

[Ace]

I used full extension drawer slides on mine which is a piece of 3/4 inch plywood and covered all sides with laminate! No problem yet!

[philiptompkjns]

I used full extension drawer slides on mine which is a piece of 3/4 inch plywood and covered all sides with laminate! No problem yet!

oh yeah, that would solve the problem of going uphill.  It still seems like you couldn't use a pocket door for a center isle doorway though.

[JackConrad]

   With a drawer slide at the top and bottom of the door, the slides must be parallel for smooth operation. With a center aisle, the tallest the door can be is the floor to ceiling height at the lowest corner of the door when open, less the thickness required for the hinges (usually about 1/2" per hinge).  You should see Ace's door in person, he did a gtreat job.  Jack

[philiptompkjns]

It does sound cool.

you got any build pictures? or just finished pictures Ace?


Does everyone have a wall covering each side on the pocket door? Or is it acceptable to leave one side un-coverd... then it would just be a sliding door I suppose.
I was thinking that leaving the inside wall of the toilet room open might be acceptable, or does that look like trash?
Leaving the inside open in my case would open up several more inches around the toilet area with the door in the closed position.

What do ya'll think?

[JackConrad]

Here is a photo of our bathroom door. There is no wall on the bathroom side and a mirror is installed on the bathroom side.  Jack

[dougyes]

Here is how my friend made a heavy duty pocket door on our first 4104:
track: round steel rod
sliders: 2 linear bearings
He custom bent brackets to mount the bearings to the door top and to mount the steel rod to the ceiling. Worked like a charm.

[philiptompkjns]

Here is a photo of our bathroom door. There is no wall on the bathroom side and a mirror is installed on the bathroom side.  Jack

Wow Jack, that is a first class looking interior.  That will be some great inspiration for me, thanks.

[Skykingrob]

Phillip
Let me give you a source that you can go to to see if that will work for you. The link is www.rockler.com, when on the site, search for 30839 and 30818. This is not what I used but is what many used. I have a cabinet company here in Springfield that will make cabinet doors 3/4" thick with raised panels on both sides. I had him build me doors. They weight about 45 pounds each and operate on regular pocket door hardware. I put 3/32" gap between the door and the door opening on each side. To put tension on the door itself, I used horizontal strips back inside the "pocket" which have marine carpet stapled to them. The carpet just holds pressure on the door as it opens and closes. One of my doors operates very well, the other is a little to tight but I suspect will get looser with time. Hope the link helps, they have a ton of door hardware. If you don't see what you want, do a goole search for "pocket door hardware". You will find a bunch.

Rob
91 Prevost LeMirage XL
Missouri

[gus]

Unless you just like to make your bus heavier and love to make complicated things, a lightweight folding, plastic wood grained door from HD works very well.