Pocket, sliding and pivot doors

At a glance

Example figures are from one maker's document each (a pocket kit, revision May 2025; a pivot hinge, created 2015) and are not rules. Read 7 November 2026.

Four mechanisms, and what each needs

Pocket, sliding and pivot doors solve different problems. A pocket door gives a clear wall and no swing. A surface slider keeps the wall build-up simple and suits a feature track. A bypass pair works for wide openings where only part needs to be open at once. A pivot door turns a large leaf on pins set in from its edge, so it can be wider and heavier than a side-hung leaf, and the swing becomes a feature. Each needs something different from the building and from the door.

Folding or bi-fold leaves are a fifth family. The standard for sliding and folding door hardware, BS EN 1527, covers both (see the weights section for the status we saw), and a folding set shares the rated-load question with sliding ones.

Door weight and hardware rating

Start with the leaf. The weight of a leaf is not the weight of its core. Add the face veneer or lacquered skin, any glass, metal inlay, lippings, ironmongery and any acoustic or fire build-up. Ask the partner workshop to state the finished leaf weight on the shop drawing, in kilograms, for the leaf as it will hang.

Then the hardware. Each maker publishes a maximum door weight for the kit, track or hinge. The two documents read for this sheet show how much depends on the product: one pocket kit data sheet (revision May 2025) gives a maximum of 120 kg for each door and a door thickness of 35 or 44 mm; one pivot hinge document (created 2015) gives up to 500 kg with a maximum width of 2,000 mm from the pivot point to the end of the door and a minimum thickness of 40 mm. These are examples of the form the data takes, not limits to design to. The pivot document also shows closing force falling as the door gets wider, so a 500 kg rating is not available at every width.

Define the margin. The master research suggests writing that the hardware load rating must be at least a stated multiple of the door weight, with the multiple to be confirmed with the hardware maker. We did not find a factor in any source we read, so the paste-in wording leaves the factor as a blank for the maker to fill. Ask whether the rated load includes soft-close or other accessories: the pocket data sheet lists soft-close and damper accessories with their own weight figures (50 and 60 kg panels), which shows accessories can have lower limits than the kit.

The test standard. BS EN 1527 is the standard for hardware for sliding doors and folding doors. BSI Knowledge describes its scope as manual sliding, sliding corner, bi-fold and multi-panel folding doors, with cycle, static load, initial friction and corrosion tests on the fitting and track only, excluding the doors themselves. We could not read the standard, and we saw conflicting listings of which edition is current (see the notes). Ask the hardware maker whether the product is tested to it and to which edition.

Pivot units. A pivot door is hung on pins rather than hinges, and the floor unit and head unit each have a rating. Ask for both, and for the maker’s fixing requirements into the floor slab or screed and the head.

Wall build-up, access and noise

A pocket door asks the wall to be a different construction from the rest of the partition. The drawing is one maker’s kit at scale: it shows how little space is left around the leaf, which is why the studs, plasterboard thickness and any wall-mounted fittings need to be settled before the pocket is built. For a leaf of 44 mm in that kit, the clear internal space is 69 mm, which leaves about 12 to 13 mm each side before the board face.

• No services in the pocket. Cables, pipes and fixings that cross the cavity stop the leaf. Ask where the kit allows fixings to go, and keep sockets, switches and wall-hung fittings away from the pocket zone.
• Reach the track. Track, rollers and soft-close units wear. Ask the maker how they are reached, and show the access panel or removable head lining on the drawing.
• Stud and board build-up. The example kit is compatible with metal and timber studs of 70, 75, 90 and 100 mm, with finished walls of 95, 100 or 115 mm on request as well as the standard 125 mm. A thinner finished wall may limit the leaf thickness; check against the data sheet.
• Head and floor. A surface slider needs a head structure to carry the load; a pivot door needs the floor build-up to take the pivot unit. Coordinate with the structural engineer and the floor finish.
• Acoustics and fire. A pocket cavity and a track gap are paths for sound and, in a fire, for flame and smoke. We found no source stating that a pocket door set has a fire or acoustic rating. See the acoustic doors sheet and the fire door specification guide before promising either.

