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Thread: Fireplace surround with Hidden Door

  1. #1

    Fireplace surround with Hidden Door

    All,

    I Need to build cabinets and a mantle around a fireplace. The mantle and legs are not a problem. The problem comes in when we talk about the cabinets on the sides. The Right side is easy, lower cabs and inset uppers. The Challenge is the left. It is 48" of which 24"is solid wall. After that 24 " There is a door there that provides access to the crawl space. Love of my life has a vision of cabinets on the left matching those on the right and at the door they swing out like Bruce Wayne's Bat cave. I have pondered this and can't come up with a solution.. ( Divorce isn't an option )

    Any Help would be appreciated

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
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    10,304
    I don't understand your description. Maybe a sketch? Or photos?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    mid-coast Maine and deep space
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    Here is a good place to start - http://www.thisiscarpentry.com/2012/...bookcase-katz/

    I have built a couple of these Can give you more guidance as you go along. I found that an animated SketchUp drawing is essential to prove your clearances.
    With a good drawing you can integrate your moldings perfectly to conceal the bookcase/door within the rest of the work.
    "... for when we become in heart completely poor, we at once are the treasurers & disbursers of enormous riches."
    WQJudge

  4. #4
    Sam

    Thank you. This looks exactly like What im looking for

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    mid-coast Maine and deep space
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    Gary has updated this info since I first looked at it and there are lots of details to guide you in your project. The Todd Murdock SketchUp tutorial is especially valuable.
    I approached my first closet/bookcase build like Gary - building the case and installing into a framed opening. That was more difficult than I preferred. Too much site work without the benefit of fine tuning. The Sketch Up model helped me to be right on with my tolerances but it was still risky as I could not know for sure if it would all work until I actually built it.

    For the 2nd version I tried a different approach. I built the bookcase within another case. All the pivot mounting and swing tolerances were resolved before the bookcase/door left the shop. This was essential in this case because the final install was 3 hours away and to be done and then trimmed by others. I had to send something to the field that would be free of call backs. I recommend this way as easier and more exact.

    The problem in any case for you if I understand your post is that this will be "crawl space" tall (what 48"?) and only 24" wide. Almost not worth doing - almost. Remember that the unit itself will fill up a portion of that space when open by at least the depth of the bookcase and the side clearance of the pivot. A 24" will leave little space for an adult and less space for getting much of anything into the storage area. Just a heads up before you go too far down this road.

    Here are a few SU images of my case within a case project. This was a sneak playroom for kids so the size constraints were not really an issue, but you can see that I needed to make a pretty shallow bookcase. More info/photos if you need.

    Screen shot 2014-02-09 at 12.18.32 PM.jpg Screen shot 2014-02-09 at 2.25.22 PM.png
    "... for when we become in heart completely poor, we at once are the treasurers & disbursers of enormous riches."
    WQJudge

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Sterling, Virginia
    Posts
    644
    Custom Service Hardware sells the pivots. http://www.cshardware.com/hidden-door/invisidoor.html

  7. #7
    Sam

    Thanks so much. I Love the idea of a cabinet within a cabinet. Just so you understand I'm not insane , The crawl space is in the floor of the closet. So I need to pivot the shelves out to gain access to the floor, and of course the LOML dosent want to surrender a perfectly god closet.

    I'm still convinced she has some "Bat Man " secret sliding book shelf thing going on

    Thanks for the link to the HW.....

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    mid-coast Maine and deep space
    Posts
    2,656
    Both Gary and I used the Rixson 370 center pivots available here among other places - http://www.qualitydoor.com/rixson-37...FUtp7Aod-zMATA

    There are other systems, of course, but these work well for the size cabinet you are thinking of, and the set up instructions that Gary provided, and I know about, are with the Rixson Pivots. Rixson also offers less and more substantial pivots.
    "... for when we become in heart completely poor, we at once are the treasurers & disbursers of enormous riches."
    WQJudge

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