In article ,
Cap'n 321 wrote:
Is it possible to retrofit a pocket door without tearing out the
parallel wall. In other words, can I do the installation fully from the
jamb? We have open doorways from the dining room and hall into the
kitchen and need to keep the dogs in the kitchen area. I'm thinking of
half-height pocket doors if the job can be done without major surgery on
the adjacent walls.

I suppose it is *theoretically*possible*, **IF** you have the right
tools. But those would be some *very* exotic tools.

I've done it by taking taking off the wall 'skin' from _one_ side of
the space where the door was to go; vertically sawing out 'most' of the
existing studs (and, admittedly, this was 2x6 internal construction,
not 2x4); then adding in the 'skinny steel' ones that come with the
pocket door package, while building in the header that holds the track;
and finally re-skinning that 'opened up' side of the wall.