Are you talking about a pocket door? A door that slides into the wallspace? If that's the case, no I don't think it would turn prosepctive buyers off.

It would turn ME off. The latches on most pocket doors are very flimsy, and that makes me feel anxious about my privacy. If you can come up with a good-looking secure lock, I'd reconsider.

We had one in the old house, used a 6 panel colonial door, so it was a real door. The lock we had was decent, make sure you look at them 1st as they can be hard to find. You can also find them online with more of a selection. Since we were selling the house & it wasn't a main bathroom we didn't get the best one we could find as it was online. The one we bought wasn't the cheapie either.

Also make sure you have a contractor that knows what he's doing. The guy we used told me he's done this before then hung the door too high so that there was a 1 1/2 inch gap, which is pretty large (for me anyway) for a bathroom door. He never offered to rehang it when I told him how displeased I was with it. He ended up splitting for 2 or 3 weeks because I ticked him off. Had we stayed, he would have taken everything apart & redid it.

My preference though for a main bathroom is a real door.

I really like pocket doors. We have a couple in our house, including on our master bath door, and they are nifty. Great space savers. I wouldn't mind one in the hallway bath.

How heavy duty of a lock does one need on a door in a private house? Who lives or visits there that would force open a door? Must be a much more interesting house than mine! :-)

I think this is a pretty personal preference but I'm a vote for it wouldn't turn me off. UNLESS it was hung on cheap hardware and didn't work smoothly as many of them are/do. Do some research (check the build a house or remodeling forums) and buy your own ultra sturdy hardware rather than rely on the guy you hire to provide it.
If you want to go all out enlarge your door to 36" (if you have the space, money) which makes it more accessible to walkers, wheelchairs and just well, just generally more accessible.

Johnson hardware and a good installation should be fine.

Do you have a wall deep enough to accomodate a pocket door? Seems that if space is that tight, you may not want to lose the room. You know, a bathroom door *can* open out -- not just in.

I wouldn't like it - expecially since it opens, as you say, on the main hall. It probably wouldn't be a deal breaker for me but everything else being equal I would go for the house with the regular door

DH & I just built our dream home, and every single bathroom - except the master (I lost that battle lol) - has pocket doors.

The key as others have said, is:
1) Quality hardware. Pocket doors used to get a bad rap because the doors would fall off from the rails. When picking your hardware, go for quality that gives you a "guarantee". We chose Stanley, a good brand here, and we've had no problems whatsoever. (we moved in Sept 07)
2) We went with solid doors, and insulated each bathroom, to maximize privacy - and it works as well as if you put a swing door in.
3) It is sooooooooo much easier to vacuum in the bathrooms when you don't have to work "around" a swing door - just push the door in the wall and no obstacles!
4) Ensure that you, or who you are having them done by, install them correctly.

I absolutely LOVE our pocket doors and do not regret our decision at all (except that dang master swing door lol!!)

Lora

I love pocket doors. My ex-SIL had them in many rooms of her circa 1900 home and I fell for them then. We have a few in this house and I wish we had more. They are space savers and add loads of charm. If they had been installed in every room in the house I would have been thrilled.

As others have said, good quality hardware and good quality doors are the key.

Even though I voted against it here, I actually really like pocket doors too, and have used a lot of them in this house. It's only for a busy bathroom where I object.

Bathroom door custems vary with households. In our home, the door to a bathroom is only closed when it's in use. But I know some other people always keep the bathroom door closed. And it's those people I worry about barging in on me unintentionally. Of course, if the bathroom is in a private area of the home, that uneasiness isn't there.

We have pocket doors on two of our bathrooms. I love that they don't take up extra space, but the one thing I don't like is sometimes I pull it closed too quickly and boom, it slams. I've broken several fingernails in an attempt to grab it before it slams closed. Quality is critical in pocket doors. Go to a showroom and try out the hardware before choosing. Another very important thing is to ensure that whoever is doing any remodeling around the door understands that a pocket door is being installed so that you don't end up with a miscellaneous nail through your pocket door.

My concern about anything but a standard door would be the noise factor - whether another type of door will give you the sound barrier a standard one does, or not.

Another thing to think about with pocket doors is how deep the recess for your fingers is. I like the ones with a little pull or tab that pull out for you to grasp much better than the ones that only fit 1/2" of your finger.

Thanks, everybody!

Now I feel confident going ahead with a pocket door. We had already planned on doing a solid door, so all I need to do now is track down those good hardware brands. Many thanks!

Jane

I've never had a pocket door, but always wished I had one in my current house, because I have quite a few doors that open into another door (closet, etc.)

Now that we are building I think I went a bit overboard. We will have 8 pocket doors in the new house. I'd have more if the placement made sense.

OK, this has nothing to do with pocket doors, but the 'non traditional bathroom door in semi public area' reminded me of the house I grew up in. The kitchen had a bathroom right off of it. No polite hallway to it, it was just right there in the corner. And it had louvered doors. Yes, louvered doors, like you might see on a pantry, and the "lock" was a small knob and flippy thing that hooked onto it. One light push and the door popped open...

My parents entertained alot, but this bathroom was just so weird that they never even mentioned it to guests, and directed them upstairs to the hall bathroom that served the kids' bedrooms. I'm not sure why they never replaced the louvered doors with a solid one, but even if they had, it was still rather bizarre to have a toilet connected to the kitchen!

Oh, I guess I should add: A quality sliding door would not turn me off in the least. I think they are pretty cool, and it would be nice not having a hinged door in the way all the time.

I'm not really pro or con on the pocket door, but just another thing to keep in your mind. We have a pocket door on our pantry and my family calles it the pincher door. Little kids NEVER use the 'handle' and just put both of their hands on it and slide. Since kids never do anything slowly, almost every week someones fingers end up getting pinched, and let me tell you from my own experience when I got in to big of a hurry that it hurts like the dickens. Being a bathroom door it will get ALOT more use than my pantry door and its been a problem for us.

Stanley has been late to the pocket door hardware game.
Their light duty hardware is junk.
The heavy duty hardware is at least acceptable.

Johnson hardware has been in the pocket door business a long time, and while they appear to have added a cruddy line (open rail type) their normal fare is a closed C-rail with 3 and 4 wheel boggies that are trapped in the rail.
They cannot 'come off' like the open rail junk.

Even a 2x4 thickness wall can take a pocket door in a pinch, but you do have to watch out for any electrical wiring in the area of the pocket.
There is not enough room for a box.

our main floor bathroom has a sliding pocket door from the master bedroom. There was no way I wanted a regular door as when it is open it would of blocked off the tub with the arch over it-to me it is the main focal point of the room.

We also have a pocket door of the powder room on the upper floor of our 1 1/2 storey home, between the guest room and family room. We've had no problems with them at all.