Okay, I don’t know how many of us around here are handy, but I’m gonna give it a shot. I’m used to fixing things around the house because I’m used to not having money and the issues I run into being super specific. I’m hoping folks have some advice for this specific scenario.
I have this kinda writing desk situation built into our wall. I don’t want to remove it because it’s part of the house, but I do want to place a shelving unit in front of it which would make it unable to open.
I will be putting a second dvd unit to the right of this one (you can see a wip wall patch there - I took out the thermostat for the wall heater we no longer have, and have patched but haven’t sanded/painted yet). But yeah, the drawer, when open, would prevent me from doing that.
I don’t want to leave it open because that’s where we keep the dog treats (lol) and also because that part of the wall doesn’t seem super well insulated. Anyway - I am trying to figure out an enclosure solution. So far I’ve thought of a sliding door, which I don’t love because it limits access, an accordion door which might be fine but those get hard to use after a while, and bifold doors which seem the best option to me (though the angled surface makes that a little tricky too).
But how the heck would I get bifold doors/shutters to custom fit a space? Do I have to make them entirely myself? Does anyone have any other/better ideas?
Also feel free to ask your own home improvement queries in here!
Have you considered building custom shelves to accommodate the door opening? It seems like modifying the door would end up becoming potentially expensive and time consuming depending on what you would need it to do to open while also not being blocked by another dvd unit or the final product being a bit janky, especially since you want to keep it as part of the house. Though if you do decide to change the door you may want to keep the original door and build a new one from scratch that serves your purpose should you ever decide to move. I think the angle could make the bifold option difficult to open and put strain on the hinges.
Edit: You could build a simple removable sliding door where you install two rails with a groove cut into them and just have a thin piece of plywood with a knob on it that would pull out away from the wall.
Edit 2: I drew a janky diagram because I wasnt sure if I was getting my idea across.
Let’s see if I understand the problem. You want to put a shelf there like the one to the left in the photo, but the writing desk door will collide with it because it’s flush with the wall, or just a couple inches off the wall, so you are considering making a new door?
These solutions may be off base, or kind of punk house / hippie style, but here’s some, rapid fire:
Bisect the writing desk door by sawing it in half. remove the knob and install it on the right hand half of the door. This way you can open up just half of the writing desk. I see the hinges, if you bisect it vertically down the center the hinges would remain functional. This is the path of least resistance IMO.
Remove the writing desk anyway and insulate the wall better with polyurethane spray foam and/or blankets/fabric.
Remove the hinges, they are probably just held in with screws. now the wooden door is removable any which way you like, and you’re free to brainstorm new ways of keeping it in place, while it’s now able to be removed any which way instead of the single action of open/close. You now have a piece of wood that is already perfect fit to the opening which you can modify. Similar to option 1.
I considered custom shelves but they would look funny, and I already have an identical shelving unit, which seems most space efficient. I like the idea of a sliding door, but the TV is just to the right here and there’s a lip on the side of the drawing desk that means it could never be flush. Good thoughts though, this is what I need to get the ole brain pumping!
@treefroggy whoops just saw yours - I can’t remove the writing desk itself because it’s built into the wall and the platform above, which surrounds a fireplace. It’s a whole deal.
However!! The idea of removing the hinges as step 1 and just having the door rest there loose is something I will try if the lip at the bottom is strong/large enough to keep it in there. And if I can figure it out, maybe sawing the existing door into a bifold situation could work out - if I screw that up then at worst I’m back to figuring out how to fabricate a new one, so basically back to where I am now (minus the insulation problem of course).
First thing that comes to mind for me is similar to @treefroggy 's suggestion but with a twist: remove the hinges, move the knob off-center to the right, cut the door in half, reattach the hinges (or maybe just a single hinge) on the new vertical separation in the door halves. Pulling on the knob will concertina fold the door outwards and to the right.
Yeah, I guess that would be just one fold, which would be easier to make - it feels like it might be too much material for one fold (the door is solid), so I might need rails, which would be a whole deal - but I’ll investigate for sure!
If I’m understanding the situation, moving your knob to the bottom and installing some stay hinges, to make it open in chest fashion seems like a relatively simple solution.
Unfortunately the problem of “opens too wide” remains if I switch the hinges to the top!
@yeso the real answer is my modern console games are also going to go there so it’s useful, but the semi-joke-but-not-really answer is if I followed the Marie Kon method I’d be in an empty house with my dog but I don’t think I’d be any happier.
