Hidden Door Bookcase
PROJECT #1919
Skill Level: Intermediate
Time: 2 Days
Cost: $500
The alluring nature of secret rooms has captivated my imagination for as long as I can remember. Growing up, my mind would race with possibilities, as I'd watch someone unlock a bookcase by tilting a book or some other secretive method on television. As an adult, their mystique is still appealing, though having built several of them now their functionality is no longer a mystery to me. Whether a person wants to hide a safe, have a safe room or just find a creative way to hide a utility room, a bookcase door is a fairly easy way to go about doing it.
The secret to making a bookcase door function is in the hinges. For an in-swing door, you can use regular door hinges placed on the back of the case but I don't recommend it. Even though the tendency to sag can be mitigated some with a caster on the strike side, eventually those hinges will become loose and falter. So for both in- and out-swing doors, I use what's called a pivot hinge. With a pivot hinge, the load is transferred from the jam to the threshold and the header, alleviating the stress of the traditional jam hinge configuration. The hinge I found to work best for
