Definitely helpful. I have a relatively new pocket door installed during a contractor remodeling. The door came off its' rollers and the video allowed me to understand how much work is involved to gain access to the track and reinstall the rollers.
Super helpful and clear! Thank you!! Really appreciate the mention of using the putty knife and exacto blade and being careful when removing the wood trim. I was able to *finally* fix our sliding pocket door that was dragging on the floor and was able to put the trim back on so it just the trim needs a paint/caulk touch up.
Thank you so much for your video, you saved my husband and I!! We were trying to figure out how the door was attached and your explanation helped us determine our door's connection - even though it is different from your door, your explanation helped us figure it out. Thank you thank you thank you!
Awesome video. I watched a few before this one with lingering uncertainty, but yours was the best and now I feel ready to complete the task at hand. Thank you.
Very informative and professionally detailed. Thanks for taking time out to do this. Now I can fix my bathroom door which has been broken for over two years now.
The video was competently done and informs me what to expect and think about before working on my own door tomorrow. Great help. Thanks! It's too bad google makes it so complicated to make a brief compliment like this one.
Good luck, man. These are usually easier than they appear, though finding replacement parts may be a problem. If the rollers have slipped off, you might find a magnet on a stick to be useful for retrieving the little car.
The rails in my pocket door damaged, and I've been looking for a video to tell me how to repair it without damaging the wall, this was not what I was looking for but it was helpful. Thank you
A lot of times you just have to bite the bullet and pull off the drywall, then replace all the hardware. If you are going through the effort, it may be best to get a whole new kit. The hardest part is the drywall, and matching the paint -- as long as it's not knockdown the drywall is pretty easy. I got to be pretty good at doing drywall because my teenage boys kept putting body parts and hockey sticks into walls. There are some good videos of drywall technique here on UA-cam. Good luck!
It's in a basement with a floating ceiling (tile ceiling) I tour the old rail out, and bolted the new one in through the top 2x4. Didn't have to cut through any drywall, which is good cuz its a rental property. Thanks anyways
If you need to replace the track, you DO NOT typically need to remove any drywall. Carefully remove the trim/casing on the pocket side, and then the split jamb. You can then reach in and remove the screws holding the track to the frame at the top, with a little ingenuity you could even design a tool that makes this part easier, so your arm doesn't have to reach in, but unless you do a lot of these, it's not worth it. I have long skinny arms & a compact cordless driver, so I don't have any trouble. Replacing the track in this manner takes me about 2 hours.
Very professional and detailed repair solution. Super helpful in understanding the process. Any homeowner may need a bit more "How to" on removal of the casing trims so as not to damage them. Great job.
Hey Dave, as you've mentioned about Goggle+, I would agree with you about the problems that continue to exist. Funny that you mention comments. As for me, in the past, I would get all activity such as uploads from subscribers, comments, etc. to my private email address. Now, that doesn't happen. And checking on gmail, or looking at the notification icon bell, it's a hit or miss. Sometimes I'll just randomly go over to one of my videos and lo and behold there's a comment that I never knew about. And for your video, you're right on topic and to the point. Good video showing the details of the pocket door construction, how to remove the molding and the adjustment procedure.
Our issue was also "how to get the door back on" since it fell off of the hardware. Thanks for letting us know the removal of the wood trim was important in order to see and access the tracks, etc. I hope can you make more showing the hardware issues? Thanks for the help
You'll find that once you get the trim off you'll be able to see how it goes together. Most of the time it is just nuts that have loosened off to the point that the mechanism comes apart. Good luck!
Good luck! Rentals are tricky because you don't have all your tools handy and you want to get it done quickly without bothering the tenants too much. Remember to bring a flashlight, and you might need long magnets and other tools to reach into tight spaces.
Yup. It actually went well. I just have to put the head frame piece and moulding back and do the touch up which is a butt pain more than the repair to the door operation. The track screws were loose and the roller had jammed half in and out of the track.
Thank you very much as this really helps. I kinda agree with others below - removing the trim and door but you verbally explained. My door appears to be wider than the gap between the trim on each side and of course I can remove one of them.
Nice video Spelunkerd. I have worked on many a pocket doors and the old style tracks from the 1930's and up that you can't get the wheels for anymore. So i always end up cutting a hole in the wall to get the old track out of the double hungs. thanks
Yeah, you make a good point that new technology may not be compatible with old designs. Fortunately there isn't much stress on those wheels. As you know, removing a track would not be easy, since even small arms and hands would have trouble squeezing into the back corner. Thanks for adding some words of experience to the thread here.
Good video, I've run into this a couple of times. It's best to pull finish nails trough the back of trim you want to reuse with end nippers that aren't too sharp, leaves the surface pristiine.
