DIY Home Improvement Forum banner
Cancel
Create thread New Forums

Building a secret compartment

1 reading
Jump to Latest
21 - 40 of 48 Posts
#21 ·
I once had an older house that originally had a gravity flow furnace. It had 'wall registers' at various places.
When the furnace was up-graded to forced air, one of these registers was not required.
From below I screwed a piece of plywood over the hole where the pipe used to connect.
The register had a grate that was held in place by 2 screws.
It was a great place to hide stuff!
 
Discussion starter · #23 ·
I like that idea a lot. It looks like there'd be plenty of room for stuff too. Is there a better way to access it than to unscrew the cover? I imagine after awhile it might strip out the wood. Maybe sink a nut or something or use magnets. I'm sure it'd be fine for many uses with the screws.

Where would be the best source for a hard drive magnet if one doesn't have an old computer laying around?
 
#24 ·
i like your sink a nut idea, easy and secure, spray the bolt white and yer off! the magnetic cover is good too, but it'd be more work. you'd need false screwheads, glue magnet to cover, set screw level in wall to flush.... sinkanut it is! thanks! as to finding magnets, perhaps if you call some of your local computer repair shops, they might provide you/probly sell you old dead drives? just tell them you need some good magnets, and they might have them already laying around. i really enjoyed doing that yesterday, thanks for the idea!

DM
 
#25 ·
Just remembered something a friend told me he built years ago. Think he gave it to one of his kids.

Anyway, he built a large coffee table. In the table was a drawer that only opened on one end. Handles on both for appearance sake. The underside had a full sheet of ply so it didn't appear as though a drawer existed. I can't remember how or what device he used, maybe home-made, but you had to turn one leg a qtr turn to unlatch the moveable drawer. He kept rifles in it. Was lined with red felt and he cut some kind of foam, like you see in a gun case that would let the gun fit snug into the drawer. The top was 5/4 maple. The whole thing was really heavy empty. Let alone full of rifles.

Nothing better than hiding in plain sight. :thumbsup:

This thread got me to thinking about that table and I'm considering doing my own version of it. Might be a good winter project. If I can figure out how to let the top open rather than a drawer I'd like that approach better. Anyone know where to buy a leg-lock?
 
#26 ·
awesome thread - too bad it's way OLD! Oh well - got me thinking though. Mostly - never go near Marvin's Garden. It's been so long for him to think about it, new surprises have surely popped up! LOL

For some people, like me, our air registers are not at the floor level, but near the ceilings (it's an old house - don't ask), so you can actually do the opposite of dangermouse's contraption. Instead of having magnets (any type of magnet would work, BTW, not just HDD) holding the compartment UP, but here I would let the compartment rest lower than the register and it could comfortably sit on a 2x4 stop. Put a handle on the top side, and then when you need in just pull up, grab what you need, and then set it back in the down position. Close up the register and *poof* it's gone!
 
#27 ·
I've also got another one for ya... my house has an attic space above the front porch. This attic space is separate from the rest of the attic (they are 90* to each other). The porch attic above the full attic was an addition to the house, so the original roof line is still there. Anyway, the floor space is about 6' x 8' up there, plywood floor, and fully insulated. To get access to this area, you need to push back a secret (not anymore) panel between the roof rafters (I think I'm using the right term - the 2x8's that go from the edge of roof to the top of the roof every 16"). This panel swings open, has batting insulation on it, and the piano hinge is completely hidden. Great part is, to get to this completely unmarked panel, you need to open a 2' x 2' door in one of my kids rooms that goes to the attic area.

We never even knew the space was there until about 2 years after living in the house and going into the attic this way. We felt a small draft where some of the insulation was sagging and I tried fixing it, only to find the wall moving!!! LOL Now, not only is the room hidden, but I have another small 'pocket' dug out with my important stuff up there. Course, if there's ever a fire I'm screwed... but nobody will ever find it!
 
#28 ·
This is a cool thread.

Here's an idea from my HS physics teacher that I really like for hidden lock mechanism.

