Hidden Bookcase Door

Cut list

Board layout. Each row is one board, cut left to right, with the remainder hatched. Dark lines are saw cuts, about ⅛″ wide.

Build it

1. 
   01

   Cut the pieces

   Clamp the two sides together and cut them at the same time so they match. Then cut the rest:

   • A Sides, two at 79″
   • B Top, bottom and shelves, six at 29⅜″
   • C Lips, five at 29⅜″
   • D Back, one at 30⅞″ × 79″

   Check firstCheck your hinge kit's instructions before cutting: the bookcase size it calls for in your doorway, where the pivots go, and its weight rating. This plan fits a doorway 32″ wide and 80″ tall inside the jamb, with the old door, its hinges and stops taken off. The header above the doorway must be solid wood: the top pivot screws into it.
2. 
   02

   Drill the pocket holes

   Set the jig for ¾″. Drill three pocket holes at each end of the top, bottom and shelves (B), on the face that won't show: the underside of the shelves and bottom, the top face of the top.

3. 
   03

   Build the case

   Lay a side (A) on the floor and mark the shelves on it: the bottom flush with the end, then a shelf every 15⅝″, so each opening is 14⅞″ tall. The top opening comes out 15″. Mark the other side to match.

   Glue and pocket-screw the top, bottom and shelves (B) between the sides, front edges flush.

4. 
   04

   Add the lips

   Glue a lip (C) along the front of the bottom and every shelf, standing on edge, flush with the front. Screw up through the shelf into it with 1¼″ screws. The lips keep books from sliding off when the door swings.

5. 
   05

   Nail on the back

   Lay the case face down and measure the diagonals. Push it square until they match: a bookcase door that's out of square won't close flush. Glue and nail the back (D) on with 1″ brads every 6″, into the sides and every shelf.

6. 
   06

   Sand and finish

   Sand the sides (A), shelves and lips (C) with 120 then 180 grit and ease the edges. Paint or stain it to match the room, so it looks like any other bookcase.

7. 
   07

   Fix the pivot plates in the doorway

   Follow your kit's instructions for where the pivots sit. Plumb a line from the head jamb to the floor with a level, 2″ in from the hinge side of the opening. Screw the bearing plate to the floor or threshold on that line, into solid wood. Screw the top plate to the head jamb, right above it, with the long screws from the kit: they must reach the solid header and the studs beside it, not just the jamb.

8. 
   08

   Hang the bookcase

   Screw the matching pivot plates to the bottom and top of the bookcase, 2″ in from its left side and centered front to back. With two helpers, tip the bookcase into the opening, seat the bottom pivot on the bearing, then stand it up so the top pivot drops into the plate on the jamb.

   Swing it open and closed. Adjust the pivots the way the kit says until it closes flush and swings clear of the jamb.

9. 
   09

   Add a catch and load it

   Add the stop and catch from the kit, or a magnetic catch, so it stays shut. Load books from the bottom up, heaviest low, and stay under the kit's weight rating.

   Watch outA loaded bookcase door is heavy and the gap on the hinge side closes like a vise. Keep fingers and kids clear when it swings, and never let anyone climb it.