Finally got around to trying this. It went well until the part where I had to remove the door. I cut away the trim on the wrong side. My rollers are the ones where you lift to you and then push up. For some reason I assumed it didn’t matter what side. Most videos I watched didn’t mention the side you choose as being important. Or more likely I just forgot. Great video, thank you sharing this.
@@spelunkerd When you see the wheels’ exposed side, pull the bottom towards you a little ways, (~ knee high?) and then push up. The trick is to jiggle it very hard! I didn’t want to break it, so I was being extra careful. Apparently too careful. Again, for reference, my roller set is a two wheel on the same side design, nothing on the opposite side. Now I gotta go buy hardware and a new door. Hopefully the other two in the house don’t give me this much trouble.
1:14 into this I realized that the previous owners installed the track backwards. Now trying to figure out how to rig a yardstick and magnet to get the slider out from the track and out of the pocket. But hey, it saved me a lot of frustration! Thanks.
So very posh, your own startrek style sliding door :-)) What a great idea, there is no room lost to a conventional door swing, but you have to have a cavity in the wall to allow it. Uk houses use brick walls outside and in, so fitting a nice door like yours would be a pain, shame really as i would enjoy walking through and making the swish noise from startrek lol :-)) Smashing vid :-)
Yeah, these are popular here, but only for non-weight bearing walls. They are pretty easy to construct, with 1" studs on either side of the door pocket, and of course there is less room to hide wires and pipes. Wall switches need to be on the other side. Thank you for watching!
For some reason these two remarks are not appearing in the video thread. It must be another one of the seemingly endless Google plus software mistakes.
spelunkerd Oh well, you managed to see my jibberings :-)) Your videos are allways appreciated, your calm and logical way of discribing problems and there repair is enjoyable to watch, some people just jibber on and lose the focal point, you dont :-))
I like the helpful hints such as using Silicone Spray to help the doors slide better and the red duct vapor barrier tape to seal caulk tube that has left over. Thank you for the video it is very helpful.
One more thing I’d like to add- I posted this in another how to video video as well. It may help someone here- “Once you finally get the door on the track, make sure and use a lubricant for the track and roller wheels!! I didn’t think it would be that big of difference but man was I wrong! It went from horrible scraping noise to smooth sailing. I used a garage door lubricant spray. Make sure to do the entire track and wheels! Roll the door back and forth until it’s smooth.”
That's a good point, rollers for glass shower doors are the same. One caveat, make sure the wheels are actually turning and not seized. Increasingly, those wheels are not so well made and will eventually seize. When they do seize, lubrication of the track helps even more, allowing you to order new wheels. Aliexpress sell various door wheels in bulk for much less than other vendors. Silicone spray works pretty well, you want a lubricant that won't pick up a lot of grit.
I remove those staples (or finish nails that won't push through) with vice grips. you can either just bend the fastener back & forth until it breaks at the wood surface, or carefully just pull them through. With staples, I've been able to often pull on one side & the other end of the wire just slips right through. Messy caulk job is easily fixed, with a damp paper towel (using the caulk you recommend.) Also, saving a caulk tube for later, I usually just put a screw in the hole & tape over it with painters tape.
I've got 3 pocket doors that all need to be repaired. After watching your video I'm confident I'll be able to handle the job my self. I assume I can just go to a local hardware store and purchase new hardware? I think I'll need new rollers and clips that mount on the door. I'm hoping I can get ones that will work in my track so I won't have to replace that as well. Because replacing the track will mean cutting a hole in my wall..right??
There is a method to getting the old track out where you DO NOT have to cut into the wall. It involves removing one side of the trim (or casing) and removing the split jamb so you can reach in with a screwdriver and/or ratchet. Replacing the track with a heavy duty RIGID track (not those thin metal ones that deform) means you don't need all the screws way back inside the wall, either, just the ones in the door opening, and maybe 2 back in the wall a ways. The Johnson hardware is much better than, say the Everbilt, in this case, and actually has FOUR rollers, instead of three, per piece. For a 36" or smaller hollow core door, the hardware kit is only (2018) about $30 for the Johnson. You can get cheaper, thinner tracks, but you don't want them!
Pulling the nails through is a lot better than pounding out. Can't do it with staples but pretty much every other finishing style nail. Leaves a clean finished side most of the time. I'm assuming this has been said already.
One thing that seems to be missing, in this otherwise good video, are any tips on getting the actual door back on the rollers. I have a couple of these doors and they are both in a very tight location, which makes it very difficult to get them on and off.
Thanks for your note, Craig. Yes, I know some of these are really hard, especially those with an older design. I've always been able to get the door in first, then mount it on the rollers afterword. Please stop by after you get it done and let us know how you solved your problem. I know some systems require a more aggressive dismantling of the wall.
Very good video, I'm just disappointed I have to remove molding to get to the wheels! My door just squeaks. I can't reach the wheels, so I'll start by lubricating the track and see if that helps.
