Full-surround stops for pocket doors
Don’t know how many of you spend time over at the JLC forums site, but if you don’t or if you missed it, there was a discussion there about pocket door trim, from which I picked up something I will always do in future.
Full-surround stop trim for pocket doors.
Either make or buy stop moldings, sized about so.
Slide door into opening, up against finished jamb. Make sure centering guides are adjusted and set.
Notch and fit split-jamb-side stops so they clear guides at floor. Nail in place using 1/8″ spacers to clear door face. Use same spacers to fit and nail stops at top and far jamb side, both sides of door. You have now installed all six pieces.
Stand back and admire your work.
Replies
Gene -
That's an oldie but a goodie. I personally don't like the look of stop on the closing side of a pocket door, but it's a great way to hide minor jamb alignment or door adjustment problems.
I have three pocket soors in my house and one of them "moves" slightly between winter and summer. I made an adjustment wrench from some 1/8" metal and have gotten pretty good at "tweaking" the roller adjustment when I need to.
In 20 years I have never ever done it any other way! Now you have my curiosity up. What did you do with the ratty wood edges from the frame before? Ours have staples, knots, wane, etc...Like it was pallet rejected wood or something. Also, what kept the door from floating back in forth when it was closed?
I hate pocket doors by the way and today I hated them even more. Seems the tile guy pushed my door into the opening and then put down tile backer and his tile and now the door won't come out of it's hole. Tile guy said it was my problem and then he saw me going upstairs with the rotary hammer. ;-)
Go to the thread in the Finish Carpentry section of the JLC forum. Gary Katz shows it in photos and words.
The stop molding parts are installed atop the 3/4" thick trim boards that are fastened through the steel jackets of the Johnson "studs." Likewise at the top, and on the flat closing jamb face, they are railroaded so the leading edge of the door goes into a 7/16" deep pocket between them.
We've been doing our pockets using the Johnson kits in a 5" studframed opening . . . 2x6s are ripped to 5", and then the pockets are sheeted in 3/4" plywood. Thus, the pocket-face jamb trims are each about 2" wide. These stops nail to the 2" faces.
I'll probably show my ignorance here but I have never used a Johnson frame thus I don't understand what you were talking about I guess. Our crap frames come with 1x2's as "Jambs" and then we use a standard 4 9/16" jamb on the closing side. Door stop surrounds all three sides to conceal the door.The drywall is screwed to the 1x4's that span the frame and gives us a terrificly weak wall on both sides. Like I said, I hate pocket doors maybe because we use crap down here in Florida.
I typically use a Johnson 1500 kit with steel wrapped 1x2 "studs". There is a promo. video on the Johnson site that you can take a look at if you are totally unfamiliar with the product. Any time I can I add a panel of 1/2" OSB or ply to stiffen the wall.
I get my pocket door frames with a nice piece of wood (usually clear pine) on the closing side. I get the frame and track in place then hang the door. I adjust the door so the top is parallel to the track then use the door as a guide to shim and nail off the closing side jamb. When that's done, I remove the door for safekeeping. The gaps get covered by the casing.
I love pocket doors if they have decent tracks and rollers. Two of the three in my house were put in to replace the #*&!# swinging doors in the bathrooms. The only downside I've had was when DW hung a calendar in the kitchen and the nail scratched the pocket door between the kitchen and dining room.
We don't get our doors until the trim package arrives. Hopefully, the framer had a level and a framing square that day and gave a crap about his work.Been known to forget the nail lengths when running base but the best one was the cabinet installer who screwed the refrigerator upper cabinet into the pocket door with 6-3" screws. After I removed the cabinet, I noticed the 24 nail holes he made looking for the studs....
Your tile guy is likely a moron for tiling your door in it's pocket. I say likely, but clearly he is a butthead, and I am being kind, for not admitting his mistake!
WOW! kick his butt to the curb and tell everyone you know about his additude.