Creating A Hidden Room With A Secret Floor Door!

DIY secret doors in basements! creating a hidden access point in a six-year-old house with an unfinished basement. go to getsunday.com/MRBUILDIT and use code MRBUILDIT25 for 25% off your first custom lawn plan
Hidden door hinges used: amzn.to/3xAwTNj
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[@Kay8B]

I would add some gas struts to it to avoid chopping off toes and fingers!!!

[@patrick5082]

Good call 😂

[@seantjohnson]

100% agree. As soon as he started opening and closing the door, I thought he needs gas struts.

[@noahnadia070211]

I was going to say the same thing

[@saljablo2767]

He’s a hack. He would never do anything correctly

[@HabsAllDay17]

Great call! Also i would paint the latch a tan color

[@coffeeguydave8149]

Paint in the gap the same color as the floor! It will blend in. Even the latch. Make it brown from above

[@strungoutkid]

I was thinking the same thing 👍

[@strungoutkid]

I was thinking the same thing 👍

[@mechanicalman3566]

Me too! Maybe go in a tiny bit lighter because the shadow will make it look a little darker

[@michael-499]

A RUNNER will cover your “issues”. You did a FANTASTIC job meeting your goal. Looks great and is very functional.

[@chrisl672]

Someone in the comments mentioned installing an actuator which I think is a brilliant idea. They make them so you could have a wall switch. Just hit the switch and the door opens hit it again and it'll close. Also you may want to think about insulating that door somehow. With that gap you're going to have a breeze coming through there. I understand what a challenging project this was. Kudos man, I think it couldn't have been done any better

[@westonhenderson5675]

Except insulating and the actuator... hahahahah Great work as always though!

[@v0idgrim]

You used the wrong type of hinge for a hidden door. There are hinges that lifts the door more up and then higher by utilising a different pivot point. Then you could have a mm tight fit :) also gas struts and then a lock inside of the door that you open with a strong magnet and you actually have a hidden door ;) Or why not having the unlock feature through some wire that goes up in the kitchen island so you pull a hidden lever to open ;)

[@kriss2787]

What hinges are those?

[@Jamal_Jackson_III]

They’re called pivot hinges

[@Tread_Man]

​@@Jamal_Jackson_IIIkinda like kitchen cupboard doors

[@harpintn]

You turned a big hole in the floor into a usable walk way. It may not be invisible, but it looks good. I would call it a win.

[@bmurphy847]

A nice runner rug will look great.

[@poppy2447]

Exactly what I came here to say. Throw a runner on it and call it a day

[@Can_non69]

And it would dampen the sound when walking over the hollow

[@Rasputindeath87]

A 45 cut on the front and back With a recessed pocket at the back for it to clear would let you hide the gaps but needs more prep and accuracy. Still love what youve done.

[@ryoukosan11]

I agree with some of the other comments. Even without trying to hide a door, it seems to be an ideal place for an long accent rug. The space also would be great for a piece of custom furniture, like a baker's rack, accent table, display cabinet, etc. Just put some hidden wheels on it so that when you need to access the basement, then it simply rolls out of the way. Also, some gas struts for easier opening/closing. Maybe some c-channel to stiffen up the door?

[@OliviaMcCarthy-vu4kd]

The idea of having a hidden room with a secret floor door added an element of mystery and excitement to home renovation. The craftsmanship and attention to detail showcased in the video were truly impressive, and it left me inspired to get creative with my own home projects.

[@swr420]

It may not be perfectly hidden but still pretty darn cool. Great job.

[@Andy.of.all.trades]

Seems to remember Micheal Alm putting a 3 degree bevel on the closing edges of a door he built to let it close more closely. That might have let you land those seams more cleanly but I reckon a pretty decent job done! Massive improvement over a gaping hole 😎

[@ndfnd424]

that first step looks like it’s a drop compared to the rest

[@paulaglaze3913]

I love the way you explain that you're doing a trial & error. So many people these days, think they have to know it all & strut their stuff, if you know what I mean. Anyway, I loved your video. So much so, that I subscribed.

[@bruh279]

cutting an angle on all edges of the door will make it close a lot smoother. Maybe add some small rubber bumpers on the wall where the door contacts the wall so over time it doesnt damage the drywall and paint! good stuff though I like it!

[@Tofh40]

I think the bumpers might ruin the concealed door. And considering it's only ever used to access pipes I don't think it would ever be opened much 😅

[@saulgoodman2018]

I would have put some bracing on the back. Over time with all the walking on it, may not hold with just glue.

[@bradrhoades102840]

agreed. same thought

[@anthonybott6923]

Yeah it needs more support.

[@natureandnorth]

I thought of that too. Bracing on the back! 🎉

[@nathanjames1089]

He has cleats along the ends but I get your point its a pretty big span for human load even if it is 2x12s

[@NASTYcraftX]

As many said, gas struts are a must and color match paint all gaps and the handle.

