Good Lord! It's supposed to retract flush with the jamb. The door might be striking something inside the wall, or they framed and installed it totally wrong. Did they order the right size door for the opening? IOW, does it close fully, or is 2-3 inches still inside the wall? If that's the case, it's the wrong size door.
Casey

I hoped it might be as simple as the wrong size door, but sadly it seems to be only an inch or maybe two as far I can see.

I just can't believe this - we have had such a hard day with the GC today. My husband finally lost patience and they had a row on the phone. He clearly thinks we are a total PITA. Now we have to bring this up.

He has also already tiled the inside wall - I just hope this can be fixed without removing the internal drywall.

I did give him printed instructions on installing the door, but I have no doubt at all that he didn't use them.

Can anyone think of a possible cause so I can make some constructive suggestions?

I am almost afraid to mention anything after the issues we had today.

He gave us such a hard time about installing this door in the first place - I really wish this hadn't happened!

>

Your contractor is an incompetent nitwit.

John

Great!
I was hoping to try and get the relationship back on track today, but now I think it's going to be another point of contention.

I can't wait until this is all over!

Is the wall that the door retracts into long enough to accomodate the door? If the door is 34" wide and the wall containing the pocket only has 32" of available width -- you've got a problem. A sliding door doesn't magically get narrower as it slides into a pocket.

Even if the wall seems wide enough, is there something inside the wall (like a vent stack or electrical junction boxes) that would limit available space?

Could it be that your contractor argued against the pocket door for this very reason?

I dont understand how this wasn't caught before your walls were covered up in the first place. Most finish carpenters out here dont hang the door in order to double check the slide, size, etc. ,but they are generally confident in their abilities. It just sounds like inexperience on your builders part.

I meant framers out in our area, not the finish carpenters. Framers out here set the pocket door frames with out any doors being onsite.

I will need to measure the pocket wall width, but it seems plenty big enough - around 40" I would say. The door opening is 30" wide, so I guess the door is too.

No electrical or plumbing in that wall - it was just framed out from scratch.

The reason he argued about it is because he thinks pocket doors are a PITA and fall of the tracks the whole time. I hope we don't have that problem along with this one!

Now I just don't know what to tell him to do. This sucks.

It doesn't matter what he wants, it's what you want and it needs to be done right. He needs to pony up and fix your door. A properly installed pocket door is as reliable as any other properly installed door and will not constantly fall off of the tracks. This guy needs to suck it up and quit spending so much time arguing about it, and fix it.

If he lacks confidence on a pocket door install,(which obviously he wont fess up to), he needs to get someone in there that can at his expense, pronto.

Part of the pocket doors frames out here are made of 1x4 #2 pine that often times have knots. It could be on your install that one of these railings cracked at a knot at some point,(usually when the drywall is being hung),and a part of that railing is protruding out and keeping the door from sliding all the way in. This wouldn't be the fault of your contractor/installer.Unfortunately it's going to involve removing drywall, one way or the other, to see what is happening.If this is the case, maybe the contractor will only charge for the materials involved with the repair and not charge time in order to cut you a break, as this would really be a no fault situation, you or them.

You need to take the pocket door out and look.

Pull the door and look, pull drwywall to fix.

He says it is hitting the end of the frame. I don't really see how that is possible unless it is wrongly installed.

I have tried to call Johnson Hardware a couple of times and hope to eventually put them on the phone with our contractor directly.

I'll have him pull out the door, but if he has installed the frame wrong, none of us knows what we are looking for.

Also the inside wall of the pocket wall is now covered in tile. Expensive tile. I can only hope we don't need to pull the tile off that wall as well.

You should only have to get at it from one side. However, if the contractor screwed up the framing, it's possible that redoing it will damage the tile installation unless they are really careful.

I really wish this wasn't happening. Communication with the GC was much better today, but he is trying to persuade us that the door is meant to be like that which I know isn't the case.

We'll just have to see what, if anything, happens tomorrow. He didn't do anything to it today and I don't want to nag, but I do want it to be resolved soon.

First of all take off the door stop molding that is nailed to the jam. Then tilt the door and remove it. It may be that something fell behind the door. Also, there should be a strip of wood running in the pocket, on each side of the door, attached to the wall, that keeps the door from wobbling and getting off track. Also, it sounds like you have a door that had installation instructions. Your GC probably didn't read the instructions because in fact he is illiterate. You'd be surprised at how often that is the case.

He says he read the instructions.
He says that he didn't cut the track but that it isn't long enough.
He spoke with Johnson Hardware on the phone this morning and no-one seems to know why this has happened.
Our GC has taken out a piece of drywall and showed me where he put the original 2 x 4 and that would have been fine, but per the instructions he inserted a second 2 x 4 and that is what is stopping the door going in fully. The track does end where the new 2 x 4 is and there is a bracket which attaches the track onto the 2 x 4. I don't know how the track would stay on without the new 2 x 4.

Should we just live with it?

What is the normal width of doorway for a bathroom?

Johnson makes different sizes of tracks and frame kits. Perhaps the one you got / he installed is shorter than required for this 30" door. Check that.

