Bookcase Doors: Part 3

The biggest hang-up with constructing bookcase doors is getting the hardware locked in well.  There are several different options for concealed hinges, and I went with this set from Rockler.  Once I adjusted the directions to fit my bookcases, the instructions were fairly straightforward, so I knew going into the project what I needed to do.

In-swing doors have a little more flexibility on the types of hinges that can be used, but since these lead right to our air handler, these need to swing out.  Pivot hinges allow the door to sit on a pin and still open the right way without being able to see the hardware.  The install included a lot of diagrams specific to their door kits, which we didn’t use.  So, I recalculated a lot of the math and installed these with the specifications for my bookshelves.

Read more about this project in | Part 1 | Part 2 |

Pivot Hinge

The math is always the tricky part.  Since the install instructions were made for a completely different type of bookshelf, I had to disregard the measurements provided for the shelves and go off of the measurements given for the top and bottom plate.  Most of that was recalculated when I built the bookshelves, but now these came into use.

Their directions had the pins lined up at 4” out from the jamb/rough opening and 1 3/4” back from the front edge of the threshold.  I used this, and considering my math for sizing the bookcases, I knew I needed these to line up with the threshold at 1 3/4” and allow for 1/2” clearance on the sides.  So, I lined them up at 3 1/2” from the side edge of the bookcase.

The rest of installing the hinges came down to following their directives.  I lined up the pin holes with my measurements, bored a hole through the top of the case for the top pin, and screwed in each of the four hinge plates.

The only real problem was installing the threshold hinge plate:  the provided screws for this plate are 2 1/2” screws.  In a typical situation, this would be fine!  They’d go through the threshold board, the floor, and the subfloor creating a very nice hinge-sandwich.  However, my threshold is a 2x4 bottom plate.  So, I swapped the screws for 1 5/8" decking screws. Then if these ever get wet from living in a basement, they’ll still be in good shape, and these fit perfectly with the hinge and the depth of the bottom plate.

Casings

The casings were the last step in this process, since I needed some pieces of trim to move, but not in a way that works with an out-swing door.  The base and top casings wouldn’t be able to swing since these are blocked by the pivot of the hinge.  I also didn’t want to have the bookcases swing in between these.  I was really committed to having the door function be almost completely concealed.

So, I made these casings removable. By using magnets, I can easily line up the casings to conceal the doors and with the bookshelves closed, the door function practically disappears.  First, I used some scraps to create a place for the magnets where the two bookcases meet.  That way, the casing in the center also acts as a defacto latch.  I used a 1” Forstner drill bit to bore holes into the scraps and the framing at the top and bottom for the magnets to recess into the frame.  That way, the casings line up flush with the shelves.

The finishing touches then are paint.  I did this in two sessions, before and after the casings were installed.  I used my typical combination of BIN primer and Sherwin Williams Emerald paint in Riverway: the same color I started using in this room years ago.

Next up, we’ll lace in the rest of the floor.  Once we have the floor in and give these shelves some time to cure, we’ll be able to get this room put back together and move on to the next phase of the library project.