[@djthyrax]

You needed a different kind of hinge that would raise the door from the floor once it is vertical. See for example the Mercedes 190 or Audi A4 B4 trunk hinges. With that then you'd have the flooring skin in the door oversized with 45° degree bevels to then lay on top of the regular floor which would be undersized.

[@AtlasUK]

Yes trunk hinges! I was thinking the same thing

[@yarb2643]

What about some foam weatherstripping in the gap hinge side painted tan? That would cut down on drafts and make the gap less noticeable.

[@TheStation82]

Very good job on the overall completion! Don't let haters give you a perfection complex!😆😆🤙🏾🤙🏾👍🏽

[@cherylbuscema2712]

I totally agree! Not everyone can be perfect at everything. I have seen "professional" jobs that I could have done better at!

[@saljablo2767]

@@cherylbuscema2712when you’re filming yourself for a KZbin channel it should be pretty much near perfect at the end. He lacks safety struts for one. This is a hack job all the way

[@candacehari5531]

​@saljablo2767 Agree on ye comment re safety struts. However, he never ever professes to be an expert, just a dude doing his best. If that is not your cup of tea then that is fine, but no need to add negative comments like this.

[@gretchenbrown9973]

Beautiful job Mr. BuildIt! Thank you for showing your problem solving, patience, and perseverance!!

[@debi7039]

I've read that in some really old houses where the flooring planks had larger gaps between the planks, workmen would sometimes repair the gaps using a twine or some sort of rope like material made of natural fiber. They would wedge it in between the flooring boards. Then they would stain it the color of the flooring. It definitely wasn't a perfect solution, but the gaps were not as noticeable & they moved like a gasket does. This was good because the wooden floor boards expand & contract. Maybe something like this may work for hinge side of the door to the basement.

[@stephaniemaster9915]

You're doing a great job. As far as building on the island. Put down a tarp or painters cloth or something because it's not just getting something cleanable on it, it's what if you scratch it.

[@colly1952]

We had such a basement in our house when I was young. We accessed it through a trap door until we had a fire when I was 13 and they changed the set up of the house and we ended up with a regular access, and regular door underneath the attic stairway. It was a very small house 2 bedroom house with the high part of the attic made as a 3rd bedroom. In the basement we had the furnace, the washer and dryer and a sumpump. More than ½ of the basement was not even a crawl space. This video reminded me of this. That was in the good old days when danger was less of a worry.

[@travismcclure4195]

Dude! I think it looks great! It’s not an invisible door but it’s well camouflaged. I lived in a 70 year old house that had panel gaps that you could lose all sorts of things in.

[@AdamS-lh2ug]

I think I would keep the running lay out then cut out the door afterwords. Set up some reference points or line strings. It would maintain the plank grains.

[@BriansWoodWorkingShop]

My wife watches a ton of murder mystery shows. About 15 or so minutes into the video, I was thinking this could be a future murder house. I mean, it's a basement with a dirt floor to bury bodies. Install sound absorbing materials on the floor joists for no one to hear the screams and the ability to hide the opening with a long decorative rug. Fancy. Total future murder house or could make for a good murder mystery novel. Nice work on the door, by the way.

[@williamdunn617]

It looks like a perfect place for a antique sideboard with felt on the bottom of the feet so it slides in and out easy

[@Ukjon72]

I would look at boat hardware for the handle and put some sideways bracing on the back of the door to stop bowing, your crawlspace is probably damper and it would help.

[@michaelt7687]

proud of you for accepting the challenge and doing it yourself 👍🏼

[@julielefevre4184]

I have been watching the whole series. You are doing a great job! So much hard work on this house! We had contractors build a door like this on our porch. It does have some boards going horizontal on the door to give it more strength. You could always get some floor paint or something that is durable and paint the latch so it is not as noticeable. You are really getting close to finishing!

[@javiervigil2511]

Tough problem, you did well, it's all about learning from the process and figuring out how to do it better the next time👍

[@gregarmstrong4653]

You could try a folded strip of beige canvas glued in the hinge-side door-gap to help hide it

[@Esiddik]

All that struggle you did really well for the problems you had! Well done it looks amazing.

[@jeremyhill3913]

I think the hinge looks fine, but if you're really worried about it, you could take a piece of scrap flooring, peel a top layer of veneer and contact cement it to the top of your latch. Then, cut with a knife around where your handle comes up. I do agree with what most people suggest with the struts to ease the opening and closing. Painting inside your seams will help, or if you want to try and get really creative, wrap a piece of foam with a paper veneer that closely matches your flooring and wedge in place. This will allow for expansion and contraction but still hide the gap a little more. It's not 100 percent perfect, but maybe slightly better than nothing. Love the videos. Great job.

