Go to the nearest wall without a pocket door and place switches as close as possible.
Light switch on wall with pocket door.
Mount the pocket door to the surface of the existing wall then the plumbing won t be an issue.
In most cases i ve worked out the wiring switch plug locations away from the pocket frame areas.
More about putting a light switch in a wall with a pocket door here.
You can t cut them to run conduit down from the ceiling.
Our switch is in the bathroom on the opposite wall from the one the pocket door slides into.
This would be near impossible even in new construction and meet code.
One downside to the pocket door is that it often leaves little room for anything else in the wall such as plumbing or electrical such as outlets or switches so careful planning is required.
Would prefer to not shore out the walls thicker or have an exterior switch box.
We have a pocket door between the bathroom and the master bedroom.
If you are in an existing situation forget it.
You can either use a standard pocket and drywall it in or go with a barn style sliding door and surface mount the hardware to the exterior of the wall and the door stays exposed on the wall.
Many people falsely believe that you cannot have any wiring electrical outlets or electrical switches in the pocket wall but we have a nifty trick.
Sometimes it makes more sense to place a light switche outside the door rather than inside.
The building inspector said he saw no problem with me installing a light switch in a shallow electrical box on the pocket door frame as long as i could properly secure the wire per code within 8 of the box.
We just build the wall a little thicker so that there s room for electrical wiring switches and outlets.
The other side of the pocket door is.
However in two cases the ideal location is in the wall area of the pocket.
The 1x4 on the door frame are running horizontal.
Not going to work.
Put a small night light in a plug close by to help with the extra couple of steps to get to the switches when the room is dark.
Pocket doors could make it difficult to put a light switch exactly where you want it.
If you were standing in the bathroom in front of the door you could turn the switch on with your left hand and slide the pocket door open or closed with your right.
The bathroom pictured above comes from.