Many spray lubricants come with a red plastic directional nozzle to get into tight spaces. WD40 will get it moving and the sound will disappear, then chase it with a silicone or lithium spray which should last longer. Good luck!
@@spelunkerd Thank you, and I do have spray like that. The door is packed so tightly in the frame that I can't even see the wheels so I'll only be able to lubricate the track. I'm going to try to do it with a Q-Tip though, because I suspect any spray would end up on the carpet below and over time attract dirt.
thank you so much for sharing the video, it was really helpful. I fixed my pocket door using your video. I dont understand my door wooble while closing . ANy ideas how to fixed the problem
Can you describe the wobble more accurately? Up down tilting wobble suggests there are more than two contact points, side to side would perhaps be some slop in the guide rail. There has to be some room for movement, otherwise with dust the mechanism will become too stiff. Most modern doors are pretty light, and a little wobble is common.
Well door moves backward and fowards when it slides (ope/close). sometimes ,We have to even pull the door to lock it . I found on internet sliding door guide will helps the door not to wooble. Hopefully it will works for me
If you have to pull door to lock, it sounds like you've got the height wrong on one of the two rollers. You can adjust the height by turning that nut where the roller is attached to the door. After adjusting, close the door and verify the edge of the door is parallel to the edge of the door jamb. Also be sure the bottom is not dragging on the floor.
Thanks. It will be very useful . Re brad nails. I have found that its often best just to grab them with a side cutter or pliers and pull them through the wood. This way if you have to lane or sand that steel brad nail won't hurt the blade or paper.
You make a good point, Alex. It's certainly worth considering, especially if you are planning on more complete finishing with sanding. With my brad nailer, I find the nails very hard to pull all the way through without causing more damage, especially from pry marks on the finished surface. With harder wood and small nails, pulling through would be worth considering.
Great video, thanks! ... But I guess it does matter what side of the door you remove the casing from, right? Because don't you need the room to pull the top of the door towards that side and have it match the side that your brackets connecting to the rollers can slide out from??
That is what I was thinking when I took mine apart. But I remember thinking in retrospect that it could have gone on either way, because when the bolts are loose there is some wobble room to allow it to slide into place from either side. Your design may differ....
Great video. We just installed a new pocket door. Frame is plumb and level. The door is plumb and level when closed, BUT when we open it and slide it into the pocket, the door is no longer plumb. It sticks out at the top, goes in more at the bottom. Any suggestions?
I guess I must have missed this one. Presumably the slider rail is not sitting completely true and straight, with a curve in the track for at least one of the cars. Or, perhaps the back car rides up in the slider as it reaches the deep end. Could there be an obstruction deep in the pocket that is preventing the door from sliding home? That could cause a tip of the door as it opens completely....
If I understand what you are saying, the jamb at the pocket side is not "plumb." OR the track is not held level along the entire length, possibly due to installation over a screw that was not removed way back at the back of the track (more likely if this is a thin metal, not a rigid, track.) It's even possible the rollers are coming OFF the track at the back, allowing the back end of the door to "dip" which could be a problem, because one day the rollers will refuse to go back on track so you can't close the door.
Yeah, take it apart and have a look. You might just find debris in the track, or cracked/broken treads. The tricky thing may be to find similar sized rollers, but the design is fairly standard. Good luck!
Watched your video and was motivated to fix my old pocket door, but when I got in there, I found the hardware was a single roller and not double as yours suggested. Is there a good source for finding old replacement hardware?
Not easy, especially if it's an old system. You may have to replace the whole roller system with a new one. That's not as involved as you may think, though it depends a lot on access.
My pocket door fell of the rail completely and I could not find anything that remotely loooked like rollers so I guess I am at stage one. the deconstruct was hoever excellant and I moved through that part without any problem. now i have to figure out how to mount rollers on my existing rail system. Home depot/lowes here I come.
Home Depot has the Johnson hardware system with the rigid track & 4 rollers per piece. It's good hardware, easily installed once you figure out to remove the split jamb to reach the screws. And, in fact, with this system, you don't really need the screw all the way at the back like you would with a thin metal track that easily deforms.
That's what i'm hoping, I think the screws at the back of the track have all come out, so I'm thinking with the Johnson replacement kit i can just put the screws in the door opening side, hopefully..
So how did you actually get the door back on? Did you slide in the two rollers first then mate the door to each roller then tighten both down? My door came off and i have to fugure out how to rw hang it.
Practice mounting those cars onto the door first, before you try to do it up in the air. You will likely need to bolt each car to the door after the car is placed on the rail. The cars go onto the rail easily if the door is not attached. Put one car onto the rail, hold it in place and slide the door under to allow you to bolt it to the door. Then push the door partly inside the slot, then do the outside car. The frustrating thing is the way those unrestrained cars want to roll inside the slot, where you'll need a long stick to drag them back out. It may help to have a friend slide the door into place as you hold the car on the rail.
