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Turns Out Space-Saving Pocket Doors Have A Few Downsides
By MARCO ROSSI
Pocket doors are popular in high-end homes, as they’re more elegant than regular swinging doors. They’re also useful in small spaces but have drawbacks you need to be aware of.
Since pocket doors operate on a track, they have gaps along the bottom. They also have a slight gap where the doors meet when closed, so they don't shut as tightly as hinged doors.
As a result, they don’t block out noise, light, or smells as well as regular swinging doors, so they’re unsuitable for private places like bedrooms, bathrooms, or nurseries.
Pocket doors are also usually more lightweight, so less soundproof, and while more expensive models may be solid, they’re heavier and cause more wear on tracks and wheel carriers.
The doors can fall off the tracks or get stuck in the pockets, and the plastic hardware can crack. To repair the tracks or wheel carriers, you need to break into the wall cavity.
Their tracks can also get clogged with built-up dust, hair, and grime — even mice can get inside. Unfortunately, you’d have to remove the doors from their pockets to clean them.