# I covet pocket doors **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 27, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-covet-pocket-doors/702682 "2014-10-27T19:51:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-covet-pocket-doors/702682/41 "2014-10-29T19:48:15Z")
Hey, **MeanJoe** , thanks for the pics; hope it wasn’t too much trouble. That is some beautiful wood (and also some beautiful doggie). I’m Googling around trying to find what that hinge looks like and how it works–it must be a monster to hold up all that weight. ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-covet-pocket-doors/702682/42 "2014-10-29T22:02:48Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Hey, **MeanJoe** , thanks for the pics; hope it wasn’t too much trouble. That is some beautiful wood (and also some beautiful doggie). I’m Googling around trying to find what that hinge looks like and how it works–it must be a monster to hold up all that weight. Wasn’t too much trouble at all, glad you were able to see them. My entire first floor’s trim and doors are tiger oak (quarter sawn oak) and even though we’ve been in the house almost 5 months, I still find myself admiring it and touching it all the time. This door is pretty massive. I do not know if “scissor hinge” is the actual term for this type of mechanism. It is what the craftsman called it when I had him come in to do an adjustment on the door (it was slightly off-level and lightly making contact with the floor). I should have taken pictures while all the trim was removed and you could see into the wall-space. P.S. - It took me a minute to figure out what you meant by doggie as I didn’t think our dogs got into the photo of the door. I see now that I still have some old photos on Flickr. The dog is Mishka, he passed a few years ago at 14. He was probably 3 in that photo. The house picture is my former home, built somewhere around 1890. As you can see, a tree fell and went boom! Haha We sold that house this summer and bought the place we live now with all the pocket doors. I’ll upload a photo to Flickr of the new house, just slightly larger. _rolls eyes_ P.S.S. - Here you go: [New Money Pit](https://flic.kr/p/pPUmjo) MeanJoe ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-covet-pocket-doors/702682/43 "2014-10-29T22:56:52Z")
^ Verrrrrrrry nice! ::big thumbs-up smilie:: Those half-round brick exterior features are tres classy! (Have we derailed the thread enough, ya think? 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-covet-pocket-doors/702682/44 "2014-10-30T03:03:34Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > If I pursue this, we will not be DIYing this. Neither of us is handy or patient enough to tackle a project like this. So… is this what you do for a living? If so, how are you with maintaining, replacing or restoring original woodwork that might need to be altered/moved for work like this? I am very fond of our woodwork. What \*\*Parenchyma \*\* won’t do, I will! (This is in fact what I do for a living, so PM me if you like.) I like the pocket-door idea in general, and in fact for a triple-decker of that vintage, a pocket door between those two rooms was very common. I used to live in an apartment like that that did have a pocket door. What this suggests to me is that instead of getting a salvage door and converting it, maybe you can find some salvage pocket doors, with their original hardware, of a style perfectly suited to your apartment. My mother-in-law installed new pocket doors in her house, and as someone mentioned above, they can go into a relatively narrow wall. But the effect of that is a bit unfortunate – the walls are terribly flimsy. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-covet-pocket-doors/702682/45 "2014-10-30T13:49:09Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > My wife wants some pocket doors put in a few places in the house. I’m pretty handy and would never do this as a DIY. It looks like a very involved, easy to fuck up, job. I imagine the labor is expensive. > > She found some fancy looking doors that are on tracks outside the door. We didn’t buy them but she found them. Yeah, you want an experienced carpenter to do the install. Everything has to be level and plumb, and the trim-out and hardware install is not for the inexperienced. One thing you might consider is barn-style doors on rails. These aren’t super practical for noise or privacy, but they are very cool looking and don’t require any modifications to the wall. If you have super-cool looking doors, you get to see them even when they are open! ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Gusterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Gus\_Gusterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Gusterson)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-covet-pocket-doors/702682/46 "2014-10-30T15:02:20Z")
> [@MeanJoe](#): > > I do not know if “scissor hinge” is the actual term for this type of mechanism. It is what the craftsman called it when I had him come in to do an adjustment on the door (it was slightly off-level and lightly making contact with the floor). It’s a Prescott Trackless Door Hanger. Edwin Prescott invented it in the 1880s. It’s rare, but not unheard of, to find a functional one these days. ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-covet-pocket-doors/702682/47 "2014-10-30T18:05:32Z")
> [@Gus\_Gusterson](#): > > It’s a Prescott Trackless Door Hanger. Edwin Prescott invented it in the 1880s. It’s rare, but not unheard of, to find a functional one these days. Wow, thanks Gus! I’m off to Google that and learn all I can! In addition to the pocket door shown in the photos, I have a second pocket door that is significantly smaller in width that also uses the same type of hinge. So, I guess that makes me double rare but not unheard of! ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-covet-pocket-doors/702682/48 "2014-10-30T18:40:59Z")
Hey, that’s a cool mechanism, (I had no idea what a scissor hinge was!) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-covet-pocket-doors/702682/49 "2014-10-30T20:33:57Z")
> [@Gus\_Gusterson](#): > > It’s a Prescott Trackless Door Hanger. Edwin Prescott invented it in the 1880s. It’s rare, but not unheard of, to find a functional one these days. > [@MeanJoe](#): > > Wow, thanks Gus! I’m off to Google that and learn all I can! In addition to the pocket door shown in the photos, I have a second pocket door that is significantly smaller in width that also uses the same type of hinge. So, I guess that makes me double rare but not unheard of! > [@elbows](#): > > Hey, that’s a cool mechanism, (I had no idea what a scissor hinge was!) **Gus** , you the MAN! That is just fascinating! Kudos! ( **Motorgirl** , are you still there? We didn’t mean to hijack the thread; we’re sorry.) 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-covet-pocket-doors/702682.md?page=2)