[@coatknight]

Tried to do a hidden door as well and flooring guys did a great job of actually making it even more obvious after I specifically asked to make it look seamless. Used the same handle and recessed it. My door isnt as long but I put some blocks/braces across to mimic the joists. I would have actually put the door hinges on the right side (looking at the video) with struts that push the door up. That way the finished flooring can have lip on the two long sides. With the right struts it could have a lip on all 4 sides.

[@TheWoodShop2022]

@Mr.Buildit thank you so much for the great content you provide here on KZbin. I became a wood worker in 2022 after first watching one of your videos and I not only enjoy it but enjoy the process you take to make things look beautiful. Thank you again and keep doing what you’re doing because you inspire us regular folks to learn new things and to not be scared to just try new things.

[@anthonyjones1127]

Patiently waiting for this. Can’t wait to check it out. Your work is amazing

[@FurballHacker]

That basement hole always had me nervous! So glad it's finally got a door! Well done!!

[@phatpride1]

I think you should brass it. Heat up the steel with a torch and use a brass wire drill attachment and it transfer the brass onto the steel. Would hide it more with the wood.

[@ChrisFodor92]

I have this exact same issue in the middle of my living room! Thank you! 🙏🏻

[@kriss2787]

What a great idea, might implement one of these myself. Bravo. Thanks for sharing

[@wendy833]

I think it looks great. I would throw a runner rug down and a buffet over it.

[@luci1242]

OMG!!! I love this idea! I'm a shortie and must use a step stool to get OUT of my crawl space. I can totally make the access from the hallway of my home! Thanks so much for the awesome idea. Keep them coming

[@azrwilkinson]

Great job! I think it looks really good since it is still necessary to have it for access.

[@kingtrax5759]

You CAN and absolutely NEED to finish that basement if you want to make that house a proper family home. You can make another full bathroom down there and some extra storage space. 1 bathroom for a 3 bedroom house is outrageous. You definitely need to plan on getting that dug out and finished.

[@salimhadjout3]

As good as it can get, A nice little carpet would definitely make it perfect 😂 Bravo 👏 🎉

[@Hypedhitman]

Great work ! Of all your projects on the house this was the most impressive. Definitely had your thinking cap on for this one.

[@bobromero2485]

Great job! 👏🏻 That looks amazing.

[@lynneclark5313]

Great job!! Depending on where the house is, insulating the door would cut down on cold coming from the cellar.

[@TheBottemLine]

It looks great and functions smoothe

[@GamingHistorySource]

23:49 Find some fabric that matches the color of the wood & tuck it under the flooring to fill the gap. Preferably something you can fill with a flexible & expandable filling.

[@6919wally]

What I would do is take the wood plank to the home center and get a color match paint sample and paint the inside the grove to hide the shadow gap.

[@pauljackson28]

How about a nice hall rug?

[@RoxaneJ14]

You could paint the back of the hinges, the black sticks out in the gap and if it were tan the gap would be less noticeable. And of course it's too late now, but it would have been nice to have continuous grain running between the normal flooring and the door, we can see that the planks are different. I also like the idea of a rug, after all, you can put a runner on this and it will completely disappear. The recessed pull is a great touch!

[@bpatriquin123]

@MrBuildIt There’s SO many options to distract from the gap in the floor. Because it’s so close to the doors outside, a shoe rack wouldn’t be a bad thing in that spot. You could something distracting on the wall above the door, or just throw a runner down over it and call it a day!

[@jonblair5470]

You could still add after market “soft close” hardware to “catch” the door when your closing it. The ones you just screw into the frame and has a rod that sticks out and gets compressed. Maybe 1 or 2 on the opposite side of the hinges.

[@charleslopaneciii97]

One of the best channels on KZbin. Thank you for constantly keeping it fresh with new ideas and designs.

[@Red2k15]

“That’s what she said” 😂😂😂 damn right man.

[@RenaSims-ne4hf]

I was hooked from start to finish watching this video!

[@ravenspawn8982]

Color match paint for the latch is perfect

[@robv2137]

That basement door opening has always been on the back of my head. Looks great now, I would maybe try to color match the gaps and handle. Ultimately was hoping for the door to be relocated to the living room that way it could have been covered by a couch or area rug- none the less it's now complete and wouldn't break my head over it. Great job Alex!

[@petkopiryankov]

For the problem with the hinge side reveal, maybe you had to offset the hinges position "higher" to be in the center of the door+floring thickness so it wouldn't catch.

[@ado933]

Looks great

[@williamyoder40]

Check out SOSS hidden hinges for the next hidden door project. Beveled edges as someone else mentioned are a good idea to hide edges better and work well with the SOSS hidden hinges. Good job and good video. Thanks.