Agree, you should only have to access one side to fix it... unless the header over it is too short; that would be a problem. Contractor should definately checked to assure that the pocket kit was the right size for the door. That info, and how to adjust sizes, would have been in the instructions.

By the way, good pocket door operation is wholly dependent on the right hardware and correct installation. If you have a standard Johnson track and rollers (which standard kit is NOT that great), consider ordering their upgrade roller kit, which is ball-bearing rollers, and rated for more weight (good to oversize); costs about $50 from your supplier, and may be retrofitted to the door / track after installation. Glides like a dream; should last and operate great forever!

Also, make sure your contractor installs the little floor-mounted guides...they are two little plastic pieces that come with the kit and keep the door aligned as it glides in and out. Often left off until after trim, and thereby are forgotten and never installed, which compromises correct operation.

One final question. Did you file for your permits as Owner/Builder? If so, you are the General Contractor.

Glad it worked out well. Because of you, your GC might decide that pocket doors aren't so bad after all and your situation might help the next guy.

Maybe - or this experience might have made it worse!! I hope he will be more open minded but the fact that he had to open the wall and redo it, I can't imagine will make him more open.

I'm laughing, we want a couple of pocket doors with our renovations and our GC says he will install them but he has to tell us that he doesn't like them, they never work right and are always coming off the tracks because the hardware they sell now is inadequate. He said years ago pocket doors had rollers top and bottom. Not that way now.

So now I'm reading this thread and I am getting scared. I don't want to hear "I told you so" from our GC. Is there such a thing as hardware for top and bottom? What is a really good reliable pocket door hardware? Do they usually fall off the track?

cactuscatie-
Pocket doors are great...as long as you don't have an incompetent contractor. The house I recently sold was built in 1952 and had a pocket door to close off the kitchen. It had hardware at the top only and it was still working fine after 50 years. I also remodeled in 1991 and had another pocket door installed for a bathroom. It had hardware at the top only and it was working fine after 15 years. I think that when I hear contractors give excuses about pocket doors, it means: 1) I don't want to do it because it's more work, or 2) I've done these before and I keep screwing them up.

Hope this was on his dime - the extra stuff!

The track is never as long as twice the door width.

The first place that allows the track to be shorter is the non-pocket side. The track is held off about 2 inches to allow the bogies to be removed.

The second place is in the pocket.
Since the bogies are placed about 6 inches from the edges of the door, the track does NOT need to go all the way to the back of the pocket.

The stop for the door prevent the bogies from reaching the end of the track.

The closed rail type tracks and bogies cannot come Âoff the trackÂ.
They are completely enclosed in the track and ride on the bottom of the track.
Various older models had a ÂCÂ shape open on one side and had a lot of problems.
Modern tracks from Johnson have the opening facing downwards and use 3 wheel (or more) bogies that ride on the bottom of the track.

It sounds like the track is not mounted correctly, or the stop in the pocket is not located corerctly.

we have 2 pocket doors in our house that we built 5 yrs ago. Our contractor was against them too. I insisted. We have had absolutely no problems with them!

Thanks for your advise everyone. I remember now my contractor telling me that he installed a pocket door on another job and the customer had to call him back 3 times because it doesn't work. He blames the pocket door..hummmm makes me think he doesn't know how to install them.

Another question. Does it matter where you get the hardware. Are the kits all the same? Are there better ones?

The Johnson kits are pretty decent, but I never use the 'pre-framed' ones.
I build out a thicker wall (about the same as a wet wall). This allows electrical boxes to be installed.

Johnson has a number of different ratings on the hardware.
The 111PD line is more than adequate for most interior doors and keeps the track under 1.25 inches wide.

One of the 'tricks' is to never mount the track directly to a weight bearing header.
The header should be moved up a few inches, then a section of 2x mounted with clearance from the header, and the track attached to the 2x.
This is not required in non-weight bearing walls, but avoiding any sag in a weight bearing header will ensure the pocket hardware functions for a long time.
The only other problem I encounter is the plastic tabs used to prevent the door from swinging. They tend to scratch the portions of the door that rub against them.
I put aluminum angle in the bottom of the pocket and cut a matching groove on the bottom of the door. If the groove is stopped before the 'show' edge of the door it cannot be seen.
Another trick for panel doors is to add a strip of wood to the pocket edge the same thickness as the door and about 1-2 inches wide.
This allows the full width of the door to be used while leaving some in the pocket for noise and swing control.
Adding a stop on the non-pocket jamb also helps with sound and blocks sight (if you really want to reduce sound 'brush seals' or even felt seals around the door can help).
The split trim jamb on the top of the door should be mounted with screws (on at least one side). You will need to remove it to get the door off the bogies. Trim head square drive screws provide a good option here.

Pocket door hardware is definitely finish carpentry, not framing.
Make sure you have the correct kind of carpenter.

Thanks brickeyee. I am going to print your suggestions and give it to my carpenter. I hope he doesn't get offended :)

In our area on new builds, the framers set the pre framed jambs/tracks with no doors on site.The finish carpenters come in and set the door and trim/casings/stops,etc after drywall is hung and textured.

Im betting no where near the quality install that brickeye uses!

Holy cow. An idiot could install a pocket door. It isn't rocket science. Fire the knucklehead and get someone competent enough to finish the job.

John