Can Pocket Doors Be Used For Bathrooms?
The pocket door has emerged as one of the most innovative and versatile interior design features of the 21st century, not just because of its practical benefits, but also because it unlocks the potential of your home or business. The pocket door has proved to be the key to making a number of home improvement projects viable, and that is mainly because the limitation to your plans is usually how much space you have. The pocket door therefore makes many plans and dreams possible, and that includes creating bathroom spaces in the home.
How does a pocket door create space?
A traditional hinged door opens into a room in most cases. This means that the door opens in an arced shape and therefore requires empty space within that arc in order to freely open and close. As a result, you have approximately ten square feet of dead space within that arc which cannot be used.
Installing a pocket door means that the door opens and closes along the same axis and slides into a wall recess, so doesn’t encroach into the room in any way. This frees up the space immediately behind the door and makes this newly available. In a lot of cases this is the extra space that unlocks many possible purposes for the room or allows you to install new features.
How a pocket door is ideal for a bathroom
A bathroom is usually one of the smallest rooms in the house, mainly because it is a functional room where you don’t necessarily need lavish space, even if you have a bath installed. So you can install a shower, sink and WC in a very limited space, and which is often made possible by the use of a pocket door. This gives you the space you need to safely and comfortably operate in the bathroom.
So a pocket door can give you the space to install all these critical features, or it might enable you to install a towel rail behind the door, or some extra storage space. The versatility of the pocket door means it can be used to create a new room, such as this, but it can also be used to close off space. In other words it is ideal for creating an en-suite bathroom. These are usually a little smaller than a traditional bathroom, and are added as a convenient and practical addition to bedrooms, maybe a home office, or a guest bedroom.
The pocket door is ideal for closing off space in a bigger room to create an en-suite bathroom, and the space made available by not using a traditional hinged door could be just enough to make this lifestyle enhancement possible.
What type of pocket door should I choose for my bathroom?
Any choice of pocket door is dependent on the amount of wall space you have available, so it is important that you understand the pocket door design concept and measure up your available space before making any decisions. Because the pocket door opens into a wall recess – known as the ‘pocket’ – this means the frame that holds the door and operates it has to be double the width of the door itself. In other words, the frame is accommodating the door when it is closed and also when it slides open along the overhead track. So you need to measure your available wall space.
It is unlikely you will be able to accommodate a double pocket door and this is not a style usually used for a bathroom. You will also not require a fire-rated pocket door because fire doors are not necessary for bathrooms. However, you may be able to accommodate a single pocket door if the layout of your internal walls allows.
Glass pocket doors are quite popular for bathrooms, because they enable light to shine in to a room, which is ideal when the room is quite small. This maximises the natural light and makes the room feel bigger, less claustrophobic and more comfortable. Also, you can choose an opaque glass design to ensure privacy when someone is using the bathroom.
Contact MB Direct for your bathroom pocket doors
If you are unsure whether you can install a pocket door for your bathroom, contact our sales experts at MB Direct and we can advise on your options. We have a great range of pocket door designs and we can advise on what is best suited to your requirements, so contact our team today.