The modern classic bathroom remodel is *almost* done. If you recall, I changed out the bathroom door framing for a pocket door in order to make the bathroom and laundry combo room operate more smoothly. I searched and searched for a one-sided mirror pocket door because I only want a mirror on the bathroom side. But I could only find double-sided mirrored doors that were expensive to boot. So I decided to save some money and make my own DIY one-sided mirror bathroom pocket door. This post will show you how I added a mirror and an fancy pocket door lock to a single panel door to use for the pocket door of the modern classic bathroom remodel. You can check out more of the bathroom remodel and the main house by clicking on those text links if you like.
First things first. Here is the single panel door I ordered from Wayfair. I opted for a solid pine wood door in order to give it a little more sound proofing and weight. I also need a solid wood section to install the door lock. Please note, that door hole in the photo below did NOT come with the door. I had to drill that for the fancy pocket door lock, but more on that later. It is a pine door but it comes pre-primed white as you see in the photo.
Drill Holes for Pocket Door Lock:
As this will be a bathroom door, I want a proper lock. Since I’m saving a lot of money by DIYing the bathroom remodel, I decided to splurge on the pocket door lock. It is an EMTEK Narrow Modern Rectangular Pocket Door Mortise Lock in satin brass. It’s beautiful, and it operates so smoothly. And no, this is not your typical pocket door hardware that attaches to the side of the door. I actually have to drill a hole through the front and through the side, a lot like a standard door nob hole, just different shaped.
The pocket door lock comes with directions and a template to use when drilling the door hole. I measured everything out to place the top of the pocket door lock, not the hole but the finish face plate, at 42.5 inches from the bottom of the door. If my estimates on the air gap at the bottom of the door are correct, that should align the top of the lock face plate with the top of electrical outlet face plates along the same wall. That’s a really fine-tuned and specific detail, I know, but I think if everything lines up, it will look great.
Anyway, these are the tools I used to cut out the hole for the pocket door lock. I needed the DeWalt hole saws to drill through the face of the door. I used the Bosch Daredevil spade drill bits to drill out the narrow edge. Then I used a set of chisels to notch the narrow edge so that the door lock sits flush.
Here is a close up of my notched, drilled, and chiseled door lock hole. It’s not perfect, but it will get covered by the lock face plates. Professionals typically make these drilled holes with special tools, likely a router. I didn’t have that on hand so I worked slowly and methodically to get it good enough. I can fill in the notched edges on the narrow edge with wood filler to smooth them out.
Hole Saw Kit
This innovative holesaw kit utilizes a deep-cut technique, which broadens functionality by increasing the variety of widths the saw is compatible with. It also features an enlarged bi-metal section, which is crafted from M3 steel for added protection against jobsite abuse. Packed in the kit are: 3/4-, 7/8-, 1-1/8-, 1-1/2-, 1-3/4-, 2-1/4-inch holesaws, two mandrels, and a rugged kit box.
Spade Drill Bit Set
- Speed drilling – designed to deliver the fastest drilling performance possible through wood for a spade bit, up to 10X faster than conventional spade bits, but with clean hole entry and angled cutting edges for reduced blowout
- Full-thread tip – delivers outstanding speed through 2x4s by pulling the bit through the wood
Wood Chisel Set
- Premium Material: Drop forged chrome-vanadium steel blade for durability and heat treated for edge retention
- Widely Function Edge: Bevel edge for woodworking carving multi-purpose use, suitable for all soft wood, hard wood and laminated wood products
- Various Sizes: 1/4″,1/2”, 3/4”, 1”, full length blade guard for added safety
- Durable Handle: PVC colored transparent high impact handle
Paint Pocket Door:
I makes most sense here to paint the door before installing the mirror. The thought of a black door makes my heart sing, so I’m going with the impulse and painting it my favorite black, Blackout Black, by Behr from Home Depot. I have that black in both interior and exterior paint. Since the door came primed, figured I could just paint right on it.
Unfortunately, here is the door with standard interior paint over the primed surface it came with. The paint wouldn’t stick at all and was super easy to peel right off. Huh.
After peeling away that first round of paint, I sanded the primed door to give it more grit, wiped it with a tack cloth to pick up any dust, and gave it a coat of special Zinsser BIN primer. I use this stuff to paint IKEA furniture too, and it works great in making the paint stick.
Still weary of that interior paint I used, I decided to use the exterior grade Blackout Black I had instead. Supposedly exterior paint is more durable anyway, so that sounded good. Plus the house will have enough time to off-gas any paint fumes before we move in.
Here is my primed and painted door after two coats of paint. I added another finishing coat after this photo.
Install Pocket Door Mirror:
Now let’s install the the one-sided mirror for a bathroom pocket door. First, I purchased a 24 inch x 72 inch x 1/8 inch thick acrylic mirror sheet from Home Depot. It is a little bigger than the single pane of the pocket door so we’ll need to trim it down to size.
