A bookcase door...

[andymet87]

Hi all,

I want to create a bookcase door to go and the end of our corridor into our services cupboard. There seem to be several makers of these in the USA but can't seem to find a company over here that make them.

I've found DIY instructions online at http://www.thisiscarpentry.com/2012/05/11/hidden-pivot-bookcase-katz/

The trouble is I'm not going to have the time (or have the right tools) to make it so am wondering what a carpenter should be charging to make such a door/bookcase?

Alternatively if anyone can direct me to a UK based company that sell them as pre-made units (like https://www.themurphydoor.com) that would be great!

All comments welcome and thanks in advance

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Can't see it being worthwhile anyone making a kit to do such things - combination of extremely small market and the range of door sizes you'd need to cover. In the UK you might want to search for gib doors or gib library doors, as well. That is the type of Dorset I've dealt with a couple of times in the past. BTW I don't see Katz's instructions being aimed at DIYers (TIK is really a trade site). If you do decide to DIY be aware that you'll possibly need to have an engineering firm make up the gib hinges (more pivots than hinges) for you and that the to pivot points needs to be exactly above bottom one. As almost all the weight is carried by the bottom pivot the floor beneath will possibly need to be strengthened to carry the additional load without bowing.

 

[andymet87]

Hmm I know, designed the house with a hidden bookcase on all the plans so got to go for it now... I'm going to find out a shipping cost of the murphy door kit from the USA...

this is exactly what I need..... https://www.themurphydoor.com/store/fm36kdpg-aw/

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

I know of at least one similar thread on DIYnot where someone on here wanted to do one of these so might be worth searching though no idea when or how much useful info there was in that thread.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Had you considered bookshelf door wallpaper or graphic?

 

[andymet87]

I know of at least one similar thread on DIYnot where someone on here wanted to do one of these so might be worth searching though no idea when or how much useful info there was in that thread.

I did search but found nothing that was very helpful....

Had you considered bookshelf door wallpaper or graphic?

Yes all considered and discounted... plans are below showing what is planned...



we're in an old cottage with lots of woodwork on show and low ceilings, didn't want a door at the end of the corridor so wife agreed to this solution...

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

You must be able to open the door by pulling a single book down like a lever remember!

 

[Dave54]

I'd have thought there would be some furniture makers / architectural joinery makers who could make something like that. People who specialise in "one off" quality work.
It's not going to be cheap though, and I doubt if anyone will want to make something like that up for someone else to fit (I may be wrong on that, but I certainly wouldn't)
As J & K says most of the (considerable) weight is on the bottom pivot. I'd be looking at the strength of the material used for the bookcase itself where the pivot hinge is mounted. It could distort over time.

 

[andymet87]

I'd have thought there would be some furniture makers / architectural joinery makers who could make something like that.

I have contacted a local chap and will see what he says... Anyone on here fancy giving it a go? Geographically I'm near(ish) Gatwick

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Or a castor under the leading edge would help with the weight, assuming the floor finish lent itself to a castor that is.

 

[Dave54]

I have contacted a local chap and will see what he says... Anyone on here fancy giving it a go? Geographically I'm near(ish) Gatwick

I'd have thought there would have been plenty of people in that area who could do work like this. If I was having the work done, I'd want to see proof of previous similar type of work, and / or large heavy doors and so on they had worked on and so had experience of doing. I'd have said it's more at the commercial end of things than normal domestic.

Or a castor under the leading edge would help with the weight, assuming the floor finish lent itself to a castor that is.

They put inset rollers under the bottom edge of some big doors. I think one of those articles the OP linked to mentions it. Being a belt and braces sort, I'd want a brass or stainless curved track in the floor for it to run on. Most flooring is otherwise going to get worn away over time i'd have thought. You do sometimes see that arrangement on older work with large heavy doors. I don't have enough experience on that type of work to know if they are still generally used though. Probably not necessary in this case with the right pivot hinges I'd have thought.

 

[andymet87]

from reading around if you get teh pivot hinge, and bookcase construction right there is no need for any other support, runners or wheels etc... It is sitting between two new dense concrete block walls on a newly laid slab so I'm confident it won't go anywhere if it's built properly. I have also asked our carpenter that did our roof if he might be interested but i suspect it will be a bit fiddly for him...

 

[Deleted member 174758]

The issue of weight is paramount to the design of something like this. Even concrete blockwork has limits to what it will support in terms of static and dynamic loading which puts the hinges into the range of specialist commercial products rather than over the counter domestic stuff. Without knowing the loadings you envisage it is difficult to even come up with a design which will work reliably in the long term but you will also have to consider the considerable effort required to open and close a door weighing maybe 200 to 300 kg when fully loaded. This is well within the capabilities of commercial hardware (the biggest gib doors we've ever installed were about 3 metres high and weighed about 350 kg - but the floor boxes were made to order at about £1k). The gib pivot design reduces the physical effort to open the door a little and means that pull-out from wall fixings isn't an issue but it does mean having a strong and stiff our beneath it to carry the considerable weight of these things

As Dave says look for specialised carpentry firms who've done one-off before or alternatively look for a firm in the commercial interior fitout se tor (high end shop, hotel or bar fitters) to find a suitable firm (I know of several in the north but doubt that they'd be willing to entertain job so far away). It's hardly what most cut roof specialists would be in the market to do.

 

[Dave54]

^Do you know roughly what the labour charges for fitting those doors worked out at J & K?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Yes. Four men for one day plus the hire of specialist lifting gear and a scaffolding tower - so about £1k (4 years ago)