How To Update A Pocket Door

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Drywall

How-To

How to Build an Biconvex Pocket Door

An arched opening, door, and drywall brand an elegant and infinite-saving transition.

**Closely spaced scoring encourages drywall and bead to bend.** To make the drywall adjust to the curve, score the back of each piece of 1⁄four-in. drywall on graduated intervals and then that the scoring is about ane⁄iv in. autonomously. Moistening the drywall with h2o helps the process. Glue the strips to the blocking with construction adhesive, and tack with narrow-crown staples set at low pressure. Cut standard plastic corner dewdrop at close intervals along the outer edge. Set the bead with spray adhesive, and add a few staples to proceed it in place.

During a contempo remodeling job, I had to reproduce several arched tops in plastered openings to match one existing opening. Each opening was slightly unlike. The arches' radii were tighter than any arch-forming product I could find, so I made my own arched corners. I was even able to integrate an arched acme into a pocket door. Although I did my starting time biconvex pocket door trimmed with biconvex wood casing a few years ago, this one was near all drywall.

The house was built in the 1920s. I thought I'd have to annihilate and reframe a wall to install the pocket-door track, but I lucked out. I mounted the rails to i side of an existing wall and covered it with a new wall that was blocked out 3-1/2 in. from the original. I made the corners for both sides of the arch, then bent a double layer of 1/4-in. drywall to the curvation. The door had to be modified before I could hang information technology on the rails, and I fabricated certain I could admission the trolley adjustments.

I cutting plastic corner bead to conform to the curvation, and so taped and joined the entire doorway. I ripped and bent 3/32-in.-thick white-oak strips to act every bit stops on both sides of the door. After painting the jamb, I adapted the door's hang and cutting the door for the recessed pull so that its position would match the other door hardware in the room.

blocking for an arch — **Create an "archwich."** To make the blocking for the arch, trace the pattern on 1/two-in. plywood, and rough-cut the curves on a bandsaw. The middle of the sandwich is an L-shaped frame of a vertical iii/four-in. ply and a horizontal ane/ii-in. ply. Add an extra backing cake in the eye that runs past the plywood curves and gets trimmed flush later on the mucilage dries. The completed blocking is nailed in place.

bent stops for arched doorway — **Bent stops go on the door on track.** After soaking 3/32-in.-thick strips of white oak in hot water, laminate two strips in place on each side of the door opening. Polyurethane gum works best with wet woods. A few end nails keep the stops in place.

arched doorway — **No right angles, please.** To fit the opening, trim the door blank to fit the arch. Painter'southward tape keeps veneer splintering to a minimum.

Tool Of The Merchandise

Holy Radius, Mudman

Even with laminated, scored drywall, when it comes fourth dimension to apply joint compound, the surface tends to get lumpy when using a directly taping knife. The solution is to spend $xx online and get a Rubber Wipe-Down Knife, made past Marshalltown. Known every bit a "bat knife," the tool is perfect for curved corners.

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