Here is the mirror out it’s carboard cover. It comes delivered with a hazy protective film that peels off easily.
This is my outdoor setup for trimming the acrylic mirror. You can see I’ve already cut a section off the bottom. To cut the mirror, I used a level clamped to the mirror as a straight edge and a circular saw with a very fine-toothed blade to cut the acrylic.
Cordless Circular Saw
- Power – Brushless motor of DEWALT 7 1/4 circular saw provides 5500RPM maintaining speed under load
- Runtime – The cordless circular saw provides 330 crosscuts in 2×4 (pine)
- Capacity – 7-1/4-inch blade of the compact circular saw provides 2-9/16-inch cutting capacity at 90 degrees
Next, to adhere the mirror the door, I used what I had on-hand, some liquid nails from Home Depot. However, If I were to do this over again, I would use spray adhesive instead to create a 100% flush bond to the door surface.
Here is the liquid nails on the door panel.
Next, I carefully placed the mirror into the door panel. It fit perfectly in the panel area. I added flat weighted boxes after this photo on the mirror to flatten out the liquid nails and help everything bond.
3M Spray Adhesive
- HIGH STRENGTH, FAST TACKING spray adhesive that bonds laminate, wood, concrete, metal, plastic, paper, cardboard, insulation, fabric, melamine, polyethylene, polypropylene, and SBR rubber.
- PERMANENT BOND: Versatile, fast drying, contact-type spray glue bonds strongly to a wide range of projects both large and small, crafting to construction.
Trim Pocket Door Mirror:
The cut on the pocket door mirror edges was pretty good, but it wasn’t perfectly smooth. You can see the edges are a little jagged in the photo below. I’m still really excited about how the door is turning out though!
I decided to add a small bullnose molding around the mirror to give it a really clean finish and to help hold the mirror in place just in case the liquid nails loses its grip over time.
Here is a close up of the bullnose molding as I am measuring out pieces.
I carefully measured each piece and cut 45 degree corners for a professional look. Here the pieces are outside getting painted to match the door.
Once they were dry, I very carefully used a brad nailer to nail the trim in place. Here is a close up of the trim where you can see the brad nail holes that I will fill with wood filler and paint.
Hang Pocket Door & Install Lock:
Here is the installed pocket door hardware that screws into the top of the pocket door. They connect with the rollers on the pocket door track.
Pocket Door Hardware
- FITS 2×4 STUD WALL- 36″x 84″ max door size
- COMMERCIAL GRADE – The 1500 Series Pocket Door Frame is an easily assembled, premium quality commercial/residential kit for installing a pocket door into a 2×4 stud wall. Pocket doors do not need “swing” room, saving valuable floor space while still assuring the full privacy of a standard door. The 1500 Series Pocket Door Frame is perfect for the builder or Do-It-Yourselfer.
- SMOOTH OPERATION – Self-adjusting floor anchors allow for settling of floor without disturbing horizontal alignment of header and track. Balanced three wheel tricycle hangers ensure that all wheels carry weight evenly for a lifetime of smooth operation. Convex rails on box track ensure free rolling.
I tried to install the pocket door myself and nearly dropped it, ha! So I recruited my husband to help. Here is it installed on the pocket door tracks. Woohoo, we have a bathroom door! There is an air gap now, but it will get filled when I installed the door trim.
Now let’s get the gorgeous satin brass pocket door lock installed. Here it is from the lockable bathroom side. You rotate that circular part to lock and unlock it. Does this look amazing against the black?
This is the lock from the hallway side. There is a push button on the narrow face that when you push it, that rectangular section pops out. This is so it’s easy to pull the door out if you’ve pushed it totally into the wall pocket.
Emtek Pocket Door Lock
- Door thickness is 1-3/8″
- Trim plates are 1/8″ thick.
- Sold as complete set.
- Includes screws and strikeplate.
Here is the one-sided mirror pocket door in place! That’s me in my work clothes. I still need to trim out the door frame, add wood filler, caulking, and paint. But the bathroom pocket door is looking good if I do say so myself. I love that the black adds a bit of drama and class to the whole space. Do you like how it turned out?
Next, I’ll show you how I added some modern classic storage to the laundry area in this bathroom remodel. Stay tuned!
Hello,
Great post! Thanks for sharing your experience. How do you like the pocket door lock now ? You must have used it for couple of months now. I want to add a lock to my pocket door and looking for recommendations. Thank you !
Hi Nithya,
Thanks so much for your comment! Yes, you’re correct, the pocket door has been in use for actually over a year now. I’m a bit slow in getting the blog posts up! It has worked great. No problems. It did confuse my elderly mother-in-law once she had locked herself in there and forgot how to unlock it. But thankfully we were able to talk her through getting it unlocked. Otherwise, I still really love it. Hope that helps and thanks for stopping by. Sarah