Creating a hidden bookcase door takes some careful planning and the right hardware. We were asked how to make a hidden bookcase door from Kevin on Facebook. Here’s what you need to know before you get started making your Batman secret door or Scooby Doo bookcase dreams come true.
Question: How to make a hidden bookcase door
Kevin saw MyFixitUpLife’s Facebook post showing a bookcase hidden door and asked us this question:
“I have my DIY head wrapped around how to make a barn door. But…I love the bookcase hidden door you guys posted! This would be for my wife’s office. Since it’s a work area, she wants to know whatside would the shelves would be on. I said any side you want? Or even both sides? Depending on the depth?“
Answer:
Kevin—I’m seeing you noticed that your last three statements had question marks.
I love it. I also love questions that raise other question because those are the best kind of questions. Those questions get to answers. The rest is just a smoke screen.
It’s awesome you know how to make a barn door. It’s an incredible option that hardly has a downside. But, the Batman secret door or Scooby Doo bookcase door; let’s unpack that.
How to make a hidden bookcase door
Structurally, I don’t think it matters which side the shelves are on because the door thickness doesn’t change. And that is one thick door which may require—from a trim and proportion perspective—equally thick walls as shown in the photo (Source: Buzzfeed). Do you have monster walls? That bookcase shown on our Facebook page is at least a foot thick.
There’s more to think about. That’s a picture, not something you use every day. I can tell that with something like this, in order for it to work, it should be pretty hyper-precision. Like the Panama Canal lock gates (almost). Or it’ll just torque you off every time it doesn’t work quite right. #DIYReality. And the more I look at the photo I’m pretty sure this is in a super-house.
Still more: Because this is an office door—i.e. in motion, often—decor needs to be stable. Like an ash tray or Weeble or deck of cards laying flat. Or my book, just sayin’
Consider a barn door
As an option, you could do barn doors and build shelves inside the room. We did a door for our Food Network show; here’s how to build a barn door, TV style.
If you decide to go barn door, hardware and ceiling height can be a thing. We used salvaged doors with Johnson rolling door hardware in our Making a Man Cave project and can I just recount my joy for it? I can. I won’t here but I can.
Since you know how to make a barn door, you have a great fallback—if you can even call it that. For the hidden bookcase door, you have more to iron out than what side the shelves go on.
Either way, please let us know what you do. Pictures are nice. We’d enjoy seeing your Scooby Doo bookcase or Batman secret door.
For more how-to and DIY action, hit our YouTube channel and binge it…