1:28 My issue is that those screws that hold the hanger onto the door are just a little loose, allowing the door to "wiggle" on the hanger. Any suggestions on how to easily tighten them without removing the door?
If you have access to needle nose vice grip or extended reach pliers you may be able to get by without removing the casing. You'll also want to put a few drops of locktite onto the threads so you don't have to do it again in a few years. The simpler solution is to bite the bullet and remove the casing, get the height and angle right, with good access, then torque the nuts down properly. Good luck!
Can you come over my house?? ;p My daughter somehow got a soft-cover book in the door pocket and now the door doesn't shut all the way. I hate to think that we have to take out a panel...hubby is not very handy :( Any idea how else we can get it out??
+Shirly Skolnick You might bend a coat hanger into a shape that allows you to snag it and fish it out. Patience, a good light, and a little luck is all you need. Some of these doors will lift off the track and slide out without removing casings, but you may need to take casings off.
Excellent point, any time you move forward in a repair you need to be prepared for complications, some of which may be outside of your skill set. Even with good skills, there can be a challenge to find an exact match to what you lost or broke during disassembly. Those kind of complications are more common than one would think. Good technique and work flow separates the pro from the amateur, and authors on UA-cam have a tendency to turn the camera off when problems happen. As a viewer I love it to see complications left in the video, since recovery from a misadventure is often where the real learning happens.
I just had to pry off and damage some nailed in trim at the top of a sliding door so I could fix the wheels. Any trim I put on the top will now be screwed in for easier removal the next time.
You certainly earned my like. Most of all, I appreciate the sound clarity and the lack of beating around the bush. Thanks!
Obviously a professional. Plain spoken, brief, too the point. Quality instruction like this can result in quality work.
I especially liked the tuck tape trick. Always fun to learn tricks like that.
You are an accomplished MASTER of many disciplines and trades!
Definitely helpful. I have a relatively new pocket door installed during a contractor remodeling. The door came off its' rollers and the video allowed me to understand how much work is involved to gain access to the track and reinstall the rollers.
How to correctly fix a pocket door has always been a mystery to me. You've made it so clear and simple. I can't thank you enough!
patdthomas Thanks, man.
Super helpful and clear! Thank you!! Really appreciate the mention of using the putty knife and exacto blade and being careful when removing the wood trim. I was able to *finally* fix our sliding pocket door that was dragging on the floor and was able to put the trim back on so it just the trim needs a paint/caulk touch up.
Thank you so much for your video, you saved my husband and I!! We were trying to figure out how the door was attached and your explanation helped us determine our door's connection - even though it is different from your door, your explanation helped us figure it out. Thank you thank you thank you!
Thanks for your kind feedback.
Never done a pocket door repair, thanks for the tips
Just saw this today. Still valid and of significant help. Thanks
This is the hardware I have. Thanks for showing me how this works.
Awesome video. I watched a few before this one with lingering uncertainty, but yours was the best and now I feel ready to complete the task at hand. Thank you.
Perfect demonstration. I recently encountered my elderly aunt's broken bathroom pocket door and now I can fix it for her. Thank you!
Thanks for the followup, I'm glad it helped.
Very informative and professionally detailed. Thanks for taking time out to do this. Now I can fix my bathroom door which has been broken for over two years now.
I know what you mean! Good intentions aside, it's easy to let a simple task like this slide.
From an old dys guy, your presentation as excellent and so helpful to me. Many thanks for professional help.Your steps to follow are very good.
Thank you.
The video was competently done and informs me what to expect and think about before working on my own door tomorrow. Great help. Thanks!
It's too bad google makes it so complicated to make a brief compliment like this one.
Good luck, man. These are usually easier than they appear, though finding replacement parts may be a problem. If the rollers have slipped off, you might find a magnet on a stick to be useful for retrieving the little car.
I fought with my door for hours then found this. I didn't think about removing trim but can see it needs to be done. Great video - Thank you
I'm glad it helped, thanks for the feedback.
"In my case that wasn't the case so I had to remove the casing at the top" I enjoyed this sentence
Get off his case will ya! 😂
Case& point casey jones
Thanks for the video. Looks very simple so I will attempt to fix my sisters closet door while she is out of town.
Clear and concise instructions. Perfect step by step instruction. Thank you! I'll be back!
Kate Kochan Thanks!
The rails in my pocket door damaged, and I've been looking for a video to tell me how to repair it without damaging the wall, this was not what I was looking for but it was helpful.
Thank you
A lot of times you just have to bite the bullet and pull off the drywall, then replace all the hardware. If you are going through the effort, it may be best to get a whole new kit. The hardest part is the drywall, and matching the paint -- as long as it's not knockdown the drywall is pretty easy. I got to be pretty good at doing drywall because my teenage boys kept putting body parts and hockey sticks into walls. There are some good videos of drywall technique here on UA-cam. Good luck!
