Hey folks,
How have ya’ll been?
I’m making a interior hidden door for my home (no its still not 100% finished) and am contemplating a means of a pull. Its part of a wall and I’ve put a niche into it so far but am thinking about a way to pull it closed. I thought about using a piece of chair rail with a pull routed into it but thats not very deep for your fingers.
It’ll latch on bullet catches and just push open but pulling it closed is the tricky part.
Any thoughts?
Thanks
Mike Rimoldi
Replies
How about a door closer or spring loaded hinges so it closes itself?
Just a thought.
I had a chat with a local fireman a few months ago, shortly after a hidden door post on this forum, and he had a few thoughts. I added a few of my own and expanded on his concerns:
Hidden doors are not popular with firemen. Firefighters cannot search a room they cannot find. Children, who typically love hidden rooms and doors, could be trapped and lost. Given enough smoke a fireman himself could find himself trapped behind an unconventional door not knowing how to open it. Unable to get out and his friends unable to get to him. If the hidden room has only one door it can easily become a true dead end if the fire is close to the door.
A few ideas on how to mitigate these problems:
Have a second door opening to a second room and a path out. Is possible make the second door of a conventional type and easily seen from both sides.
Try to keep children out. They are more likely to be trapped and might even cause the fire.
Consider adding or installing fire sprinklers. They won't prevent a fire but they can suppress it if it starts and give everyone a chance to get out and the firemen to get in.
Install smoke alarms, both photo-electric and ionization to cover flaming and smoldering fires. Make sure all smoke alarms are connected together and one is located within the hidden room.
All that out of the way I must say that I like the mystery of hidden compartments and rooms and have drawn in a few on my dream house. Just be careful because all the wonder and mystery in the world won't make up for loosing a loved one.
I like the spring loaded or closer idea. The Soss hinges I'm using are not loaded but maybe a hydraulic closer or something???
4,
I agree, saftey is a concern. If we had any children or the room was more restrictive, I'd be hesitant. However, being without little ones and with the room having two large exterior windows at ground level, egress is not a problem. And actually, we probably wouldn't close it on a daily basis as its to our denoffice which we are in and out of a lot. Mainly its just a Victorian novelty.
I'll have to post a pic once I get it complete.