A hidden door is more than just a fun addition to a home. They require more than a traditional hinge, a few panels of wood and a disguised access point. Hidden doors draw on specialized design, complex engineering and precise manufacturing to create a high-performance door that is meant to blend into its surroundings in a seamless way.
What begins with a secret door concept evolves into a hidden passageway design and results in the creation of a pre-hung door that makes secret door installation a breeze. From home protection, thanks to ballistic doors, to home safety — for doors that protect valuables and secure firearms — the developmental process that precedes a completed secret door is extensive. And that process adds to their overall value.
Engineering A Secret Door
In the same way architects fuse form and function to balance unique design with stability and utility, the design and engineering process for secret doors, vault doors and hidden passageways is integral to its long-term performance. From a design standpoint, the primary focus is novelty, usability, aesthetics and its ability to blend into an environment.
From an engineering standpoint, the focus is anchored to a door’s ability to perform as it is expected to. At the very least, homeowners expect their secret doors to seamlessly fit into its surroundings, or it wouldn’t be a secret. Beyond that, the door is expected to be functional as its outer appearance suggests, which means it needs to be able to bear weight. And, when it is supposed to open, it needs to do so in a way that doesn’t scrape the floor, doesn’t scuff the ceiling and then closes without extensive effort.
Inner Mechanics Keep Hidden Doors A Secret
The mechanics that go into secret doors — the brains of the operation, in essence — begins with the utilization of CAD (computer-aided design) software that allows for a higher quality design. Every secret door company is different, and some may use different methods, but CAD design allows for more optimization and precision.
From there, the internal structure of a hidden door utilizes systems that are built from the ground up to ensure the door operates as it should — that it swings smoothly, that it closes tightly, that it opens on command and that it engages its locks when it is instructed to, in the case of a vault door.
All of those functions are built into the door’s mechanical system during the engineering phase of the design-build process. Additional features may include an auto-opener, which pops a door open once it is unlocked, or a wireless secret switch — both of which require mechanical engineering efforts on the back end.
To learn more about the need for precision when it comes to designing and manufacturing hidden doors, vault doors and secret passageways, click the link below!
Hidden Door Store, a Gilbert, Arizona-based company, designs and manufactures a variety of premium secret doors disguised as bookcases, wine racks and hutches, among other options. A division of Creative Home Engineering, which has been an innovative leader in the field of hidden passageway design for more than 20 years, Hidden Door Store allows homeowners to install a “hidden gem” inside their home. Learn more at www.hiddendoorstore.com.