Anyone know of a website with instruction on building a secret door in a house?

[MagusOfAtlan]

I'm going to be building/finishing the basement in my house in the next month or two, and am thinking to create a pair of secret doors that lead into two closets in the main room. My initial thought is to simply take a door and attach a bookshelf to the front. The bad thing about this is that the hinges would be visible in the main room if someone looks at it right.

Any thoughts or does anyone know of example web pages with instructions on building a real secret door?

 

[Hand of Evil]

Just do a search on How to Build a Hidden Door: http://www.ehow.com/how_5420248_make-secret-door-room-closet.html

 

[Janx]

Just do a search on How to Build a Hidden Door: http://www.ehow.com/how_5420248_make-secret-door-room-closet.html

that's one way to let everyone know you're making a secret door.

Using a real door is definitely not the right way.

The Baker's Street Pub in The Woodlands has a secret door to the rest rooms. It is disguised as a book shelf.

It opens away from you, and isn't very thick. The books are sawed off, so it LOOKS like a bookshelf. This hides the hinges, and keeps it lighter.

You would generally want to seam of the door to be seamless, or at least aligning on the natural seams of the wall. A wood panelled room, would have a lot of vertical lines. Those lines would hide a seam.

You would also want overlap on the back of the door, so it blocks light. Nothing gives away a secret door than a light from the secret room.

 

[Aeolius]

How about http://www.hiddendoors.com ?

 

[Orius]

If it's on a website, it's not very secret is it?

 

[Morrus]

You should ask [MENTION=2]Piratecat[/MENTION]. He has one!

 

[frankthedm]

If you are planning on filling those bookshelves with gaming books, don't skimp on the hinge quality. Fully loaded, you could be looking at over 200 lbs of books. I could easily see a prefab kit or a DIYer overlooking that detail and trapping someone when the hinges bend or wear away.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Secret-Doors-Drawers-Compartments/

http://lifehacker.com/5884398/build-a-secret-closet-door-for-200-or-less

http://www.wikihow.com/Build-a-Hidden-Door-Bookshelf

http://www.shtfblog.com/build-a-hidden-door-bookcase-for-your-secret-stash/