Wife had asked I install a kook or two for hats on a couple of interior-side closet doors. Only problem is our home in Gwinnett, County, Georgia (45-miles from downtown Atlanta) is a track home. This means the cheapest of everything. As such, the interior doors, while plentiful, are hollow. So, the thought of putting in a threaded hook so the wife can hang hats & scarfs on it so far from out of the question as to take anti-depression medication. Hah!
So, I have to ask if anyone has any solutions? The last two holiday seasons I’ve seen commercials for self-adhesive hooks and clasps that are suppose to also be easy-removal. Seems like they are adequate for the job, but I cannot find them. I’ve tried the big-boxes (HD, Lowes, Evil-Mart, Target, etc.) to no avail. So, I then thought about just asking those on FH for solutions.
The two doors most pressing (according to the wife) are the hall closet on the main floor (its a token of a closet), and the walk-in closet of the master bedroom. No, the thought of replacing the doors with something ‘solid’ is not the solution. Philosophically, I didn’t even know hollow doors existed until I bought this, my first, house. (another first-timer lesson)
Ideas?
Replies
Find another place for your hooks. Hollow core doors are everywhere (and have been for years) and they just ain't made for attaching hooks. Those adhesive hooks may work for a while, but getting them off is a major PITA.
My wife has a metal hanger do-hickey on the sewing room door. It hooks over the top of the door and has "notches" on the inside for coat hangers.
Hollow door anchors are readily available. They come in metal and plastic. For doors, I prefer the metal ones. They hold very securely, but make a large enough hole that they should be considered "permanent".
I would fasten a backer board (some kind of attractive piece of wood, maybe finished to match the doors) to to the door using hollow door anchors. Coat hooks, et al, could then be attached to the backer board.
I don't like the hooks that hang over the top of the door because, eventually, the door or the jamb will get damaged.
-Don
If it's your style, glue a board with shaker pegs to the door. Or use mollys to hold a hook onto the door, but avoid excessive weight so as to prevent tearout. I would use small hooks to limit the capacity.
There should be a solid piece on each side of door. I think I would put a 3/4 board across width of door. Screw it into solid sides and then put your hooks anywhere you want on board.
Can't find the hooks in HD ? Did you look in the "tools" aisle ? For some totally non-intuitive reason, the HD's around here don't put the adhesive hooks (mostly Rubber-Maid) in the hardware section beside the other hooks and picture-hanging stuff; they're over in the separate tools section between the furniture sliders and the locks. Go figure ?
In any case, we have lots of them: the last ones we got, not Rubber-Maid, have a special removable adhesive pad that's literally magic. These things hold up parkas and school-bags, but still pop off without leaving a mark to paint the door.
If you want to use screw-up hooks, you have to insert a dutchman. I use dowel rod, works like a good thing: at least ½" to hold a screw and at least ¾" for a threaded hook (e.g. a cup-hook) and much larger for a big threaded coat-hook. Carefully drill the proper-sized hole through one side of the door (it doesn't matter which side, of the door the hole is on) with a hole-saw or brad-point, some of these door-skins can be particle-board, so carefully goes a long way. The inside of the door can have corregated cardboard or foam as a filler, you have to make a clear hole to the back of the opposite door-skin. Making sure the dowel-end is sanded flat, generously apply glue to the end of the dowel and push it into the hole until it just reaches the other skin, gently back it out about the thickness of the skin and put a generous bead of glue around the dowel and gently return it home. Usual glue dries/cut dowel flush action here. You've just bridged the two skins with solid material, but remember it's end grain and requires pre-drilling AND thinned glue reinforcement if they're big screws (I use a small syringe to inject Weldbond that's been thinned with 2 parts of water) or will hold a lot of weight.
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
Phil, so HD does carry them? I looked on a couple of occasions I was in their store, but when unsuccessful I asked employees, which got me nowhere. I'm off (on vacation) all week, so maybe spending a day in HD will help me inventory what their employees don't even know.
We even bought a few of those stick on/removable hooks from Office Depot the other day.
Actually though, hollow core doors can support screw on hooks for lite duty applications. I have them in my house: one for my bathrobe, and the wife has one too. One in the powder room too for hand towels. Try to mount with #10 screws so as to get the larger coarse threads. Unless maybe your doors are thinner than thin...
Get some binford hooks !!
Drill a 1/2" hole all the way through the door, and bolt the hooks on with a 1/2" bolt w/nylock and a fender washer inside and outside the door.
arh arh aaarrhhh !!!
Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength. ~~ Eric Hoffer
these are anchors for hollow core doors I think they were called Molly,
http://www.cabinetmart.com/66-HW.html
you could get em at the local store or you could go to the mall. ... (45-miles from downtown Atlanta) and find one of those storage solution stores and get some euro-trash style and then drive home to Gwinnett, County, Georgia 30519
Nuke,
I have hung hooks on hollow core doors using "Sleeve-Type Hollow Wall Anchors". They screw in tight and have given me no problems. You need to get the really short ones for doors. I used these to hang a full-length mirror on our closet door - worked great.
Look at http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/inffastener/infanchor/infanchor.shtm for more info.
Good luck.