How do you take a pocket door apart?

[Mort Guffman]

I bought a house that has quite a few pocket doors. The cheapie lock gizmo doesn't work on any of them (thanks home inspector).

I usually take doors down and sand them before repainting. It's pretty easy to do and they come out real nice. I paint them while they're off, and replace the hinges (I don't like painted hinges).

It looks like the only way to take down a pocket door is to tear off the molding. Is there a better way? If not, are there any tricks for taking the molding off without damaging it?

Thanks

Mort

[Art]

Why not visit home depot and check out new hardware for a pocket door and see how it works and gets installed. If molding has to be removed, get a wonderbar and work slowly. Also, sometime carpenters cut nails in half with a sawzall or clippers. I wanted a door reversed once and the carpenters removed moldings on one side, cut all the nails holding the door frame in place, removed and reinstalled the door and frame and replaced the molding in less than 30 minutes with almost no painting needed. Also cut the paint around the molding before removal with a utility knife.

[RB]

My pocket doors all have one side of the top of split jamb screwed in place with #7 stainless trim screws to facilitate access to the top latches.

Johnson, one of the primary suppliers of pocket door hardware shows the proper installation. Youy might get an idea about how to proceed by looking at their cross-section drawings.

Why not visit home depot and check out new hardware for a pocket door and

[s]

You can also tear down the wall using a sledge hammer. Much easier to do !