The pocket door is a clever solution to save space in your home.
Disappearing inside the partition when it is opened to its maximum, it allows optimal use of the space usually dedicated to the passage of doors.
What distinguishes it from the sliding door?
How does it work and what type of partition is it compatible with?
Our answers.
To discover
January: what vegetables and fruits are in season?
Pocket door and sliding door: what are the differences?
The sliding door
is a piece of joinery whose main characteristic lies in its side opening.
Perfect for contemporary interiors where optimization of square meters is essential, it is available in various decoration styles: glass, wood, aluminum or PVC.
There are even “sliding door kits” designed to transform a simple panel into elegant joinery.
The pocket door
is a sliding door which is distinguished by its recess into the wall.
This particularity makes it almost invisible when open, which limits visual clutter and allows full opening without obstructions.
The integration of the joinery into the wall frees up an area where it is possible to hang frames, arrange furniture or even create storage spaces.
In addition, the pocket door is the ideal joinery for arrangements for PMR (People with Reduced Mobility).
Its side opening, requiring no clearance space, is practical for people using a wheelchair.
There are several models of pocket doors:
the single-leaf door
and
the double-leaf door
which opens on both sides of the upright.
The latter is often used for large openings: it allows a wider passage when the two leaves are deployed simultaneously.
How does a pocket door work?
The operation of a pocket door is based on a simple system: a frame is integrated into the wall, which houses a rail mechanism and other structural parts, such as sliding carriages, guiding and fixing devices.
What type of partition is suitable for installing a pocket door?
Generally, pocket doors are installed with
plasterboard partitions
.
Light but strong, they have the necessary characteristics to effectively support the mechanism and the door.
It is preferable to consider installing a pocket door as part of
creating a partition
, because the technical specificities of the installation will be taken into account from the design stage.
During a renovation, the process can be more complex.
It is sometimes necessary to demolish part of the partition to insert the pocket system.
Also note that this process cannot be carried out in a load-bearing wall.
Although it is possible to create a double partition to accommodate the sliding door, increasing the thickness of the wall will result in a significant loss of space in the room.