Pocket Door Stuck in

[Rick Vyncke]

2004 Marquis (Garnett), the bedroom pocket door was left in an unlocked position and is now stuck.  The leading face of the door is about 1.5"-2" beyond flush with the door frame.  I can get my hands on the door but it won't budge.

Is there any way to gain better access?  Not possible on the shower side but on the bedroom side is a full-length mirror.  Can that and the panel upon which it's mounted be removed to expose the door?  I'd rather not go to that length but the boss really wants that door working again.  All ideas welcome.

Greatly appreciate any suggestions.
Thanks

[David T. Richelderfer]

I'll bet we are thinking the same problem has occurred... the door has defeated the "open stop" and allowed the inner roller to go off the end of the suspension rail/track.  Can you tell if the door is tilted slightly down towards the inner, hidden end behind the wall?  If so, then the inner roller has probably ran off the end of the suspension rail.  If this all seems as it is, can a piece of lathe be pushed under the door to raise the inner end of the door to try to get the inner roller back up on the track while gently pulling on the door?  Just a thought...  One thickness of lathe may not be enough thickness to raise it sufficiently.

Now... if I extrapolate to your next problem, it will the that defeated "open stop."  I hope it's not broken out of position... but I would guess it is.  The upper suspension rail/track looks much like a piece of kindorf used in electrical wiring supports.  If the "open stop" is broken, then you may have to open the wall behind the mirror anyways... to repair it.

[Gerald Farris]

Rick,
I do not see anyway to repair the door without opening the wall to gain access to the track. If the door roller can be coaxed back into the track by just raising the inside edge of the door, there is no way that it will stay there as you travel unless you repair the stop that let it fall off of the track.

Gerald

[Rick Vyncke]

Not the news I was hoping for but...

Is there an easy way to open up that wall?  

The door has a lock that extends into a block on the floor to lock it into place.  Had that been set correctly then it wouldn't have traveled in so far and wouldn't be stuck.  If I can get it moving again I'll make sure that lock gets set.

[Jerry Carr]

It sounds like a big issue but you may want to give the guy's in Bend (BCS) a call they may have seen your issue before they have a great wood shop and the guy that runs this did work at the factory. I would sure give the a call before I started pulling things apart.

[David T. Richelderfer]

I was thinking that too, Rick.  If you are able to get the inside roller back up onto the suspension track, then making sure it is locked open in place would allow you to make repairs at some later date and place to your liking, or even at an RV repair shop.

[Joel Ashley]

Had a similar issue last year, but ours wasn't stuck;  it just wouldn't go all the way back in and lock for travel, slamming open and shut on every curve until I blocked it.  The guys at BCS fixed it, and I think they removed the wood ceiling molding at the top that hides the mechanism, so they could swing the door out to make the fix, but I'm not certain.  

Removing that molding might give you more visibility at least and that is always primal to engineering a fix.  I know on ours they cut an inch or so off the back vertical door edge so the thing would roll back far enough, so something inaccessible deep inside must have fallen out of place.  Yours certainly sounds like a jammed guide roller;  maybe removing molding would allow a rod of some sort to reach back and pry it loose enough to move the door out, or give you a better grip somewhere up along the track.

Like Jerry says, give BCS a buzz.  They've been there, done that many times.

Joel