Help Me With My Door Design on my Built in Canopy

dustinc

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I’m building an in wall system currently and trying to figure out the best removable door design for the wall I just framed out on top of the tank. I need to be able to access the tank from the front for placing corals, etc. the room is more for equipment, etc as I don’t have a ton of space back there. Any ideas would be appreciated. I’m leaning towards some sort of hook/latch type connection currently, but open to any ideas. The rest of the walls will be finished out as well so it’s completely enclosed, but only need access to the top. Thanks.

IMG_6295.jpeg
 

Fish Fan

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I recently saw your build thread for this tank and the hidden fish room; nice work!

I don't know what aesthetic you're going for, but perhaps some panels attached with magnets that can be easily removed and set back in place?
 
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dustinc

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I recently saw your build thread for this tank and the hidden fish room; nice work!

I don't know what aesthetic you're going for, but perhaps some panels attached with magnets that can be easily removed and set back in place?

Thanks a lot. Definitely looking forward to it coming together. My only concern with magnets is the fear of them coming loose and those wood panels falling on one of my little ones. That’s why I like the idea of something more secure.
 

Fish Fan

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Thanks a lot. Definitely looking forward to it coming together. My only concern with magnets is the fear of them coming loose and those wood panels falling on one of my little ones. That’s why I like the idea of something more secure.
Oh sure, you're family's safety is of course a concern. Just a suggestion :)
 

Ef4life

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For the door I would put a hinge at or near the ceiling horizontally, and use 2 gas struts to lift the door up and out of the way like a storage compartment on an rv - I would remove the 2 center supports imo they will just get in your way during maintenance
 

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For the door I would put a hinge at or near the ceiling horizontally, and use 2 gas struts to lift the door up and out of the way like a storage compartment on an rv - I would remove the 2 center supports imo they will just get in your way during maintenance

Opening vertically is a great option.

If you prefer doors that swing out, you could look into the lift-off hinges? Just need a little bit of vertical clearance and they come off pretty easily.

I use these in my garage for larger lawn machine storage (snow blower/lawn mower platform) to keep them out of sight:

 

Fish Fan

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Other members here have definitely had good ideas :)

Just for the sake of conversation, these hinges would allow for support of a vertically opening door panel (like gas struts), but would be cheaper, and can hold the door panel up when needed. looks like they even go to 110 degrees, which would make good use of your slanted ceiling.

Toy box hinges on Amazon

EDIT: Maybe your ceiling isn't slanted, at first it looked like it was.
 
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Ef4life

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Cheap quick and possibly funny lightweight removable panel idea - canvas print

build a Simple wood frame for a canvas painting sized for your access panel

Buy some French cleat hangers and mount to the wall and back of canvas frame

Get a funny printed shower curtain or a nice patterned fabric and stretch it over your frame and staple. Something that could even be backlight nicely with the reef lighting or supplemental led strips as mood lighting for the room.

Amazon product
 

Fish Fan

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What a great idea! I'm building two new systems, using panels and magnets (is my plan). But using canvas prints is a really creative idea. Obviously you could print up whatever you want, and then a very simple wooden frame would make it much like any other door or panel that could be hinged or whatever.

Do you have any concern with saltwater getting on the canvas and ruing the print? Thank you!
 
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Ef4life

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What a great idea! I'm building two new systems, using panels and magnets (is my plan). But using canvas prints is a really creative idea. Obviously you could print up whatever you want, and then a very simple wooden frame would make it much like any other door or panel that could be hinged or whatever.

Do you have any concern with water getting on the canvas and ruing the print? Thank you!
I’ve not actually done it, just something I thought up. I figure a simple cloth/plastic like a shower curtain should hold up pretty well and be cheap to just replace every year or so as needed. Getting a custom canvas print in my experience is not to expensive but something of that dimension might not be cheap to ship.

