If you're a contractor, you know the pain: you finish a custom shower niche, grout it, and a week later the homeowner calls about water seeping through the wall. Or you install a pocket door, close it up, and it binds on the track six months later.

I've been in the field for 8 years, and I've handled over 200 of these installations—everything from standard one-day shower upgrades to large-scale renovations with 7-figure budgets. Here's the checklist I wish someone had handed me after my first major rework. It's 7 steps, and each one prevents a specific failure mode.

Before You Start: The 30-Second Scope Check

Before you even touch a tool, make sure you know what you're dealing with. Is this a standard pre-fabricated niche, or a custom-built one? Is the pocket door a standard 24-inch unit or a larger, heavy-duty model? I've wasted a full day on a job where the spec sheet said one thing and the actual framing said another.

Quick check: The rough opening for a standard pocket door should be exactly twice the width of the door plus 1 inch. For a 30-inch door, that's a 61-inch rough opening. If it's off by more than 1/4 inch, stop and re-frame.

This sounds basic, but I've seen guys power through and then spend two days shimming and fiddling. Don't be that guy.

Step 1: The Shower Niche – Waterproofing Layer Check

This is where I see the most expensive failures. The niche itself can be perfect, but if the waterproofing behind it has a pinhole or a lap joint in the wrong place, you're setting yourself up for a callback.

What to check: The liquid membrane or sheet membrane must extend at least 2 inches beyond the niche opening on all sides. For a pre-fab niche, the flange must be embedded in the waterproofing, not just butted against it.

The test I use: After the membrane is cured, I take a spray bottle and mist the entire niche area from the front. Then I wait 10 minutes and check the backside. If I see even one drop of moisture, I redo that section. It took me a $4,500 rework in 2022 to learn this trick.

Step 2: The Shower Niche – Slope and Drainage

A niche that's perfectly flat looks great, but water will pool in it. The shelf needs at least a 1/4-inch per foot slope toward the shower. Most people forget this on the bottom shelf if it's made of tile.

Here's the detail people miss: You need a back dam. Even with a slope, water can wick back toward the wall. I install a small ledge—about 1/4 inch tall—at the back of the niche shelf. It's a tiny detail that prevents a ton of problems.

If you're using a pre-fabricated metal or plastic niche, check the pitch before you install it. I've had to return two this year because they were dead flat.

Step 3: Pocket Door Hardware – The Frame is Everything

99% of pocket door problems are not the hardware itself. They're the frame it's installed in. A standard pocket door kit requires a perfectly plumb, square, and level rough opening. I'm not kidding—if the frame is even 1/8 inch out of square, the door will wobble or bind.

My process: I install the pocket door frame first, then I use a laser level to check the top and bottom tracks. The difference between the two should be less than 1/16 inch. If it's more, I shim the bottom rail. This adds 15 minutes to the job but saves me a 2-hour troubleshooting session later.

And don't forget the header. A pocket door support beam needs to be engineered for the weight. I've seen standard 2x4 headers fail on 36-inch pocket doors, causing the door to sag and scrape the floor. The rule: for doors up to 30 inches, a 2x6 header is fine. For wider doors, go with a 2x8 or engineered lumber.

Step 4: The Roller and Track Alignment

This is the part that drives me crazy. You install the door, it slides fine for the first week, then it starts clicking or sticking. Nine times out of ten, it's the track alignment.

The check: After the door is hung, I push it to the closed position and check the gap at the top. It should be consistent within 1/16 inch from end to end. If it varies, the rollers are tilted or the track is twisted.

I only believed in checking this after ignoring it and getting a callback on a $2,500 custom door. The fix was a 30-second adjustment, but the trip cost me 3 hours of drive time.

Step 5: The Jamb and Strike Plate

Pocket doors need a different kind of jamb than standard swing doors. The strike plate is usually part of the track mechanism or a separate pocket. If it's poorly aligned, the latch won't catch and the door won't close properly.

What I check: The strike plate must be within 1/8 inch of the latch. I close the door partially and mark the position of the latch on the jamb. Then I install the strike plate to match that mark. It's dead simple, but I've seen guys eyeball it and end up with a door that won't close.

Step 6: The Drywall and Trim

Once the hardware is in, you're ready to close up the wall. But before you do, take a photo of the inside of the pocket. This is your insurance policy. If something goes wrong in a year, you know exactly where the track clips are and how the frame is built.

Pro tip: I label the track adjustment screws with a piece of tape and a marker. That way, if a homeowner ever needs to adjust the rollers, they can find the access panel. This has saved me a ton of service calls.

Step 7: Final System Test

This is the step most people rush. You've done all the installation, now prove it works. For the shower niche: fill it with water for 5 minutes. Check for leaks from behind. For the pocket door: cycle it 10 times, fully open to fully closed. Listen for scraping or clicking. Check the latch alignment.

If anything feels off, fix it now. It's way cheaper than a callback. I implemented a strict '10-cycle test' after a 2023 project where a door failed on the 8th cycle due to a loose roller mounting screw. That was a $0 fix at the time but would have been a $1,200 penalty if the homeowner had moved in.

What I Learned the Hard Way

I mentioned a $4,500 rework earlier. That happened because I skipped the spray test on Step 1. The membrane had a pinprick hole from a staple. The water seeped behind the tile and rotted the framing over 6 months. That was a full tear-out.

The frustrating part is that the fix was a 2-minute repair. If I'd just done the damn spray test, I'd have caught it. Now I'm neurotic about it, but I've never had a leak call since.

Same with pocket doors. I had a $1,200 callback in 2021 because the track was 1/16 inch out of square. The door bound after a season of humidity changes. I spent 3 hours on-site adjusting the rollers. The fix took 20 minutes. That was the day I started carrying a laser level on every job.

Bottom line: These 7 steps take about 45 minutes total, on top of your normal install time. They've saved me an estimated $8,000 in rework over the last 3 years. That's the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy.

"5 minutes of verification beats 5 days of correction."

So glad I started using this checklist. Almost went back to my old 'install and pray' method, which would have meant another year of unpredictable callbacks. Don't learn this lesson the hard way—add these checks to your standard process.