# Pocket Door recommendation



## Halo Jones (27 Dec 2016)

Hi All,

With Christmas out the way we are looking at next years big project. We are moving our ground floor bathroom. To comply with building regs disabled accessibility rules we are going to have to fit a pocket door. There are lots of brands out there but very little reviews. We are looking at either Eclisse or Portman at the moment but wondered if there were any recommendations out there?

I don't mind paying a bit extra for peace of mind as the last thing I want is the door getting stuck in the wall!

Should say that we want to use one of our own doors and a self closing mechanism is a must!

Thanks,

H.


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## TomGW (24 Jan 2017)

I don't have any first hand experience, but two friends, both architects, have recently used the Portman system in their own new-builds. I know that in both cases they are pleased with them and I have been sufficiently impressed that I would like to include these in our own future new-build house.


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## Halo Jones (24 Jan 2017)

Thanks Tom,

For good or bad we went with the Eclisse system after they assured us that their system could take the weight of a tiled wall. It was the self-closing accessory that sold it for us. I will try to remember to report back once I have fitted everything.

H.


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## sjalloq (15 Mar 2017)

How did you get on? I'm currently trying to chose a brand to go with.


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## Halo Jones (15 Mar 2017)

I haven't finished the install but the wall part is up. There is a definite flex in each side of the wall but i doubt you would notice it day to day. We have decided to go for a shower panel rather than tiles as i think the grout or an unlucky tile would eventually crack. The panel is just a safer option.

All the mechanisms/runners look good and the self closing and soft close parts worked nicely when I tested them.

So nothing overly negative to report but I couldn't give a full recommendation until we had lived with it finished for a while. 

Hth

H.


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## lurker (16 Mar 2017)

I dont understand why the rules might apply to you?


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## Halo Jones (16 Mar 2017)

Huh?


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## Trevsf1 (16 Mar 2017)

We have used doors from a company called Buller and they were excellent, easy to fit and not expensive. They get my recommendation.
http://www.bullerltd.co.uk/gustavson-po ... GwodAGMKdQ


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## Jacob (16 Mar 2017)

Had to look it up!
Actually they are quite common in posher Victorian and Georgian houses - as doors, as room dividers and as window shutters. Shouldn't be difficult to work your own from scratch. One plus is that as the door is top hung it can be very thin, more like panelling than a door, finished thickness say 25mm. This means it takes less thickness out of the wall and is easier to move.


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## monkeybiter (16 Mar 2017)

On that note, as a topic deviation, my previous workshop door was a slider, going into the wall cavity, running on roller blade wheels, total door thickness ~ 30-35mm.


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## lurker (19 Mar 2017)

Halo Jones":3sluhd1j said:


> Huh?



Do these regs now apply to private dwellings?
It was a genuine question, for my enlightenment.


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## jimmy_s (19 Mar 2017)

Disability regs have certinally been incorporated into the Scottish Domestic and Non Domestic Building Standards Technical Handbooks.

If you are carrying out an alteration and as part of that you are forming a new bathroom/ shower room then you are supposed to comply with the current regs. If you are moving sanitary ware about or modifying the existing bathroom then the new layout should be no worse in terms of activity space provision than it was before you started. At least thats how I understand it to be in Scotland, I would imagine English Regs will be similar.


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## Halo Jones (20 Mar 2017)

Jimmy is pretty much spot on. Our old ground floor shower room met the specifications so our new shower room also had to meet the required activity areas and "robust construction" techniques required. This pretty much means having 1.2 x 800 mm free space behind the door, not including the area the door swings into (so approx length of bathroom would need to be approx 1.9 m if using a conventional door) It also means any stud walls should have 18mm plywood in the walls around showers, sinks etc so grab holds can be placed anywhere.

Our new bathroom is only 1.5 x 1.8 m so we decided on a pocket door rather than an outward opening door. All told it has been a bit of a pain but we are getting there!


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## sjalloq (12 Apr 2017)

I popped down to see Portman Doors today and had a look at their factory showroom. Nice equipment so I'll go with them. One thing to note is that you can buy just the rail and the door hangers for about £65 compared to ~£400 for the full kit. A good option if you're doing something out of the ordinary.


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## a4mative (15 Apr 2017)

Hi, 
I needed two sets of pocket doors for Bathroom ensuite. Like you I wanted the soft close. I chose the klug system.
http://www.ironmongerydirect.co.uk/sear ... ext=Pocket.

It was a bit of a pita to get everything nice and particularly sliding correctly as the doors were right on the limit weight wise for the soft close mech. That being said for the cost, I wouldn't hesitate to use them again and plan to in our kitchen extension. I have included a few pics, exuse the WIP.


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## sjalloq (29 May 2017)

So I thought I'd ask for some advice on this thread as it's relevant.

I've decided on the Portman hardware but am getting just the track and runners rather than the whole kit. The wall that makes up the pocket needs to be tiled and the chaps said the Z-corrugation isn't up to holding a backer board and tiles. It's fine for plasterboard but that's it.

So I'm looking at how best to construct my stud wall to fit a 35mm door. The kit allows 4mm either side of the door for wiggle room so that leaves only 28.5mm either side for studding if I want to use a standard 100mm 2x4 for the head plate.

So option 1, take some 38*63mm CLS studs and plane them down to 28.5mm and construct a lattice frame using half lap joints at say 300mm centres. Is that sensible or a no-no?

Option 2, as above but using the CLS studs as is. That would result in a final wall thickness of (38*2)+8+35 = 119mm. I could flush the studding on the outside of the 2x4 and on the inside, where the tiles will be fixed, pad out the 19mm overhand with 3/4" board or plasterboard.

I think I like option 2 a bit more having written it down. Any issues anyone can see? I'll be using the studding with the long side in the same plane of the wall which I guess is 90 degrees to its standard usage.

I feel like I'm overthinking this a bit. How strong does the wall need to be to take backer board and tiles?


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