It's in a basement with a floating ceiling (tile ceiling) I tour the old rail out, and bolted the new one in through the top 2x4. Didn't have to cut through any drywall, which is good cuz its a rental property. Thanks anyways
If you need to replace the track, you DO NOT typically need to remove any drywall. Carefully remove the trim/casing on the pocket side, and then the split jamb. You can then reach in and remove the screws holding the track to the frame at the top, with a little ingenuity you could even design a tool that makes this part easier, so your arm doesn't have to reach in, but unless you do a lot of these, it's not worth it. I have long skinny arms & a compact cordless driver, so I don't have any trouble.
Replacing the track in this manner takes me about 2 hours.
Very professional and detailed repair solution. Super helpful in understanding the process. Any homeowner may need a bit more "How to" on removal of the casing trims so as not to damage them. Great job.
Obviously a professional! I feel much better about fixing my pocket door problems now. Thanks a bunch!
+Aaron P No, I'm a humble amateur. Thank you for watching!
Hey Dave, as you've mentioned about Goggle+, I would agree with you about the problems that continue to exist. Funny that you mention comments. As for me, in the past, I would get all activity such as uploads from subscribers, comments, etc. to my private email address. Now, that doesn't happen. And checking on gmail, or looking at the notification icon bell, it's a hit or miss. Sometimes I'll just randomly go over to one of my videos and lo and behold there's a comment that I never knew about. And for your video, you're right on topic and to the point. Good video showing the details of the pocket door construction, how to remove the molding and the adjustment procedure.
Thanks for stopping by, Terry. Yeah, Google+ it seems like a work in progress. I expect more from a big professional organization like that.
Our issue was also "how to get the door back on" since it fell off of the hardware. Thanks for letting us know the removal of the wood trim was important in order to see and access the tracks, etc. I hope can you make more showing the hardware issues? Thanks for the help
You'll find that once you get the trim off you'll be able to see how it goes together. Most of the time it is just nuts that have loosened off to the point that the mechanism comes apart. Good luck!
Great video. Thanks. Really helped me out. Allowed me NOT to make a very hard repair out of a pretty simple repair.
Thanks! I know what you mean, ha ha.
Good video, will definitely help my scenario. I believe the rear wheel slider fell off of the door. Thanks and keep up the good work!
Thanks, Jason. Good luck!
great tips and you are refreshingly articulate! definitely earned my like and a subscribe.
What a kind remark, thank you.
Best video on this subject yet. I'm head to my rental property to try out what I learned....
Good luck! Rentals are tricky because you don't have all your tools handy and you want to get it done quickly without bothering the tenants too much. Remember to bring a flashlight, and you might need long magnets and other tools to reach into tight spaces.
Yup. It actually went well. I just have to put the head frame piece and moulding back and do the touch up which is a butt pain more than the repair to the door operation. The track screws were loose and the roller had jammed half in and out of the track.
Glad to hear it, thanks for the followup.
Thank you. Easy to understand and very helpful to not make more work by avoiding damage to the drywall.
You're welcome, I'm glad it helped.
Thank you very much as this really helps. I kinda agree with others below - removing the trim and door but you verbally explained. My door appears to be wider than the gap between the trim on each side and of course I can remove one of them.
Yes, once the trim is off you'll be able to see how it goes together.
Nice video Spelunkerd. I have worked on many a pocket doors and the old style tracks from the 1930's and up that you can't get the wheels for anymore. So i always end up cutting a hole in the wall to get the old track out of the double hungs. thanks
Yeah, you make a good point that new technology may not be compatible with old designs. Fortunately there isn't much stress on those wheels. As you know, removing a track would not be easy, since even small arms and hands would have trouble squeezing into the back corner. Thanks for adding some words of experience to the thread here.
Good video, I've run into this a couple of times. It's best to pull finish nails trough the back of trim you want to reuse with end nippers that aren't too sharp, leaves the surface pristiine.
Best quality video I have seen in a long time!
Thanks for the video, helped me. Especially the part about picking the repair side that will show the least.
Finally got around to trying this. It went well until the part where I had to remove the door. I cut away the trim on the wrong side. My rollers are the ones where you lift to you and then push up. For some reason I assumed it didn’t matter what side. Most videos I watched didn’t mention the side you choose as being important. Or more likely I just forgot. Great video, thank you sharing this.
You never quite know what you're getting into until the casings are off. Was there a clue in your case, something that would help the next guy?
@@spelunkerd When you see the wheels’ exposed side, pull the bottom towards you a little ways, (~ knee high?) and then push up. The trick is to jiggle it very hard! I didn’t want to break it, so I was being extra careful. Apparently too careful. Again, for reference, my roller set is a two wheel on the same side design, nothing on the opposite side.
