LESLIE: Now we’re going to New Jersey where Janice has a bathroom question.
Janice, how can we help?
JANICE: I have a small cape and upstairs there’s an unfinished area that, in the 50s, when the house was built, was designated as a possible future bathroom …
TOM: OK.
JANICE: … as couples increased their family and had children. There is water coming – water pipes that come under the floorboards, so that would be no problem. However, it’s a small area and the door opens in to this area. I had thought, with a suggestion from a friend, that maybe I could put bi-fold doors.
LESLIE: What about a pocket door?
JANICE: I didn’t know whether there was enough width. I think I only have maybe five feet, at the most, to play with there.
TOM: Well, the thing is, a pocket door is a great door but it requires demolition of the wall to put it in.
LESLIE: Well, what about something that operates on the same system as a pocket door but hangs exterior, so it’s sort of like a hanging door almost used for like a closet but can …
TOM: Almost like a sliding garage door.
LESLIE: Kind of. And that can be cute because if the house is decorated in sort of like a country style, you can make it look like an old barn door or something.
TOM: Yeah, and you know what? That would probably be a lot more durable than a bi-fold door. I hate bi-fold doors. They’re always coming off the track.
LESLIE: Plus then there’s that whole privacy issue, “Can they hear me?”
TOM: Yeah.
JANICE: Yes. (Leslie chuckles) That area of the house is really not used that much. It would be a second bathroom. But then I was listening on your previous show; the discussion about the problem with the bi-fold doors. So I was wondering is this a good idea or not; is there something else. And do you know of any companies that I might look into for other types of doors like …
LESLIE: Well, you can get a regular wood door or even one of those plastic composite doors that look like they’re made from wood and then hang it on – it’s an exterior track that has a cover over the front of it but it has these clips that fit over the door so that the door is now hanging on the track and slides across. So when closed, it would be sliding in front of the open doorway; and when open, you could place it to the side which would, if you have space for it, just sit right on the wall next to it. And that’s fairly easy to do. You can buy all of those components at The Home Depot and even do it yourself.
JANICE: Oh, my. Oh, that’s really good news. (chuckles) Because I was really wondering if there were to be a solution to this because the door itself, opening inside, takes quite a bit of space.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. And then how do you get in and out.
TOM: That would take almost no space. That’s a great idea.
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