Pocket Doors- madness?

[dottypencilcase]

We're in a tiny terrace and can't afford to extend at the back atm. Thinking having pocket doors between the lounge and kitchen at the back would really open up the space for us and help feel as though we're not all falling over one another. Anyone had this done? Is it worth it? Or is it naff? What kind of costs would I be looking at to have this done?

I really like them. I stayed in a flat that had them and it did make a big difference to how spacious it felt. It wasn’t really a big flat but it opened up space not having the doors there.

Many Victorian houses where the front room led directly into the back room would originally have had the Victorian version of pocket doors separating the two rooms, so you could say what you plan would be entirely in keeping with the style of the house.

Seems a good idea to me. I want one in my kitchen. Not to increase space, but to stop doors clashing.

My parents have just had some put in and they look great and are very practical. I’m thinking of getting some for our house too - I’d like to knock right through into the kitchen, but DH doesn’t want to. This could be a good compromise.

I have 2 pocket doors , and they work amazingly

What I recommend is :

Buy eclisse pocket door mechanisms they're the best

Buy heavy fire doors as theyl bang less

Buy the anti slam mechanim and it'll stop them slamming

Do not scrimp on the doors else you'll regret it , as I've heard from many

I was going to have a pocket door between the kitchen and dining room in my new place but there wasn't enough wall space for the door on one side to slide back into place fully. In the end I decided to just have an opening.

Same issue in my current home, where I've put glass doors in the opening between the hall and dining end of the main living space. Having hinged glass doors meant that I could have a wider opening.

Also you need to factor in how your walls are constructed. It could be a messy job if you are installing them into solid walls. Or you might need to add a stud wall, which means using a bit more space.

But if they work for your space, they look great.

We have them - wouldn't have been something I would have thought of installing, but they were here when we moved in.
It's nice having the flexibility to close off the space, but to be honest - they're open so much I forget they're there a lot of the time.

We have glazed pocket doors between kitchen and dining room. they aren't often shut but it's handy to have doors rather than just a gap and it lets light in and we can see right through house - it's a lovely view at the front that we wouldn't see much otherwise.

But get the best you can afford, ours jam sometimes which is a pain and it would be a big job to replace them as they are behind a false wall that the kitchen cabinets are built up to.

Surely you need stud walls to have pocket doors?

My brother recently put one in to a really awkward space in their house. It’s a great solution to the problem. He chose the anti slam feature because it’s less noisy.

I guess if the walls aren't ok to put in a gap for pocket doors or you don't have the space to put up a stud wall you could have something like this
Top mounted sliding door

We have one in our extension, and it allowed us to fit a loo/shower room and utility into a tight area without blocking the back door. It was pretty straightforward as we had it put in during construction. If you want one put in retrospectively this could be a bigger job than you think - it pretty much needs to be build into a stud wall as it's being put up, as far as I know. Putting one in place on an existing door in an existing solid wall would probably involve either widening the structural opening to create a space for the door to slide back into, or thickening the wall by adding a false stud panel to hide the open door.

Thank you all. Looks like it'll an all round 'yes' in terms of functionality/style, etc. we're in a period house with solid brick walls so this will probably be a bigger job for us compared to those who've got cavity walls (which also retain the heat so much better 😭😭). We've had a builder come and check out the rooms. Just waiting to see what price he comes up with. Another builder coming in on Wednesday. I'm NW London so hoping it's not too expensive a job.