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Installing pocket door kits in drywall vs plaster walls - what is the difference?

pocket door kits in dry wall vs plaster wall

Pocket doors are an innovative design solution for all types of home. They have classic characteristics and therefore look great in older, more traditional homes, while they are also an innovative space-saving solution and can look great as a sleek and elegant, minimalist design feature in a contemporary home. But when installing a pocket door you need to think carefully about the fabric and infrastructure of the property first and foremost, as well as how the pocket door system will eventually look.

The vast array of different properties in the UK means we have properties ranging from the 19th century through to brand new properties, and with plenty in between. This means they were built with different construction techniques, including the walls in which you are looking to accommodate a pocket door system. But the good news is that pocket doors can fit into almost any type of wall.

 

Understanding drywalls and plaster walls

Drywall is also known as a stud wall or plasterboard wall. It is essentially a wall made up of a timber construction that is enclosed by sections of plasterboard, which are then plastered and painted or wallpapered. This type of wall is therefore hollow, which enables electrical wiring and pipework to be installed easily. Drywall or stud walls are usually only used for internal walls, ie. those type of walls that are not load-bearing walls. This is because they don’t have the structure or solidity to bear the weight of a load from an above floor.

Plaster walls refer to solid walls which are made up of stone or brickwork and are usually covered in plaster. These are much more robust and therefore are used as load-bearing walls and for exterior or perimeter walls. They are also known as masonry walls, and as a result of them being solid, there is a limitation as to how you can work with them. Installing wiring and pipework is much more challenging for example, and the same applies to installing a pocket door frame.

 

How to install a pocket door frame in a drywall

Because stud walls are more common in modern homes, you often find that a pocket door system is installed in a modern home as it is being constructed. This is relatively straightforward as you have the space to work in and can’t cause any damage to the fabric of the property. However, you can also retro-fit a pocket door in an existing stud wall. Here, you would have to remove some sections of the drywall/plasterboard so that you have a sufficiently large area to work and install the frame. You would also need to check there isn’t any wiring or pipework behind the wall which may cause an issue.

Once you have the required space in which to work, the pocket door frame should fit between the wooden stud structure, so you install the frame, hang the door and then reconstruct the stud wall. This involves refitting the drywall/plasterboard and re-plastering and redecorating the wall.

 

How to install a pocket door frame in a plaster wall

Installing a pocket door frame in a solid wall includes some additional work, but it is possible. But first and foremost you need to check the condition of the wall and make sure it is suitable in terms of the plaster or brickwork crumbling. Of course, no one would expect you to hollow out a cavity in a solid wall in which to install the framework. This would take too much work and would also compromise the structure of the wall, which could cause serious problems. Alternatively, if the wall isn’t load bearing you may be able to knock a section of the wall down and create a stud wall in its place, into which the pocket door frame can be installed.

The most popular way to install a pocket door frame on a solid plaster wall is to construct a new stud wall alongside the solid wall. This effectively forms a skin adjacent to the existing wall and means you can install a pocket door frame as per a normal stud wall, and then plasterboard this whole installation in so that it looks like the original wall.

So it is possible to install a pocket door frame system in old and new homes and with any type of wall, but it requires careful consideration and sometimes an element of professional advice. So if you need help and support in installing a pocket door system, then contact our team of experts at Pocket Door Shop.  Otherwise you can browse our pocket door systems online, and order your pocket door today.

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