[@jonblair5470]

The hardware you chose works, but there is versions with springs in them, and soft close features. making the door open easier/lighter feeling as well as close softer

[@manuelgarcia1212]

Awesome job, your skills are improving for sure

[@mikegilkey]

Maybe on the part that is the floor next to the door by the big reveal, remove it, place it down with magnets. It can be pulled up and removed and replaced any time you need to open the door. It would allow for a perfect seam. So step 1 remove flooring panels that are magnate to the floor next to the wall, then open the door. Also, the door does. It have to be square. You could extend parts out to fit the natural floor joints. Just have those held by magnets as well. You could completely hide it. Also, add a lock to keep things safe and kids out.

[@helenkingjr.4592]

It looks incredible, don't beat yourself up!

[@marekhullinger598]

Man that looks incredible 👍

[@patogordo2000]

I dont know if im ahead of the project but an 12 volt actuator remote contolled woud be fabulous

[@TiffanyTiffany]

I think it looks great. I would be happy to have that in my kitchen. Good job!

[@johnboutwell2259]

Palm nailer works wonders on the hangers

[@patrikfilipsson4328]

You might want to look at some self adhesive vinyl with similar wood finish as the floor for the handle to make it more hidden

[@anothercoolchannel4528]

Awesome concept! In my opinion to hide it better maybe make the floor planks extend past the entrance with random seems so when it opens the edges of door is jagged and have a dime gap between all floorboards

[@BadAppleWoodwerx]

The problem with the door catching is because you didn't factor in the thickness of the flooring in top of the door when you set your hinges. 😉

[@eemarge]

for a handle i think having a section grinded out of the floor for a strong magnet that doesnt pertrude would be nice, all u need is to keep another strong magnet with u and put it in the right spot when u need to open it

[@jonny555ive]

My grandfather used to tell me, Jonny, to try to achieve perfection will only cost you your sanity. It looks great dude, fantastic work.....👍👍 Take it easy brother. ~Jonny5🥁

[@TiffanyBogart]

It came out nice

[@ajablonska82]

I think you did a great job overall taking into consideration that location of the access to the basement is not ideal. A nice runner will complete the look. It really doesn't look bad without it though. Well done!

[@christosmuts3314]

You'll get use to it and if not, like mentioned before, just use a nice runner.

[@MrDaltonnn]

I think a prop rod/hydrolic prop rod/or assisted rod would be a goo idea to stop the hard closing and reduce wear. Also could help someone not as strong to open a heavy door.

[@SaraChumley]

Great job

[@AlexHernandez-lf6dx]

Looks good man

[@marioschneller8938]

So with the canal flooring it would suck and take forever but I would have taken my knife and slowly cut away where it was snagging between door and floor. Also so happy you flushed the handle! I feel the same about the chrome I love how it looks but it does stand out

[@Dontletthemchangeyou]

I think it looks nice . Don’t beat yourself up to much 👌🏽❤️

[@ABalancedApproach]

You did an excellent job with this house flip. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 Runner would cover the door

[@pennynewell3459]

I would be perfectly happy with the door. A runner and narrow table would be ideal.

[@candacehari5531]

I think you just needed to account for the flooring thickness on top of the hidden door when positioning the hinges & it possibly would have been as you envisioned without the gap at the back. Great job there though. The SS latch looks fine IMO. On a user safety note please add some suitable gas struts for when in use to avoid someone loosing a finger.

[@TheBlackAshstudio]

Looks great but I think you should add something across the grain on the bottom of the door, even just a 2x4 maybe with chamfered ends. Only reason there is a huge possibility that it start to warp or twist over time.

[@christ7058]

Looks good bro !!!

[@alecswangler6990]

Just a suggestion. I’d do what deck builders do when they paint black underneath. With the gap that you don’t like, just get the closest paint you can to the floor and paint that gap inside. It won’t get rid of the gap but it will definitely help hiding it

[@items3sacred]

1:43 Bro had enough and decided to use screws instead of Nails LMAO

[@dawnc1419]

If you put a 'fake' joint in the center of the middle board of the door it will give the impression of a break in 3 matching board lengths ❤

[@cj1684]

Staple a fold of board coloured fabric folded into the hinge crease to fill / hide the gap + stops any draft.

[@Ian-rk3co]

Woo! Keep it up bro!

[@michaelblayney9873]

Your door looks fine ! I understand what you were hoping for ! When the bad man comes looking for you ! Turn out the lights when hiding under the house! Lol

[@kevinbloom6434]

Looks great! I'd add a gas strut actuator for sure.

[@sharkyshark1]

You could do something like painting or something to the top side of the hinges to cover up that black color showing through which would make it look better and be less obvious. That said I'm unsure what the best way to achieve that color change.

[@Alfiewow]

If you re route the hinges so that they are set closer to the surface of the door and the door jam, you should be able to have a smaller gap because it wont catch.