Safety: Approved Document K

Approved Document K (2013 edition, England) Requirement K6 asks for provision to prevent any door which slides or opens upwards falling onto any person, and a powered door from trapping anyone. It does not apply to dwellings. Section 10 sets out how:

• Sliding doors (10.1b). Provide a stop or other effective means to prevent them coming off the end of the track, and a retaining rail to prevent the door falling if the suspension system fails or the rollers leave the track.
• Vision panels (10.1a). In door leaves and side panels wider than 450 mm, include vision panels towards the leading edge to give the zones of visibility in Diagram 10.1.
• Doors that swing out (10.2). If, in normal use, doors (excluding fire escape doors) swing out by more than 100 mm towards an access route, protect them as shown in Diagram 10.2. A pivot door, whose leaf sweeps both sides of the pins, is worth checking against this.

For a home, K6 does not apply, but the same failure modes are worth designing out. For a hotel, club or restaurant, the retaining rail and stops are part of the specification, not extras. Whether a sliding or pivot door can sit on a means of escape, and the opening force and clear width it must give, are questions for the fire engineer and the accessibility consultant; we did not read the Approved Documents B and M on those points for this sheet. See the Approved Document M sheet and the door sizes sheet.

Door leaf [reference] finished weight not to exceed [x] kg, as stated on the approved shop drawing. Door weight to include face finishes, glass, inlay, lippings and ironmongery.

Track, kit or pivot units to have a rated load not less than [factor] times the finished leaf weight, the factor to be confirmed in writing by the hardware maker [and structural engineer]. Rated load to be stated with accessories fitted (soft-close, dampers). Hardware to be tested to BS EN 1527 [edition to be confirmed] for sliding and folding doors, or the maker to state why not.

Sliding doors to be fitted with a stop or other effective means to prevent them coming off the end of the track and a retaining rail to prevent the door falling if the suspension fails or the rollers leave the track [outside dwellings: Approved Document K, 10.1(b)]. Vision panels as the fire and accessibility reports require.

Pocket doors to be fitted in a [metal / timber] stud wall of [x] mm finished thickness to the kit manufacturer's data sheet. No services or fixings within the pocket zone. Access to track and rollers by [removable head lining / access panel] as shown on drawing [ ].

Pivot door floor and head units to be rated for the leaf weight and width stated, with the maker's fixing requirements into [slab / screed / head structure] confirmed by the structural engineer.

Standards and sources

• Approved Document K: Protection from falling, collision and impact (2013 edition, England): Requirement K6; Section 10, 10.1 and 10.2. Read 7 Nov 2026.
• BS EN 1527 Building hardware: hardware for sliding doors and folding doors: BSI Knowledge listing: scope read; status not settled; standard not read.
• Pocket door kit data sheet (one maker, revision May 2025) and pivot hinge technical documentation (one maker, 2015): examples only; makers named in the notes file.

Questions we are asked

How heavy a pocket door can I specify?

As heavy as the kit's rated load allows, and no heavier. One pocket kit data sheet (revision May 2025) gives a maximum door weight of 120 kg and a thickness of 35 or 44 mm; other kits differ. Ask the hardware maker for the rated load for your leaf and whether soft-close or dampers lower it.

How thick must the wall be for a pocket door?

It depends on the kit and the leaf. One kit data sheet gives a finished wall of 125 mm and an internal space of 69 mm for the standard range, with 95, 100 and 115 mm finished walls on request, and studs of 70 to 100 mm. Use your chosen maker's data sheet.

Do sliding doors need a retaining rail?

Approved Document K (2013 edition, England) Section 10.1(b) asks for a stop to keep sliding doors on the end of the track and a retaining rail to stop the door falling if the suspension fails or the rollers leave the track. Requirement K6 does not apply to dwellings. Check the current edition and building control.

What is the weight limit for a pivot door?

It depends on the unit and on the width. One pivot hinge document (2015) gives up to 500 kg, up to 2,000 mm from the pivot point to the end of the door, with closing force falling as width increases. Ask for the floor and head unit ratings separately.

Can a pocket door be a fire door?

We found no source stating a fire rating for a pocket door set. A fire rating attaches to a tested and certified doorset, so a pocket or sliding door would need its own test evidence. See the fire door specification guide and take advice from the fire engineer.

Where does the cost come in?

This sheet gives no cost figure. Cost follows the leaf size, weight, finish, hardware and wall build-up, and is a question for your partner workshop at tender.