Good day all,

Currently I have a door to the basement in what will be the new kitchen (to be added next year, then my funding slowly trickles in for my theater downstairs). The wife came up with a good idea to hide it. Create a bookshelf for kitchen books / stuff to hide the entrance.

Rather then spend the $$$ on something from 'hideadoor' or many other online outlets for bookcase doors, I would like to challenge myself and my tools to building my own.

So here are some of the quick (5 minutes on the internet) ideas I came up with.
First off, simple construction of a study, yet light/shallow bookcase that will equal the width of the stairwell.
Second, it seems piano hinges are the way to go.
Third, unlocking mechanism. I had the idea of installing a magnetic lock (failsafe, not failsecure) that would unlock the door and allow for entry. The idea is to balance the bookshelf so that it opens on it's own.

Oh did I mention the sticky point to all this? I want it to open into the stairwell . Yeah I know, I'm nuts. But this has alot to do with clearance into the kitchen.

So anyway, balance the door so that once the mag lock is disengaged, the door slowly opens into the stairwell, allow access into the basement.

Problems

Constructing the bookshelf so that it opens smoothly, and does not 'thud' against the back wall. I figure I can mitigate this by balancing and perhaps some sort of cushioning.

Clearance into the stairwell. If you figure that your stairs are x wide, then with the bookcase y, the stairwell is now x-y (sorry for the algebra). I have an idea for this, but it gets a little weird . I am going to be building an enclosure for the fridge, which will be situated to the right of the door. The idea is to create a dead space between the door and the fridge that is equal to the height/width/depth of the bookcase. A nook for it to recess into in order to keep the current stair width.


Anyway, if you have read this far into the thread, then you might have some answers/ideas. I appreciate any assistance!

I might post pics later to show the door and space.

Thanks!

Oh did I mention the sticky point to all this? I want it to open into the stairwell
Thanks!

How about two half width doors(shelves) that open the right way. A piece of moulding mounted on the front lip of one of the doors would hide the seam.

How about two half width doors(shelves) that open the right way. A piece of moulding mounted on the front lip of one of the doors would hide the seam.


Good idea, but after thinking about it that only makes the opening symmetrical, but not any wider. Once 8 inch wide door that swings right is the same as two 4 inch doors swinging opposite of each other.

Unless I totally misunderstood you, it is late. =)

Your idea of having the bookshelf/door open into a recess could prove to be problematic. To do this the hinge is going to have to be almost, but not quite, at the front corner (set back by the thickness of whatever the front of the recess is (hope this makes sense). Alignment will get a bit tricky. Also, don't underestimate the weight of the loaded bookcase, it could be a couple of hundred pounds, easy. Piano hinges are not designed to bear weight along the pivot access. It might work okay at first but after a while the metal will start to wear and could bind. I would recommend using three or four good quailty heavy duty door hinges (loose pin, it will make it easier to assemble).

Good Luck,

Dave

Have you ever opened a door at the top of a set of stairs that opened toward the stairs? It's very awkward and problematic. You have to unlatch the door, then walk backwards down the stairs to swing open the door. You could knock over the people behind you.

I'd suggest a quick call to your local building office to verify that you are allowed to have a door open that way. Doors in our area must open away from the stairwell.

There was a guy here from the hidden door company a while back, and he said they do sell the mechanisms to automate any door, even one of your own build/design. If you search hidden doors here, that old thread might be around. I'm planning on the same, build my own door/design, and use their system for opening/closing the door. If I can find that link, I'll post it here.

Tachyon:

I think a quick sketch or pic of the area showing us where you have the clearance issues will help us get our creative thoughts targeted in the right direction. I think you need 5 posts before you can put in an attachment so go ahead and put in a couple of dummy's we won't mind.

If you post a photo to a photobucket.com account(Free) you can insert the link in the text of the message. No sizing required just uplink as is.

I doubt a door opening into a stairwell will meet code anywhere in the US. If you do it, make sure you also consider the mechanics of exiting the stairwell, not just entering. Opening a door towards you when you're on the stairs would probably be a PITA, even worse if someone is following you up the stairs.

I'd think if you have room to walk through the door, you'd have room to open the door into the kitchen. Even if there wasn't clearance to allow a full swing open, the fact that it is supposed to be "hidden" access allows it to be a little unconventional.

