DOORS-hinges-locks-seals-vents for cabs.

[growingcrazy]

I just recently finished my new cabinet setup and currently have plywood doors, with slide locks and regular door hinges.

I haven't found any really detailed info on any of these things. I would really like to see what everyone is using. I know that some of you must have some very good door setups that have some thought put into them. Anything and everything pertaining to your custom door setups.

I will post some pics of mine later on, and hopefully a better finished product in a few days.

 

[señorsloth]

i too would like to see a nice thread about doors. as their is suprisingly little about light sealing them in the diy thread.

i tried many kinds of weatherstripping for doors, i ended up getting 3/8 wide by 3/16 thick, the super squishy kind is best in my opinion because i like to get the door with like 4 strips side by side and then put one strip on the cabinet, so they all squish together like memory foam and make a perfect seal.

i used euro hinges so sealing mine was a pain, i recomend using a strip of cloth for the hinge side, for my cab i layed down strips of duct tape, over lapping it just a little bit, sticky side up, then i layed mylar on top of that, made a very strong "mylar cloth" that holds very strong and doesn't let the doors leak any light at all.

for locks i got Tot Loks and for the money they are totally worth it. completely hidden, and secret, nobody will ever get into my cab without first knowing where the magnetic key is, then knowing where the locks specifically are on the cab. of course they would have to know what tot loks are before they even went about that so i think personally it's the best bet. looks more legit than a huge lock on a wardrobe cabinet...

i know mines not perfect by a long shot but it's light proof, i plan to improve it more over time, i would love to see what other people are doing so i can steal ideas from you all, keep the ideas coming!

 

[sm0k4]

I put some thought into mine. I decided to do a flush door with recessed hinges. I created a frame from 1.2 furring strips to put weather stripping on. I notched out where my hinges and clasps were going to go so the door would close flush and seal tight on the weather stripping. I had to only silicone the crack where the door frame meets the outer frame. Other than that no leaks.

One more mod I am going to do is put locks on, just haven't figured out how I want to do it yet.

Here is what I came up with. Pretty much any type of clasp can be used. I will probably replace mine for versions you can add a little paddlock to. Needs some touch up painting and detail work, but I like it.

 

[StealthDragon]

I've made alot of insert doors on my cabs. they usually kinda slide in sideways then push in and latch or stick to a magnet. I've also used the cabinet springloaded hinges (1) that go on the inside but I had alot of problems lining them up and sealing the door afterwards. I ended up removing those in favor of some cheapo knife hinges (2) that I scraped from an old entertainment stand. Knife hinges worked well for me...I searched and searched for a hinge that would be completely on the inside or hidden from view....all I could come up with were these 2 styles.
1.

2.

 

[MacGyver420]

for vents---

darkroom louvers; i bought a couple of the adorama brand ones and can verify that they are light tight and have good air flow.

 

[foescan]

You can remove two of the four louver sections and still be nearly 100% light-proof. I only use two, and have a a 12x12x1 air filter attached to the 8x8 louver (on back of cab), keeping my plants clean and blocking 100% of light, with less restriction.

I like regular door-type hinges in an appropriate size. Yes, someone could remove the pins to get in, but if you're at that point it was probably going to happen soon anyway. They don't interfere at all with light-proofing.

I also reinforced the tot locks where they mount for extra strength, using some L-shaped sections of aluminum. You can pull on the handles and the cab would fall over before they would release. I only need it to prevent curious guests from getting a a look.

 

[señorsloth]

ooooh i like those knife hinges! i am using the hinges in the pic above them, and they are seriously a pain to light proof, the doors open nice and smooth and the look is clean, for a wardrobe type cab, having normal hinges sticking out the sides would just look weird i think, especially if your in an appartment or something and trying to make it look legit and stealth....i am going to have to switch to the knife hinges, then i can use my mylar/ducttape cloth to better cover up the hinge crack. right now i have the cloth working with weather seal but the weather seal is grey and the cab is painted black so it's visible from the outside, i think people might notice it and wonder why somebody would want airtight dress clothes...

i'm putting serious thought into buying a long low dresser and gutting that for better stealth, after sealing all the drawer fronts you could make the big top into a very stealth door that would be pretty easy to seal, and a lot more stealth than the traditional wardrobe closet. more and more i look at it, then look at my empty closet, and think why would anybody own a wardrobe closet if they didn't have a wardrobe to put in it?lol maybe it's just the slow building paranoia toward harvest but i think this thread has already helped me a bit with my stealth ideas, since finding creative ideas for fixing light leaks and noisy exhaust vents can be a big factor in avoiding trouble...

 

[OneTokeOver]

My cabinet is defiantly not stealth but I thought I would share any ways.

For the door seal I used weather stripping from Home Depot meant for doors with out any. It has a metal flange that attaches to the door frame or in my case the cabinet wall. 100% light tight.

For hardware I used what I had, yeah I know, nothing matches but I'm the only one who see it!



Hope this helps,
OTO

 

[OneTokeOver]

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[growingcrazy]

These are the hinges that I have been looking at.. They look to be fairly strong, self closing, and best of all..cheap.

http://www.hardwaresource.com/hinge...s+-+Hidden+Hinges/175+Degree+Concealed+Hinge-

I will get some pics of my setup up eventually.

 

[habeeb]

I am using a wine cellar, so they used the best sealing for the door I could think of.

its some "V weather stripping" that fits into the door trim molding. so when you have pressure ( the door ) its squishes the V flat creating a very nice seal all around the door.

maybe check it out at home depot or lowes.. I'm sure they sell it for people wanting to weatherize there front door. all you need is the trim as it has the cutout for the strip to fit in, and the weather strip.. shouldn't' be to much

 

[señorsloth]

cool looking hinges crazy! but to be honest they look even harder to light proof than the euro hinges im using!

 

[growingcrazy]

With those hinges due to the way that they pivot, I can put the weather stripping directly on the outside of the box all the way around the opening. Should seal up fairly well..i hope.

Haven't ordered them yet, still searching for a better option.

Habeeb: I will have to look into the weather stripping, sounds like something good. The homedepot weatherstripping I have now works but I think its going to flatten and lose it's seal fairly quickly over time.

 

[OneTokeOver]

gc, the weather stripping habeeb is talking about is what I used on my doors.

Look closely at the second pic which shows the face that contacts the door and the third pic shows the mounting flange.

 

[rrog]

I'm using magnetic weatherstrip. Heavy duty, like a door to a refrigerator. Pulls the door closed and tight, so no hardware needed.

 

[foescan]

gc, the weather stripping habeeb is talking about is what I used on my doors.

I use that too, it's great for creating a custom labyrinth seal on doors.

 

[growingcrazy]

gc, the weather stripping habeeb is talking about is what I used on my doors.

Look closely at the second pic which shows the face that contacts the door and the third pic shows the mounting flange.

Found it! Have to say thanks, I have never looked in the tubes above the package weatherstripping.. stuff works amazing, durable..best seal.