To trim our door, we bought a jamb kit and ripped two pieces of it to 13/8 in. wide for our 15/8-in.-wide door. We installed these at the top and side of the door opening.

A carpenter will charge $622 to install a 36-inch pocket door, but if you have carpentry experience and tools, you can buy the door and hardware system for $230 and do it yourself, saving 63 percent.

Double pocket doors are a major space saver, but installation is more complex than it is for a typical door. Here's what you should know before adding them.

If you have trouble finding good-quality pocket door hardware kits, check with these manufacturers for the names of local retail sources of their kits: Johnson Hardware, (800) 837-5664, www ...

There are several advantages of pocket doors over swinging doors. A swinging door typically requires about 10 square feet of floor area for clearance to open and close it. A pocket door requires none.

The pocket door hangs from a track that is secured to the header. Some manufacturer's tracks are adjustable for the length and some are a fixed length that you will have to cut to fit.

Many standard pocket door frames and hardware will support doors which weigh up to 125 pounds. With an optional kit you can install a 200-pound door. Double-acting pocket doors are no problem.

Installing a pocket door during new construction is easy because the walls are open and everything is visible. Installing it into a closed-up wall can be a real challenge since you have to cut ...