Now I gotta go buy hardware and a new door. Hopefully the other two in the house don’t give me this much trouble.
1:14 into this I realized that the previous owners installed the track backwards. Now trying to figure out how to rig a yardstick and magnet to get the slider out from the track and out of the pocket. But hey, it saved me a lot of frustration! Thanks.
You could just cut off the end of the track with a hacksaw so there's room to slip the rollers out.
I'll have to give you an A grade for the clear explanation in a friendly voice.
Good amount of details, but also concise!
Did I say I love this video because I honestly love this video.
What a kind remark, thank you.
Exactly the part that I would have needed was not shown. How to hang the door back in to the roller. Next time please show the entire prodeder!
you sir just saved me from wasting money on a repair guy , thanks
+Mike Cuthbert No problem, thanks for the followup.
Thank you, great job explaining what to do with as little damage as possible.
Thanks, short and informative. Perfect.
Great video! I've tried unsuccessfully to do my fixes without removing trim, but it's been impossible to do so. Thanks!
So very posh, your own startrek style sliding door :-))
What a great idea, there is no room lost to a conventional door swing, but you have to have a cavity in the wall to allow it.
Uk houses use brick walls outside and in, so fitting a nice door like yours would be a pain, shame really as i would enjoy walking through and making the swish noise from startrek lol :-))
Smashing vid :-)
Yeah, these are popular here, but only for non-weight bearing walls. They are pretty easy to construct, with 1" studs on either side of the door pocket, and of course there is less room to hide wires and pipes. Wall switches need to be on the other side. Thank you for watching!
For some reason these two remarks are not appearing in the video thread. It must be another one of the seemingly endless Google plus software mistakes.
spelunkerd
Oh well, you managed to see my jibberings :-))
Your videos are allways appreciated, your calm and logical way of discribing problems and there repair is enjoyable to watch, some people just jibber on and lose the focal point, you dont :-))
Thanks for the video! I'm ready to tackle this pocket door now.
You're welcome, I appreciate the feedback.
I like the helpful hints such as using Silicone Spray to help the doors slide better and the red duct vapor barrier tape to seal caulk tube that has left over. Thank you for the video it is very helpful.
Linda Rivera Thank you, for your kind feedback.
+Linda Rivera Instead of the tape I've always used a wood screw, lasts many months and there's always one around the workbench
Thank you! Not super handy, and my husband is even less. I just fixed my pocket door with your help!
You're welcome, I'm glad it helped.
Great video
One more thing I’d like to add- I posted this in another how to video video as well. It may help someone here-
“Once you finally get the door on the track, make sure and use a lubricant for the track and roller wheels!! I didn’t think it would be that big of difference but man was I wrong! It went from horrible scraping noise to smooth sailing. I used a garage door lubricant spray. Make sure to do the entire track and wheels! Roll
the door back and forth until it’s smooth.”
That's a good point, rollers for glass shower doors are the same. One caveat, make sure the wheels are actually turning and not seized. Increasingly, those wheels are not so well made and will eventually seize. When they do seize, lubrication of the track helps even more, allowing you to order new wheels. Aliexpress sell various door wheels in bulk for much less than other vendors. Silicone spray works pretty well, you want a lubricant that won't pick up a lot of grit.
Good video with good description
Awesome. Video. Great explanation. Just what I needed. Thanks. Make more videos.
Oh, thanks!
Thank you!
I remove those staples (or finish nails that won't push through) with vice grips. you can either just bend the fastener back & forth until it breaks at the wood surface, or carefully just pull them through. With staples, I've been able to often pull on one side & the other end of the wire just slips right through.
Messy caulk job is easily fixed, with a damp paper towel (using the caulk you recommend.) Also, saving a caulk tube for later, I usually just put a screw in the hole & tape over it with painters tape.
Good points, thanks for taking the time to offer your experience for others who drop by.
You saved me a bit of banging my head against the pocket door! Thanks !
very good video in a very realistic common problem.Thanks.
Jack
Thanks for the followup!
Nicely done and very helpful!
Thanks. Great explanations & good video.
I've got 3 pocket doors that all need to be repaired. After watching your video I'm confident I'll be able to handle the job my self. I assume I can just go to a local hardware store and purchase new hardware? I think I'll need new rollers and clips that mount on the door. I'm hoping I can get ones that will work in my track so I won't have to replace that as well. Because replacing the track will mean cutting a hole in my wall..right??
There is a method to getting the old track out where you DO NOT have to cut into the wall. It involves removing one side of the trim (or casing) and removing the split jamb so you can reach in with a screwdriver and/or ratchet. Replacing the track with a heavy duty RIGID track (not those thin metal ones that deform) means you don't need all the screws way back inside the wall, either, just the ones in the door opening, and maybe 2 back in the wall a ways. The Johnson hardware is much better than, say the Everbilt, in this case, and actually has FOUR rollers, instead of three, per piece. For a 36" or smaller hollow core door, the hardware kit is only (2018) about $30 for the Johnson. You can get cheaper, thinner tracks, but you don't want them!
