"I went to work in an office that had a pocket door that never worked right because someone had driven nails into it at some point and it was never the same after" (palimpsest) Yes. This happened to us when DH nailed the baseboard on the wall between the laundry and kitchen. The door came off track. When we renovate I will replace or remove. However, this was builder grade. On our extension I added three pocket doors. The one I had put in for the powder room is a solid core door, not thinner than most doors, as I wanted as much sound-dampening as possible with such a device. We used Johnson Hardware - not the home depot variety which runs $ 40 or so, but commercial grade. Look at the Johnson site under 1500 Commercial Grade and you will also find non-standard size frames (door max thickness 1 3/4"). Use a good carpenter.

Thanks for the picture dyhgarden! Wondering what pulls you used on the sides? By the way, your bathroom in the background looks heavenly! I've done some reading on the soft close/open feature on my pocket doors (Johnson) and it appears that the soft close feature also works to keep doors tightly closed. So I don't think I will need a magnetic latch of any kind to keep it firmly closed. That saves about $100 off the Cavilock option pictured above, but its still a l lot more than the back to back pulls would be. Meeting with my contractor tomorrow. The first time I brought up the back to back pull idea, both my contractor and DH thought that would make the side panels uneven, but I don't see how that affects the look of the door when it's fully closed. I'm not the type can can visualize things in my head, so I ordered the back to back pulls and will see how they look. Since they only need a few holes to install, I figure I could always change them later to a recessed pull of some sort, except for the fact that the soft open mechanism/back stop would need to be moved and that would require the walls to be open. I hate being so indecisive!

The same people who make Murphy Beds also make special doors that look like a bi-fold bookcase (if you want) or they can actually make up any look within reason! Wondering about the placement of this door and if it can actually become a china cabinet or bookcase (if that's preferred). I'm posting one of their many threads just to give you a feel for versatility. There's always something about hidden rooms that piques the interest of adults and children. Turn your lemon into lemonade. Enjoy! https://www.themurphydoor.com/gallery/surface-mount/

Not laughing! My first attempt was blue painters tape. If I can find something that works and requires no install, I’ll be a happy camper! It is been forever since I’ve seen or thought of those rubber door stops. I wonder if they’ll have enough friction to keep out my lab?? She is pretty strong and I had to buy door knobs for the house since can operate the levers.. Fortunately, the stoppers don’t cost much, so I won’t be out much if they don’t work. If we needed a permanent fix, I wouldn’t worry so much about cost and just buy the real locking door knobs.