Help me build secret passageway doors
August 29, 2013 3:11 PM Subscribe
Help me build secret passageway doors! You know, the kind where you pull a certain book from a bookshelf and a secret door opens.
Having just moved into an apartment with a few friends in SF, I was allotted the room that used to be the dining room. However, two of the walls each have double-wide door openings (and no doors). I intend to close off that space with two secret passageway-style doors.
I'm looking for ideas, or practical tips, for what would be the most awesome way to build something to act as a door/wall. Two ideas I'm strongly considering:
- A double-sided bookshelf, hoisted lazy-susan-style, in which pulling on a certain book on the bookshelf unlatches the door and allows it to rotate open.
- A wall that looks like the other walls in the house, except there's a candlestick on the wall and if you pull it, a door springs open. Maybe disguised as a wood panel that doesn't look like a door.
I want this badly enough that I will build things out of wood (and given the size of the door, I fully expect I'll need to).
Bonus points if you've built something like this before or have practical tips!
Having just moved into an apartment with a few friends in SF, I was allotted the room that used to be the dining room. However, two of the walls each have double-wide door openings (and no doors). I intend to close off that space with two secret passageway-style doors.
I'm looking for ideas, or practical tips, for what would be the most awesome way to build something to act as a door/wall. Two ideas I'm strongly considering:
- A double-sided bookshelf, hoisted lazy-susan-style, in which pulling on a certain book on the bookshelf unlatches the door and allows it to rotate open.
- A wall that looks like the other walls in the house, except there's a candlestick on the wall and if you pull it, a door springs open. Maybe disguised as a wood panel that doesn't look like a door.
I want this badly enough that I will build things out of wood (and given the size of the door, I fully expect I'll need to).
Bonus points if you've built something like this before or have practical tips!
Take a look at this guy's blog - he walks through the whole process. Nothing about the secret-book-mechanism, but the shelf, framing and pivot look like enough to get you started.
posted by jquinby at 3:24 PM on August 29, 2013 [9 favorites]
posted by jquinby at 3:24 PM on August 29, 2013 [9 favorites]
Remember that a double sided bookshelf full of books is really heavy and will be completely different than your other options.
posted by bongo_x at 3:30 PM on August 29, 2013
posted by bongo_x at 3:30 PM on August 29, 2013
A double-sided door will be more than twice as tricky as a single-sided one, I think. And I really think it needs to be hinged at one side rather than rotating, unless you're a clever cabinet maker.
I made a secret door bookshelf (in an old apartment in SF, too! Yay for SF) It was fairly straightforward, with the exception of getting the geometry of the opening right. That is, the outer sides of my bookshelves had to be angled inwards to allow the shelves to swing into the opening. That is, a top view would be more like this /______\ than |______|. Of course, I discovered this after the prototyping, so had to dissemble, cut, and reassemble. If your door swings out then that's not an issue. I didn't have any special skills except being able to wield a rip saw and a screwdriver. The shelving and sides were pine. most of which was cut to size by the store, with a thin plywood back for the shelves. The weight of the shelves+books etc wasn't a problem; just be sure to have a solid stud attached to the frame, and hang the door vertically.
In our case it turned out extra wonderful because our secret room (which had been an attic) shared a wall with a friend neighbor's closet, and we found an antique child-sized door to put in, so our daughter could go from our apt to the friend's place. But I'm sorry to say there was no secret mechanism to open the door, just a concealed latch - it would be fun to have moving a book be the key.
posted by anadem at 3:50 PM on August 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
I made a secret door bookshelf (in an old apartment in SF, too! Yay for SF) It was fairly straightforward, with the exception of getting the geometry of the opening right. That is, the outer sides of my bookshelves had to be angled inwards to allow the shelves to swing into the opening. That is, a top view would be more like this /______\ than |______|. Of course, I discovered this after the prototyping, so had to dissemble, cut, and reassemble. If your door swings out then that's not an issue. I didn't have any special skills except being able to wield a rip saw and a screwdriver. The shelving and sides were pine. most of which was cut to size by the store, with a thin plywood back for the shelves. The weight of the shelves+books etc wasn't a problem; just be sure to have a solid stud attached to the frame, and hang the door vertically.
In our case it turned out extra wonderful because our secret room (which had been an attic) shared a wall with a friend neighbor's closet, and we found an antique child-sized door to put in, so our daughter could go from our apt to the friend's place. But I'm sorry to say there was no secret mechanism to open the door, just a concealed latch - it would be fun to have moving a book be the key.
posted by anadem at 3:50 PM on August 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
They make kits for this sort of thing.
Google "secret door kit" or "hidden door kit" for all sorts of options!
posted by Ostara at 4:26 PM on August 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
Google "secret door kit" or "hidden door kit" for all sorts of options!
posted by Ostara at 4:26 PM on August 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
Whetever you do, try to make it as lightweight as possible. An acquaintance who does film props for a living built a sliding version. It also had a counterweight so that it opened automatically when the trigger was pulled. This feature added a lot of mass to the mechanism, so it wound up being pretty unwieldy. He mounted it on an overhead track, like those sliding barn doors that have become popular for en suite bathrooms. It had to be recessed into the hidden room to accommodate the hardware.
posted by bonobothegreat at 5:14 PM on August 29, 2013
posted by bonobothegreat at 5:14 PM on August 29, 2013
I think if you use a bookshelf, your best bet would be to use artificial books- lighter than real ones.
posted by windykites at 6:41 PM on August 29, 2013
posted by windykites at 6:41 PM on August 29, 2013
I think if you use a bookshelf, your best bet would be to use artificial books- lighter than real ones.
I was concerned about the weight of the books, too. I was thinking along the lines of styling at least a few of the shelves more decoratively than practically, perhaps with some framed photos, candles, or small sculptural pieces. And by small sculptural pieces I mean your action figure or snow globe collection. Just something lighter than all books.
posted by Room 641-A at 8:42 AM on August 30, 2013
I was concerned about the weight of the books, too. I was thinking along the lines of styling at least a few of the shelves more decoratively than practically, perhaps with some framed photos, candles, or small sculptural pieces. And by small sculptural pieces I mean your action figure or snow globe collection. Just something lighter than all books.
posted by Room 641-A at 8:42 AM on August 30, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by sexyrobot at 3:18 PM on August 29, 2013 [9 favorites]