Do you like watching home remodeling shows? If so, you can’t escape the ubiquity of sliding doors, like barn doors and pocket doors. They’re everywhere! Especially for bathrooms!

Fixer Upper. Rehab Addict. I see what you’re doing!

The main idea of sliding doors is they’re useful for conserving space compared to traditional swinging doors. It makes sense to save space, especially if you’re using a wheelchair or a walker to move around the home. Plus, if you’ve got some spare shiplap, you just made yourself a barn door for little cost.

But, let’s hold our horses before jumping on the “Sliding Door Wagon”! Although sliding doors save precious space in our homes, here’s five things to consider before installing sliding doors!

1) Door handle

Pocket and barn doors have this myth of accessibility. For some strange reason, people seem to think they’re super easy to open for everybody.

Not true at all. I’ve worked with countless clients to bear witness to their attempts to grip the door handle. To be honest, I’ve never seen a pocket door handle I’ve truly liked. Most of the time, the handles are flush pulls which make it nearly impossible for people with arthritis to grip and pull open a door sideways. Not to mention if someone has balance issues on top of arthritis, you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

Struggling to open the bathroom door? For Pete’s sake! What kind of life is this?

If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you’ll know I love C and D-shaped handles. I’ve seen people install these types of handles on barn doors, which certainly improves your hand grip.

Unfortunately, another problem arises for pocket and barn doors with C and D-shaped handles: the door won’t close all the way. People’s hands end up getting squished in between the door frame and the handle when they’re closing the door inside the bathroom.

Ouch!

In fact, I’ve seen most people just leave the sliding door open to get rid of one obstacle to going to the bathroom. What’s the point of even having a bathroom door if you don’t use it? Privacy be damned!

Is that what you want? To have to sacrifice your privacy? Or always struggle to open and close the door to the bathroom?

Choose wisely.

2) Track Durability

Surprise, surprise! The doors DO eventually come off of the track for a myriad of reasons. The most common reason why doors come off of the track is people pulling the door towards them while opening and closing the door instead of moving the door sideways along the track.

First, let’s look the pocket door.

Half of the pocket door’s track is exposed at the top of the door frame and the other half is inside of the wall. If the pocket door comes off track, you can easily see and fix the outside, but good luck with the inside of the track! You almost always need to hire somebody to come to your home and fix the door.

Hopefully, the pocket door doesn’t get stuck on the track while you’re inside of the bathroom!

(If you’ve been stuck in the bathroom because of the door, please share your experience in the comment section below!)

When barn doors come off track, that can be a bit scary too! Barn door tracks are located above the door frame, so they’re easier to fix. But if they do come off track, you have to lean a really big door against the wall while waiting for someone to put it back in place. Imagine watching your Grandma trying to move a huge door to the wall next to the bathroom. Do you think that’s going to be easy for her? Talk about a back buster!

3) Cost

Earlier, I mentioned that barn doors can be on the inexpensive side ranging $100-$300. They cost the same as installing a swinging door no matter if it’s new construction or a remodel. But keep in mind that the chance of needing a barn door repair job is high. Compare that to how often you repair your swinging door. I’m guessing your swinging door never comes off of its hinges!

Now, pocket doors can become really pricey because they go inside the wall when they’re open. That means the wall cannot have any electrical components, duct work, or plumbing going through it at the same time. If you’re building new, the cost of a pocket door is much less than installing one in an existing wall. Fixr.com estimates installing a pocket door to be $100-$500 for new construction and $1,000-$2,500 in a remodel.

Zoinks! That’s expensive!

4) Maintenance

Barn doors and pocket doors MUST HAVE maintenance done on the track. Just like with everything else, dust and debris spreads everywhere! You need the tracks to be well lubricated and free from dirt blocking the wheels.

That is unless you want to struggle opening and closing the sliding door.

Also, you’ll want to hire somebody or have a younger family member to do this dirty job to avoid Granny and Grandpa climbing a stool to clean the track. Barn and pocket doors may not be the best way to prevent falls after all!

5) Acoustics

Last, but not least, my favorite topic: bathroom acoustics. We Americans love bathroom privacy and hate the idea that someone else can hear our bodily functions. Bathrooms are almost 100% hard surfaces: tile floor, acrylic shower walls, porcelain vanity, etc. The list goes on. There’s not much softening the sound of a bowel movement after eating some bean burritos.

Guess what kind of door doesn’t allow you to seal those sounds inside of the bathroom? That’s right, sliding doors.

Pocket and barn doors, especially barn doors, are the nemesis to those who want total bathroom sound privacy. All of those sounds escape to other parts of the house. If you have a guest who values their bathroom privacy, they may avoid using your bathroom in order to safeguard their dignity. That’s not very hospitable of you!

Now, if you don’t care about others hearing you in your most vulnerable state, than this is a non issue. Good for you for not caring if others can hear your bowels! I wish I could be you, but I’m not. I need for the bathroom door to be sealed. I need my privacy!

With a quick search on the internet machine, I found a resource to help you soundproof barn doors. The only caveat to soundproofing the barn door is that the materials may affect how easy it is to open and close the door.

For instance, a solid wood door would keep those bathroom noises from escaping, but then you’d have a heavier door to open and shut along the track. Take this into consideration if you’re hell bound on installing a barn door as your bathroom door, okay?

After thinking about those five points, what’re you going to do? Write your thoughts in the comment section below! Your perspective may help someone else who’s trying to make a decision too!

(Hey, did you know we have an awesome online course for people who have a hard time wiping after using the toilet? It’s an awkward topic that you can learn how to solve in the comfort and privacy of your own home! Learn more about the course HERE!)