What I'd like done · two separate pieces of work

1 Augusta Ct, Edison NJ 08820

A closet remodel in an upstairs bedroom, and a partition wall with a glass door downstairs. They’re independent and could happen at different times. I measured everything myself and drew it to those figures, so we’re both looking at the same numbers.

3-bedroom split level Measured with a tape, then modelled Dimensions in feet and inches

One

Kids room — merge the two closets, bypass doors

Upper (bedroom) level · north wall, marked W2 on the drawings

How it is now: two bi-fold closets — a 28¾″ opening and a 51¼″ opening with a 23″ pier between them. The cavities are bigger than the openings: shelf space runs behind the 9½″ end returns and 9″ into the pier from each side, so only 5″ of that wall is solid. Both cavities are 24″ deep.

I want the two of them made into one, with sliding doors across the front.

Room	120" × 122", ceiling 8′-0", heads 83"
Remove	the 5″ pier and both bi-fold sets
New opening	103" in wall W2, keeping the 9½" corner returns
Header	on ordinary jack studs — see the site check below
Cavity after	122" × 24" · 20.3 sq ft, one closet
Doors	3-panel bypass, 35″ panels, 1″ overlap
Mounting	surface mounted on the room face, standing ~5″ proud
Opens to	68" = 5′-8" · 66% of the opening

Two things to check on site

Is wall W2 load-bearing? There’s attic space directly behind it, so it may be carrying ceiling joists over the room below. It’s the difference between a simple header and a header with shoring, so it’s the first thing worth a look.
The attic hatch has to stay reachable. It’s in the back wall of the smaller closet, roughly centred, at about middle-shelf height — a loose block of wood you push up and pull out. It’s the only way I know into that attic, so nothing can be built across it. I haven’t measured it exactly.

Why the doors are surface mounted. Three bypass tracks will not fit inside a 4½″ jamb — each panel and its track wants about 1½″. As far as I can tell, a flush 3-panel unit for a 103″ opening in a 4½″ wall isn’t an off-the-shelf item. If you know one that fits, I’d rather hear it than not.

Plans

How it is now — two bi-fold closets, 23″ pier between them. All figures measured.

How I want it — one 103″ opening, 3-panel bypass on the room face.

What it looks like

3 · Doors slid open. The green strip is the 68″ you can walk through.

4 · The same, from the side — the three panels stack in their own planes.

6 · As I want it, roof removed — one cavity, corner to corner.

What else I looked at

The three opening sizes I looked at. I settled on the 103″ 3-panel: at 122″ the header has to die into the corner posts, which means opening three walls instead of one to gain width that bypass doors can’t reach anyway.

I haven’t settled the interior fit-out. Right now it’s drawn as a rod at 65½″ with a shelf at 68″ over the north two-thirds, and shelves at 16″ and 76″ in the south bay, kept clear of the attic hatch. Let’s work that out together. The two outlets on the old pier can go — they’re not in use. Kill the circuit at the panel or leave the box accessible; I’d rather not bury a junction.

Two

Living room 1 — divide the hall, glass door to a new office

Lower level · new wall on the 13′ mark

The 4½″ of new wall comes out of the office end, so the main room stays exactly 13′-0″ and the 7″ wall return beside the deck sliders is preserved.

I’m choosing between two doors — both are drawn. The glass front is the one I lean toward.

Room today	135" × 252" (11′-3" × 21′-0"), ceiling 7′-9½"
Soffit	ceiling drops to 6′-9½" over a 3′-2" strip along the deck wall
New wall	4½" framed, on the 13′-0" mark
Main room after	13′-0" × 11′-3" · 146.3 sq ft
New office	7′-7½" × 11′-3" · 85.8 sq ft
Door, first choice	fixed + sliding glass front, 72″ of glass, ~34" clear
Door, second choice	glass barn door, office side, 40″ leaf on an 80″ track, 36" clear

The thing that shapes the door

The ductwork soffit. Under it there is only 81½″, and a sliding track needs about 5″ above the leaf. So nothing can cross 97″ measured from the west wall — everything I’ve drawn stops 2″ short of it, at 95″. Push past and an 80″ door becomes about 76″.

Plans

How it is now, and the two doors I’m choosing between, side by side and dimensioned.

What it looks like

1 · The room today, looking down its 21′ length.

2 · The new wall seen from the main room.

3 · First choice — the 72″ glass front, from the main room.

4 · First choice from inside the new office — track, top clamps and bottom rail.

5 · Second choice — barn door with its hardware on the office side, so this face stays clear.

7 · As I want it, roof removed — main room and new office.

What matters most to me: durability

These get decided at framing time, so I want to be sure they’re in:

Continuous 2×10 blocking let into the studs across the full track run, at 84–86″ above the floor. Not drywall anchors.
Sealed-bearing steel rollers rated 200 lb or better. A 40″ × 80″ ½″ tempered leaf is 110–150 lb. Not nylon.
A bottom guide. Without one the door racks the rollers.
Soft-close dampers at both ends. Slamming is what cracks glass.
Frameless tempered glass with a top clamp rail — nothing to warp, delaminate or loosen.

I looked at a pocket door and ruled it out. It was the cleanest looking option, but its rollers live inside the wall, and I don’t want a repair that means cutting drywall.