Thank you. I wish I had watched this before my doors were installed.
Thank you, thank you. You just saved me $500
I'm glad it helped, thanks for the followup.
Excellent video. Very helpful.
+rodinia10 Thank you.
Pulling the nails through is a lot better than pounding out. Can't do it with staples but pretty much every other finishing style nail. Leaves a clean finished side most of the time. I'm assuming this has been said already.
One thing that seems to be missing, in this otherwise good video, are any tips on getting the actual door back on the rollers. I have a couple of these doors and they are both in a very tight location, which makes it very difficult to get them on and off.
Thanks for your note, Craig. Yes, I know some of these are really hard, especially those with an older design. I've always been able to get the door in first, then mount it on the rollers afterword. Please stop by after you get it done and let us know how you solved your problem. I know some systems require a more aggressive dismantling of the wall.
Very good video, I'm just disappointed I have to remove molding to get to the wheels! My door just squeaks. I can't reach the wheels, so I'll start by lubricating the track and see if that helps.
Many spray lubricants come with a red plastic directional nozzle to get into tight spaces. WD40 will get it moving and the sound will disappear, then chase it with a silicone or lithium spray which should last longer. Good luck!
@@spelunkerd Thank you, and I do have spray like that. The door is packed so tightly in the frame that I can't even see the wheels so I'll only be able to lubricate the track. I'm going to try to do it with a Q-Tip though, because I suspect any spray would end up on the carpet below and over time attract dirt.
Good Show Man,I learned Something, but not for my particular situation My setup is old school installed in 1952. THANKS
Thanks for the feedback! You should post a video of an old style door, I'm sure it would be helpful for many (grin).
have not took it out of the wall yet or I would.
your welcome
thank you so much for sharing the video, it was really helpful. I fixed my pocket door using your video. I dont understand my door wooble while closing . ANy ideas how to fixed the problem
Can you describe the wobble more accurately? Up down tilting wobble suggests there are more than two contact points, side to side would perhaps be some slop in the guide rail. There has to be some room for movement, otherwise with dust the mechanism will become too stiff. Most modern doors are pretty light, and a little wobble is common.
Well door moves backward and fowards when it slides (ope/close). sometimes ,We have to even pull the door to lock it . I found on internet sliding door guide will helps the door not to wooble. Hopefully it will works for me
If you have to pull door to lock, it sounds like you've got the height wrong on one of the two rollers. You can adjust the height by turning that nut where the roller is attached to the door. After adjusting, close the door and verify the edge of the door is parallel to the edge of the door jamb. Also be sure the bottom is not dragging on the floor.
methods
-removing the casing to the top
-removing the sliders
-adjusting the bolts
-removing the old caulking
-caulking
Thanks. It will be very useful . Re brad nails. I have found that its often best just to grab them with a side cutter or pliers and pull them through the wood. This way if you have to lane or sand that steel brad nail won't hurt the blade or paper.
You make a good point, Alex. It's certainly worth considering, especially if you are planning on more complete finishing with sanding. With my brad nailer, I find the nails very hard to pull all the way through without causing more damage, especially from pry marks on the finished surface. With harder wood and small nails, pulling through would be worth considering.
spelunkerd
Most the wood used here is softwood so pulling them through from the Inside is easy and damage is invisible when it goes back.
Great video, thanks! ...
But I guess it does matter what side of the door you remove the casing from, right? Because don't you need the room to pull the top of the door towards that side and have it match the side that your brackets connecting to the rollers can slide out from??
That is what I was thinking when I took mine apart. But I remember thinking in retrospect that it could have gone on either way, because when the bolts are loose there is some wobble room to allow it to slide into place from either side. Your design may differ....
Great video. We just installed a new pocket door. Frame is plumb and level. The door is plumb and level when closed, BUT when we open it and slide it into the pocket, the door is no longer plumb. It sticks out at the top, goes in more at the bottom. Any suggestions?
I guess I must have missed this one. Presumably the slider rail is not sitting completely true and straight, with a curve in the track for at least one of the cars. Or, perhaps the back car rides up in the slider as it reaches the deep end. Could there be an obstruction deep in the pocket that is preventing the door from sliding home? That could cause a tip of the door as it opens completely....
If I understand what you are saying, the jamb at the pocket side is not "plumb." OR the track is not held level along the entire length, possibly due to installation over a screw that was not removed way back at the back of the track (more likely if this is a thin metal, not a rigid, track.)
