Signs it is time to replace your pocket door hardware

Pocket doors have become an essential feature of interior design for contemporary homes in the 21^st century, and modern pocket door systems are made from quality materials and are robust, reliable and consistent. But they do perform thousands of opening and closing cycles and therefore withstand a large amount of wear and tear. For this reason, elements of your pocket door hardware may require replacing from time to time. If you don’t do this, you could find the pocket door system getting damaged or not performing as it should do. So this guide will help you understand what pocket door hardware is, what can go wrong with it and how you can identify this.

What is pocket door hardware?

We can classify pocket door hardware as the specialised components used to enable the door system to operate, but which are outside of the pocket door system itself, ie. the door, framework and jambs. So important examples of pocket door hardware might be the overhead rail, the rollers, flush pull handles and bathroom hook locks, along with pocket door accessories such as the soft-close feature, touch latch handles and self-closing accessories.

Why does pocket door hardware need replacing?

The materials used for some pocket door hardware items unfortunately does mean they won’t last forever, and are susceptible to everyday wear and tear from normal use of your pocket door. Common causes of damage and wear can include:

• Nylon rollers on the overhead track becoming worn or flat over time.
• The overhead track becoming damaged or bent, usually leading to the door not running true and smooth.
• The track and door becoming misaligned and twisted, which could lead to the door not running smoothly.
• Vibration from thousands of opening and closing cycles can lead to screws becoming loose on various hardware components.

While you might not experience any major problems with the operation of your pocket door at first, any issues with pocket door hardware will eventually manifest itself in an operational issue. This could take a number of weeks or months to appear, but can result in a major issue which causes significant damage to your pocket door system. Therefore it is important to visually inspect your pocket door system from time to time, and to be vigilant to minor operational issues. Continuing to use a damaged pocket door will lead to bigger problems, potentially also to the structure of the property.

What are the signs that my pocket door hardware needs replacing?

There are a number of signs which indicate you may need to replace your pocket door hardware. These can be audible or visible, or a combination of both. The most common signs include:

• The door is hard to open or close – If the door is sticking or won’t slide as smoothly as it previously did, this could indicate that the rollers in the overhead track are damaged. Equally, it could just mean that the rollers need lubricating or the track is dirty or damaged, so inspect this closely and decide on the best course of action.
• The door is very noisy when opening and closing – It is common to hear grinding, squeaking or clicking sounds when opening or closing the pocket door. This could be caused by bearings in the rollers failing, or the wheels being worn altogether. It could also mean that the screws on your pocket door accessories have come loose.
• The door is wobbly and feels loose – This usually suggests the door is unstable on the overhead rollers and track. Either the track or the rollers could be loose.
• The door won’t close properly – If the door is misaligned it won’t close properly because it is catching the frame each time it opens. The track could be bent or loose connections could mean the whole frame is misaligned.
• The door is jumping off the track – Broken rollers or a faulty track system can cause the door to run completely off the track.
• The door is showing signs of rust or corrosion – This could suggest there is a moisture or a damp issue somewhere in the surrounding walls. If this gets to the overhead rollers they will most likely seize up and stop working, and this can result in the door sticking or jumping off the track as observed above. If any hardware components become rusty or corroded, they should be replaced and the root cause of the moisture issue addressed.

If you encounter any of these common issues you can try to troubleshoot the issue. Sometimes a small element of maintenance is required, such as lubricating the rollers or tightening some of the screws, but if it appears that some of your hardware requires replacing, you can choose from the pocket door furniture and accessories supplied by Pocket Door Shop.