Pocket doors and accessibility - making homes more inclusive

Buildings are designed today with the required consideration towards inclusivity, this is mainly in terms of physical accessibility and looks at things such as entry and exit points, stairs, toilets and door widths. And it is this last factor where pocket doors can make a significant difference in how inclusive a home is, even if pocket doors are not necessarily the first thing you think of when considering accessibility aids.

Inclusive design has been helped by things like building regulations insisting on a new and wider minimum width for doorways, while public buildings in particular have largely addressed the need for wheelchair access, but in the home the pocket door is perhaps the single biggest aid to making a house more accessible. Pocket doors are much easier to open for someone with limited mobility because the overhead rollers assist with the opening action, this is particularly the case if you consider many doors are heavy fire doors with a door-closer fitted which physically adds tension to the door and makes it harder to open and close.

How the pocket door helps with accessibility in the home

Incorporating pocket doors into home design has lots of immediate benefits for wheelchair users, people with mobility issues and people with sight impairment, but it is also the addition of accessories which brings the most significant assistance. Here we have listed the various ways that pocket doors can help with accessibility issues around the home:

• Opening and closing – The pocket door opens by sliding along an overhead rail in a horizontal axis, and hence it doesn’t encroach into a room and open in an arc like a traditional hinged door. This has huge benefits for somebody approaching in a wheelchair or with any mobility issue. With a pocket door the person can approach right up to the door and easily slide it open to pass through, with a traditional hinged door, the same person would have to reach forward to open the door, move backwards to avoid the door opening, and then move forward again to pass through. In a similar way, a person with sight impairment might get hit by the door opening as it swings towards them, that potential hazard is avoided with the pocket door.
• Emergency access and exit – In an emergency situation it is much easier and quicker for a person with limited mobility to open and exit through a pocket door. Also, if a user falls behind a door room entry can made easier using a pocket door as you simply slide open and gain access, whereas a conventional swing door the user maybe blocking the door from swinging open prolonging access to the room.
• Clear passage – Pocket doors open using a top-hinged overhead rail, so there is no floor track. This means there is no trim or floor obstacle which could be difficult to transport a wheelchair over. Instead, the user can pass clearly through the door with no hindrance.
• Width – Because there are no hinges on the side of the pocket door this allows more width for wheelchair users or any people with mobility issues to pass through with ease. With the restricted width of a normal door, there is the possibility of catching fingers or knuckles in the doorway.
• Space – With the pocket door not swinging into the passageway, there is more room for people with mobility issues to manoeuvre through the door. This makes pocket doors particularly helpful in healthcare settings, but also in accessible homes.
• Accessories – There are a number of accessories which can be retro-fitted to make pocket doors more practical. These are useful in any home, but particularly where accessibility has to be a major consideration.
• Self-closing – A self-closing door means that the door will close automatically after you have passed through it without the need for any manual intervention. This is good for security as well as climate control, but it aids accessibility because the user doesn’t need to turn around to close the door. The speed of the door closing can be adjusted to ensure there is sufficient time for the user to comfortably pass through the door.
• Double-door co-ordination – This accessory is exclusively for double pocket doors and helps the user by requiring only one door to be opened. When the user opens one door, the accessory takes over and opens both doors simultaneously, hence requiring much less effort and mobility.
• Touch latch – If there is no self-closing mechanism on the door, the touch latch system can still assist the user. With this accessory the user only needs to press on the leading edge of the door and it will eject out of the pocket and close behind them, again requiring much less effort.   

Browse our range of pocket door systems and accessories

If you are designing or fitting out a new home which has accessibility requirements then you can browse our range of pocket door systems and pocket door accessories, and choose the features which assist with inclusive design. These include the double pocket door systems with double-door co-ordination and single door systems with self-closing accessories.