Are Pocket Doors high maintenance?

Since we launched the pocket door system in 2015, we have a dedicated team who have been working on the kit to make it stronger, more durable and aesthetically pleasing to make sure they can work in any interior. Over the years we have made changes to the system to ensure that we deliver on our promise of simplifying complex and bespoke building methods and create a beautiful contemporary interior.

Here at Enigma, we take pride in educating the market about sliding pocket doors to ensure the doors are good quality, simple to use and install. We often get asked by our customers, are pocket doors high maintenance?

In recent years, we have seen people struggle with pocket doors either because the door rumbles when used or need parts replacing, resulting in additional costs for the developer and a bad reputation for pocket doors. We saw the value pocket doors can create by maximising space, which maximised value at developments, as well as creating a beautiful interior. With this in mind, our mission was to solve the previous perceptions that pocket doors were not reliable or durable, by upgrading the system and using better quality materials.

At Enigma we have found ways that we can improve the system to ensure that it is simply to install, a stronger system and aesthetically pleasing so it won’t need a lot of maintenance down the line. In the framework, we have a guide pin which is self-lubricated to ensure a smooth opening and closing and to make the system stronger, so less chance of it getting damaged or the door coming off the track. Our innovative use of a needle bearing instead of a ball bearing increases the durability of the door. Ball bearings can develop a flat side when the door is left in one position for a prolonged period of time and all the weight remains on one side of the ball for too long.

Durability is vital to the success of any door and we wanted to prove that our new system and materials work before releasing to the market. We therefore tested all our pocket doors to over 100,000 cycles, which is way over any average use a pocket door will go through during a person’s lifetime. This means the door is durable to a lot or little use and will give confident to our customers that it won’t require any repairs or new parts needed and will last the stand of time.

We also found that most pocket doors will slam or bang when opening and shutting, so we now offer a soft close or soft close/open. Adding this will add a softer, slower close or open to the door so it won’t slam shut. If the door slams shut it could lead to damage to the door or if it has been shut with speed it could lead to damage to the track.

We always recommend, that before you install the door to track is to give it a quick wipe to get rid of any dirt that it may have as this can lead to the door to rumble or not as work as well. We have a video on how to stop your door from rumbling. If you are still unsure on installation, we have an installation team who will be happy to go to your site to give an installation demonstration so you can feel confident to install other doors.

Our sliding doorsets have been built for performance and the durability testing means that maintenance shouldn’t be required. However, if the sliding pocket doorset does need to be removed, the doors have been designed pre-assembled and tailored, so they are easy to fit in and out of structural openings. You can often find that some pocket doors you buy will require high maintenance but with our testing and design work we can ensure your doorset will not need any working doing it and will last in your development for years.

If you still have any concerns about pocket doors you can either book in a CPD to help you understand the system in more depth or give us a call where our dedicated team are on hand to help with any questions or queries you may have.

We also have a wide range of videos of commonly asked questions around pocket doors answered by our team. Check them out here.