They Slide! They Slide!
Life can be quite vexing.
We have all experienced difficulties and tragedies.
But, I put forth that there are few things more vexing than having an old house with sliding doors…which don’t slide.
I have been through a lot in life. A lot. Don’t get me started. But, sliding doors which don’t slide is JUST TOO MUCH TO TAKE.
I mean, there are limits to what we must endure. Right?
The Cross House has three pairs of pocket doors. And a single very wide pocket door. Only the pair to the dining room actually opened/closed as intended by God.
The rest? It was like doing battle. Tugging and pulling and sweating and swearing to get them closed.
I simply don’t ascribe to the idea that one should do battle with their old house.
Limits! I have limits!
Last March I reached my limit. I would win the battle. I WOULD WIN!
Except I had no idea of how to win.
The internet saved me.
For, there, I found Stephen Thorp. And Stephen gallantly offered wise strategies for removing the doors (a task which had totally befuddled me) and and and offered to restore the highly damaged wheels.
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Who builds a wall against a movable door?!
It boggles the mind.
Aside from that, congrats on functioning pocket doors!
Looks like the yokes not on you after all Ross…happy sliding!
You do realize that you are going to have to somehow post a video of the doors in action… Such a thing would be almost pornographic to us…
I would say….orgasmic….
Vexing is having your pocket doors cut in half and used as a toilet partition in the basement! I will hear none of your whining!!!!
OK. That made me laugh!
Are all the pieces there?
Yeah, leaving the door intact and building a wall against it seems very kind in comparison to that!
Yes, one does hanker for a video. With sound.
Stephen Thorpe is indeed a magician! Congrats on getting the pocket doors moving again:-)
I loooooooooove having working pocket doors!
And I loooooooooove Stephen!
Yay! For you, for the working doors, and for Stephen! This also helps me because I have sliding wooden closet doors in my old home that don’t slide so well anymore. I have wondered what to do about them, and this gives me some guidance! I will look into replacing the rollers on the doors, which I have actually been able to remove because they jump off the track too!
Hi – gorgeous and so jealous. Just awesome.
Wow! I keep finding more and more of your ‘goodies’. I just found your “Wanna Meet…?” page! I LOVE pocket doors and high ceilings. I live in Historic Chester County, PA and there is a beautiful Victorian B&B in my area, owned and run by a friend of my daughter. It has gorgeous pocket doors, an incredible 4-story staircase that you can look up and see all four floors, plus amazingly beautiful rooms – all restored. The kitchen is modern because it has to be, but the entire rest of the house is a feast for the eyes.
This area is chock-full of historic sites: Valley Forge, the Brandywine Battlefield, the Daniel Boone Homestead, covered bridges, a house Lincoln once lived in and much, much more. In October of every year, there is a tour designed for visitors to view interiors of all kinds of architecture, from the Early American Period, through the Civil War, the Victorian Era and lots more. Other than historical monuments, most of them are private homes, lovingly cared for in perfect or near-perfect condition. Sometimes you’ll see an historic home in process of restoration like yours, then some years later, it will show up on the tour again as a finished beauty. Hundreds of people come in on buses because the event is drool-worthy.