Help Around the House host Henry Harrison comes to the rescue for a homeowner whose century old pocket doors are squeaking and grinding. Harrison traces the problem to a piece of trim that is rubbing on the door (
figure A) and shows how to remove and realign the piece. On his elbow grease scale of one to four, Harrison gives this job a two.
Tools:
utility knife
pry bar
pliers
hammer
nail set
paint scraper
pull saw
5-in-1 painter's tool
towel
drop cloth
sanding pad
safety glasses
gloves
denatured alcohol
nails
Steps:
1. Cut the paint seam along the trim piece using the utility knife. Carefully remove the trim piece using a pry bar and hammer (figure B). Remove any stray nails left behind with the pliers.
2. Now refit the piece, taking care to mount it so it does not scrape against the door again. In this project, the problem was with the trim and door making contact around the center. So the trim was nailed back in the original holes at the top and bottom, leaving the middle free to flex. Then the middle was nailed back with a slight bow away from the door to eliminate the friction (figure C).
3. Clean up the pocket doors once they're sliding smoothly. Lay down a drop cloth and rub the doors with a sanding pad dipped in denatured alcohol to remove old shellac (figure D). Work in the direction of the grain to avoid making visible scratches.
4. A carbide-tipped paint scraper will work great for scraping off old paint ( figure E).
5. Finish by cleaning the doors once more with the denatured alcohol.
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