You could always do 2 simple doors with normal hidden cabinet door hinges and center a smaller sized canvas mounted on French cleats partially hiding the doors. Just lift off the canvas to open up the doors for access. That would keep the canvas away from the majority of the water/humidity
 

Fish Fan

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I’ve not actually done it, just something I thought up. I figure a simple cloth/plastic like a shower curtain should hold up pretty well and be cheap to just replace every year or so as needed. Getting a custom canvas print in my experience is not to expensive but something of that dimension might not be cheap to ship.
My wife and her sisters get canvas prints all the time from Walmart and others; it's very affordable, even shipped, and, again, I think a really novel way to build a door panel.

You could always do 2 simple doors with normal hidden cabinet door hinges and center a smaller sized canvas mounted on French cleats partially hiding the doors. Just lift off the canvas to open up the doors for access. That would keep the canvas away from the majority of the water/humidity
French cleats would allow the OP to use any panel they want, and I don't see how that would fall off and hurt the OP's family members. They'd just have to allow for a little "wiggle room" to lift the panel "up" and "off" the cleat.

Great reply, thanks for your help here, you're giving me some new ideas for my next builds!
 
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dustinc

dustinc

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For the door I would put a hinge at or near the ceiling horizontally, and use 2 gas struts to lift the door up and out of the way like a storage compartment on an rv - I would remove the 2 center supports imo they will just get in your way during maintenance

This is definitely an option I've been considering. The only thing I'm not sure of is the clearance needed on top to be able to open. I want it as sealed off as possible to prevent light spillage in to the room. Also, I thought about removing those 2 supports when building, but it's a 72" span and didn't think it would allow enough support to hold the wood doors/panels without it. The tank has braces in the same spots, and I'm made sure I can fit in there. Would obviously prefer without, but want to make sure it has plenty of stiffness as to not create future problems.

Opening vertically is a great option.

If you prefer doors that swing out, you could look into the lift-off hinges? Just need a little bit of vertical clearance and they come off pretty easily.

I use these in my garage for larger lawn machine storage (snow blower/lawn mower platform) to keep them out of sight:


I did look at these. I think I would need a bit too much vertical space to be able to make these work correctly.

1000006332.jpg


Will you "close" this part ?

Yes, I will be continuing the bookcase above both of those areas.

Other members here have definitely had good ideas :)

Just for the sake of conversation, these hinges would allow for support of a vertically opening door panel (like gas struts), but would be cheaper, and can hold the door panel up when needed. looks like they even go to 110 degrees, which would make good use of your slanted ceiling.

Toy box hinges on Amazon

EDIT: Maybe your ceiling isn't slanted, at first it looked like it was.

Another great suggestion.



French cleat hangers have been what I've been leaning towards personally.They don't cost much and you can get them where they hold hundreds of pounds. I like the idea of the canvas print, but no way my wife would be game for it. She's now a stay at home mom, but used to be an interior designer and was tough enough to convince her to let me build this out, ha ha! Once all the wood work is done, we will be completely painting the area a deep navy blue (Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore).
 

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I re-read the thread and somehow might have missed the material…Just curious, you using plywood or PVC board?

Anyway Endorse French cleats and/or magnets…
Ive yet to locate any hinges, struts or general hardware that hold up under salty air
 
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dustinc

dustinc

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I re-read the thread and somehow might have missed the material…Just curious, you using plywood or PVC board?

Anyway Endorse French cleats and/or magnets…
Ive yet to locate any hinges, struts or general hardware that hold up under salty air

It will be with plywood and wood trim.
 

RocketEngineer

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Thanks a lot. Definitely looking forward to it coming together. My only concern with magnets is the fear of them coming loose and those wood panels falling on one of my little ones. That’s why I like the idea of something more secure.
IMG_1169.jpeg
IMG_1168.jpeg

The magnets don’t support the weight. They just serve to keep the panels upright. The weight is supported by the cleats mounted to the back of the panels.
 

RocketEngineer

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The same concept can be used with French cleats in that the “hook” of the French cleat keeps the top of the panel from falling outward while a block at the bottom rests on top of the horizontal piece above the tank.

I prefer panels because once removed they are out of the way while you work. I seem to always be working around doors on my tanks so I’ve tried to avoid them.
 


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