Pocket door

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Pocket doors and the compartments into which they slide at a Zen Buddhist temple in Japan

A pocket door is a door that slides along its length and disappears, when open, into a compartment in the adjacent wall. Pocket doors are used for architectural effect, or when there is no room for the swing of a conventional door. They usually travel on rollers suspended from an overhead track, although some also feature tracks or guides along the floor. Both single- and double-door versions are used, depending on how wide an entry is desired.

Installing a pocket door rather than a traditional hinged door can add an average of ten square feet of floor space, according to building expert Tim Carter, who considers the pocket door "one of the top ten most overlooked items when many architects and builders plan a home." ^[1] The doors were particularly common in Victorian homes to close off such areas as sitting rooms or dens; however, as architectural tastes changed, many of the hardware manufacturers went out of business.^[2] With improvement in the hardware and the growth of the market for condominiums and town homes, there has been a resurgence of interest in this space-saving feature.^[3] Modern residential uses include bathrooms, closets, laundry or utility rooms, or home offices.^[4] A wall-hung variation called an "open pocket door" may be used where in-wall installation is impractical; this version is recommended for homes with disabled residents due to greater ease of opening compared to traditional hinged, pull-open doors.^[5]