I'd also ditto others' comments about using heavy duty hinges over a traditional piano hinge. You need it to be extremely stable because any minor shift will probably reveal your hidden seams. It may also cause the much thicker than normal door to catch a corner on the jamb.

There was a show on HGTV last night called "Secret Spaces" or something like that.

Almost all of the hidden doors on there used piano hinges. They are easy to use, cheap, and most of all, are hard to see and create a great seam between door and wall.

To get your bookcase/door to swing on it's own, you will need precise measurements to allow it to basically freeswing backwards but not fast enough that it's going to slam into the adjacent wall or be too difficult to keep shut.

I would recommend what BIGmouthinDC said about using two half width doors compared to one and I would go with what CPanther95 said about building codes; have the door(s) swing into the kitchen.

Click on Videos, then bookcase (http://www.hiddenpassageway.com/)

I'm trying to do the same....well w/respect to hiding the door. -Regarding your hinges, take a look at these:

http://www.soss.com/images/catalog/feature5.jpg

http://www.nvtools.co.uk/images/main/main_soss.jpg

They're known as SOSS or Barrel hinges, quite tricky to install as I understand it, but they're strong and allow the hinge to be completely hidden. Ebay was a good source for me, also I have a chart somewhere which helps determine size/weight of the door, thereby allowing for determination of # of hinges. -I'll try to find that for you.


This will likely require more work, but would a pocket door be possible? -perhaps two pocket doors which slid away from each other?

Pocket door might be tough unless he's got 2x12 walls or extremely shallow books. ;)

I was watching a show last night on hgtv. I think it may give you some great ideas on your project. the company featured on the show is called hiddenpassageway. you can google it and fine their website. the show is scheduled to air again at March 05, 2007 1:00 AM ET/PT and
• March 11, 2007 5:00 PM ET/PT. Hope it helps!!! :)

FYI a recent (possibly current) issue of Fine Homebuilding has a great article on hidden doors. Well worth the price of the magazine.

www.hiddendoors.com also has some decent photos that might be good for ideas.

I was watching a show last night on hgtv. I think it may give you some great ideas on your project. the company featured on the show is called hiddenpassageway. you can google it and fine their website. the show is scheduled to air again at March 05, 2007 1:00 AM ET/PT and
• March 11, 2007 5:00 PM ET/PT. Hope it helps!!! :)

Yeah, we caught the same show. Oddly enough, for all the money that guy is making, his website stinks.

Thanks for the advise on the door opening into the stairway. I never thought of the building code thing, which will probably kill the idea.

Also, before going to bed last night, I went into the stairwell, and for it to swing back just wouldn't work.

The main reason for hiding the door is to prevent a 'wall of doors'. The design as it is now would be something like this:

|--Stairs up--| |--Stairs down--| |--Fridge door--| |--Study Door--|

I do think if we make it swing out it could work. All of this is very very prelim, as the kitchen would have to come first.

Thanks for the input! If anyone has this type of door installed, I'm sure we would all love to see it.

Thanks again

Check out Rixson Hinges. They have some very heavy duty bearing hinges. Some of which can hanle 1000lbs. Plenty for a book shelf full of books.


http://www.rixsonpivot.com/rixson_pivot_and_pivots_sets_r.html

to stop the door from banging when opening, you scould use some magnets set to repell instead of attract. That would allow it to swing open to a quiet stop.

.....or extremely shallow books.

LOL! I took for granted it would be understood that the hidden aspect would be null -just an alternative.....

Point taken, I sound like a user at the office "it won't let me do it" :-)

How about opening the door (bookcase) up and into the kitchen? Kinda like the Munsters stair door. A counter-weight setup might work to open and close it gently.

All of the websites on hidden doors are eye candy for DYI'ers. Do yourself a favor and get back issue 184, Taunton's, Fine Homebuilding (Dec 06/Jan 07).

The article, The Secrets Behind Hidden Doors, is the most detailed article I've read on the subject and it's only three pages with pictures & illustrations.
Also, in the issue: Sound Control, Solving Mold Problems, Low Cost Corner Hutch, Wood-Floor Finishing Secrets, and more.