The first time we walked into what became our new house, we were impressed by some of the original Craftsman architectural details in the living and dining rooms. In addition to the built-in hutch, the fireplace flanked by built-n bookcases, and the crown molding, the sliding pocket doors separating the two rooms elicited a significant “wow” from us both.
The doors are large and really just big windows, as there is glass in every available inch of their familiar Tic-Tac-Toe grid frames. Their size and expanse of glass also mean the doors are heavy. And one of them was off its track. It had apparently been in that state for a while as there is a wear mark on the floor from the door being dragged open and closed.
Getting the door back on its track was one of those non-urgent jobs on the house repair list that built in intrigue as neither Carrie nor I could see how to repair it. Shining a flashlight into the opening at the top of the door did not reveal enough of the track that we could see what it would take to fix it, but it did reveal enough that we knew we had a challenge ahead.
The rain this weekend meant that our outdoor projects were delayed and we had to bring our repair efforts indoors. Carrie decided we needed to at least be able to diagnose what the door needed to get it back on track. Experts we had consulted warned us that it may be necessary to open the 80 year old lathe and plaster wall to be able to repair a pocket door, so we were less than optimistic.
We started by carefully removing first one, then two, then three strips of molding that surround the door opening; trying unsuccessfully after each one to remove the door and let us get at the track hardware, or to swing the pulley back onto the track. But the space and line of sight created by removing the molding led to Carrie discovering the true nature of the mechanism that attached the errant pulley to the top of the door. It includes both an adjustment screw that controls the doors height in the opening as well as a sliding clasp that allows you to (surprisingly) easily remove the pulley from the door.
By removing the pulley from the door, Carrie was able to first replace it on the track and second, slide the door and pulley back together. Success! We now have two pocket doors that glide into and out of their respective pockets! And no major demolition was required. The three pieces of molding even survived removal and reinstallation relatively unharmed, as long as you don’t count my excessive countersinking of a couple of the nails.
Sometimes it is the smaller successes that provide the biggest satisfaction.