It's even possible the rollers are coming OFF the track at the back, allowing the back end of the door to "dip" which could be a problem, because one day the rollers will refuse to go back on track so you can't close the door.
thanks for the refresher.... it's been too many years and back then i drank way too many beers so those brain cells were long ago lost.....
Very helpful for complete repair.
Awesome video... Well described. Thanks
Thanks, I'm glad it helped.
Well that us much easier than I thought! Thank you!
my pocket door runs rough.. will replacing rollers help? And what are the best rollers to look for?
Thank you
Joe
Yeah, take it apart and have a look. You might just find debris in the track, or cracked/broken treads. The tricky thing may be to find similar sized rollers, but the design is fairly standard. Good luck!
@@spelunkerd ty
Cool video. wasn't sure how the door worked.
Watched your video and was motivated to fix my old pocket door, but when I got in there, I found the hardware was a single roller and not double as yours suggested. Is there a good source for finding old replacement hardware?
Not easy, especially if it's an old system. You may have to replace the whole roller system with a new one. That's not as involved as you may think, though it depends a lot on access.
Thanks
Very nice. I needed this.
Thanks, I'm glad it helped.
Great video! Thanks!
Thanks, very clear and helpful.
Doesn't even say how to get the door off. Wtf
Nice video and useful. Thanks.
My pocket door fell of the rail completely and I could not find anything that remotely loooked like rollers so I guess I am at stage one. the deconstruct was hoever excellant and I moved through that part without any problem. now i have to figure out how to mount rollers on my existing rail system. Home depot/lowes here I come.
Good luck, hopefully you can find something that will fit.
Home Depot has the Johnson hardware system with the rigid track & 4 rollers per piece. It's good hardware, easily installed once you figure out to remove the split jamb to reach the screws. And, in fact, with this system, you don't really need the screw all the way at the back like you would with a thin metal track that easily deforms.
That's what i'm hoping, I think the screws at the back of the track have all come out, so I'm thinking with the Johnson replacement kit i can just put the screws in the door opening side, hopefully..
So how did you actually get the door back on? Did you slide in the two rollers first then mate the door to each roller then tighten both down?
My door came off and i have to fugure out how to rw hang it.
Yes, that's how they generally go on.
Thx. That was very helpful.
+koynania You're welcome!
Don't hammer nails out or you have a blowout hole on your finish. Pull it out from the back and if it's a staple cut or grind it off.
Thanks. very helpful. Good luck
Sir how do I put the door back in easily?!!! I have the same type of rollers I just can’t get them back in the slots.
Practice mounting those cars onto the door first, before you try to do it up in the air. You will likely need to bolt each car to the door after the car is placed on the rail. The cars go onto the rail easily if the door is not attached. Put one car onto the rail, hold it in place and slide the door under to allow you to bolt it to the door. Then push the door partly inside the slot, then do the outside car. The frustrating thing is the way those unrestrained cars want to roll inside the slot, where you'll need a long stick to drag them back out. It may help to have a friend slide the door into place as you hold the car on the rail.
1:28 My issue is that those screws that hold the hanger onto the door are just a little loose, allowing the door to "wiggle" on the hanger. Any suggestions on how to easily tighten them without removing the door?
If you have access to needle nose vice grip or extended reach pliers you may be able to get by without removing the casing. You'll also want to put a few drops of locktite onto the threads so you don't have to do it again in a few years. The simpler solution is to bite the bullet and remove the casing, get the height and angle right, with good access, then torque the nuts down properly. Good luck!
Very useful! Thanks
Thank you!
This dude is a beast!!
The actual track inside mine needs replaced so can you give me any advice how to do that
Thanks! Good info, well prepared.
Can you come over my house?? ;p
My daughter somehow got a soft-cover book in the door pocket and now the door doesn't shut all the way. I hate to think that we have to take out a panel...hubby is not very handy :(
Any idea how else we can get it out??
+Shirly Skolnick You might bend a coat hanger into a shape that allows you to snag it and fish it out. Patience, a good light, and a little luck is all you need. Some of these doors will lift off the track and slide out without removing casings, but you may need to take casings off.
Just in case you didn’t understand, you need to ensure you have enough cases to use just Incase the case does not come off.
Excellent point, any time you move forward in a repair you need to be prepared for complications, some of which may be outside of your skill set. Even with good skills, there can be a challenge to find an exact match to what you lost or broke during disassembly. Those kind of complications are more common than one would think. Good technique and work flow separates the pro from the amateur, and authors on UA-cam have a tendency to turn the camera off when problems happen. As a viewer I love it to see complications left in the video, since recovery from a misadventure is often where the real learning happens.
Great Help... THANK YOU
Great tips!
I just had to pry off and damage some nailed in trim at the top of a sliding door so I could fix the wheels. Any trim I put on the top will now be screwed in for easier removal the next time.
Good thought, I wish more carpenters would consider ease of maintenance when nailing these together.