As the cost of buying, building and remodeling houses continues to skyrocket, architects, home builders and homeowners are seeking strategies to get more from less space. In the world of home building, afterall, space is money. Building a new home or adding onto an existing one costs from about $60 to $120 per square foot. Add the costs of heating, cooling and maintaining that space and it's easy to see that every inch counts.

One home product that can help maximize space is the pocket door. Rather than swinging like a hinged door, a pocket door slides into a hollow cavity or "pocket" in the wall. It is actually a conventional door mounted on rollers that glide along an overhead track.

When this type of door is used, the architect or home builder can eliminate from the floorplan the space normally required for the door's swing, which can total 10 square feet or more.

A closer look at pocket doors
Today's pocket door hardware is far more advanced than that used on older doors. Though many older types that ride on steel rollers are noisy, balky or jump the tracks, today's systems have smooth, quiet axle-mounted, Nylon rollers--or deluxe ball-bearing rollers-- and metal tracks designed for smooth, trouble-free operation.

Nearly any type of door--flush, panel, louvered, glazed--may be mounted on pocket door hardware as long as the hardware is rated to handle its size and weight.

Most hardware is designed for 1 3/8-inch thick hollow-core doors weighing up to about 75 pounds but you can buy heavy-duty hardware that will support 1 3/4-inch thick solid-hardwood doors weighing up to 175 pounds.

A single manufacturer may offer several options; for example, Cox Hardware makes different roller/track combinations for a variety of door sizes and weights.

Pocket door systems are offered either as kits or as pre-assembled units. The pre-assembled types, sold through lumberyards and home-improvement centers, include a jamb, hanger track and pre-made cage that, when finished, becomes the pocket.

The cage is framed with lightweight lumber, yielding a weaker wall than a conventional 2 by 4-framed wall. The installer just fits the unit into a pre-framed rough opening, fastens it in place, applies the wall surface and finishes the opening with casing trim. Last, the door is hung from the track.

The kit type is only slightly more involved to install but most are stronger because they utilize steel reinforced, split studs. Because kits are knocked-down into flat packages, they're easier than pre-assembled types to transport and handle.

For example, one of the larger manufacturers, Johnson Hardware, makes a cut-to-length universal frame header, fully steel-reinforced split jamb and stud uprights, and removable track hardware. The kit is designed for very fast installation into a pre-framed rough opening.

Complete instructions make this a manageable job for do-it-yourselfers. Standard sizes are for doors up to 3 feet wide and 6'8" tall but systems may be special-ordered for larger doors.