You have your secret compartement that needs a lock, like maybe that coffee table. You use a selonoid for the lock. The plunger is out until you hit it with electric. Well to power the thing you put two bolt heads somewhere where you can hit them with a 9V battery!

How's this for a "not so hidden" secret space: The HVAC return. I bet most run of the mill criminals don't inspect the insides of your returns when they burgle a house.

I've thought about digging a hole in my shed (dirt floor) and burying an ammo container to store things in -- like a backup of the comptuter.
 
#29 ·
i love this thread too, hidden locks and tricks are my passion.
go to my you tube channel, you'll see.... (see below)
to see the newest one i just finished a few days ago, go to Nathan's Craftforum.
http://www.craftforum.com/showthread.php?t=333
It's sweet! And I can make them in any size!

DM
 
#30 ·
oh, and i recently ordered a batch of real sweet magnets from kjmagnetics.com and was very happy.
still trying to figure out how to use the 3/4" silver stars on a box somehow.... they're too cool.

DM
 
#31 ·
I am thinking of the vent return for something similiar where I am trying to hide access to a large space hidden behind a wall. I can put a majority of tools and computers in it. I was thinking of covering it with a large vent return. my concern is some smart criminal might wonder why the return is in this spot or see the real one not too far away. I was trying to think of a way to build a fake vent that could be moved out of the way with a special trick.
 
#32 ·
When my dad built our house(40+ years ago) he built in a safe. A fairly large safe, maybe 3' x 3' wide. It was a heavy safe, big door, something you might see in a business, not a sheet metal kind of thing. The space was framed, the safe installed(it had steel wheels) and the walls finished with paneling. The door into the safe area was cut in the panel grooves and you could not see the seams. The section of base and chair rail was cut at 45 degrees and dropped in to the correct spots. Looked totally built in.
 
#33 ·
rocketdoctor said:
I was trying to think of a way to build a fake vent that could be moved out of the way with a special trick.
Click to expand...
once more, i'd be inclined to mount magnets to the wall so the cover just sticks there and can be easily taken off in a half second. fake screws glued to the cover for disguising it as well, of course.

DM
 
#34 ·
DangerMouse said:
ok, how's this? since the illusion of a normal wall is important and we're looking at new construction 2x4 wall, simply create a "dropdown box" that will slide freely up and down between studs. that will be held up to a cross support 2x4 by one or two old hard drive magnets and old steel hinges or straight bracing with holes available at any hdwr store. add a drawer handle to the bottom, be sure to set it's height so as it will be hidden from view. then simply install a false cold air return grate for the opening after you drywall! 2 or 4 screws, reach up and pull it down, do whatever, then shove it back on the magnets!
damn, that's a such a good idea, I'M gonna do it! hahahaha

DM
Click to expand...
Why not use some old window sash weights in the wall? Of course you would need to add access doors thru the adjoining studs to retrieve the weights if the sash cords (ever wondered where that name came from?) rotted and broke.
 
#35 ·
MI-Roger said:
Why not use some old window sash weights in the wall? Of course you would need to add access doors thru the adjoining studs to retrieve the weights if the sash cords (ever wondered where that name came from?) rotted and broke.
Click to expand...
-=chuckle=- i think you answered your own question as to why not.
magnets last for ages and are a lot easier IMHO

DM
 
#36 ·
This gives me ideas, could be a lot of fun, and fairly easy to do depending on how far you go. Fake vents are probably the easiest for mid size hidden spots. Nobody would ever think of unscrewing a vent to look inside.

I have a crawlspace under my garage. This is very uncommon, so I could make a vault out of that if I wanted to. Could even build a door out of cinder block to match the rest of the wall. Nobody would ever ever suspect there's something other then sand on the other side of that. Great place to store bodies before a search warrant.
 
#40 ·
gma2rjc said:
Does anyone know of a place to buy special hinges and hardware that isn't sold at regular hardwares?
Click to expand...
Rockler is a good source.....

A good latch to look for is the magnetic spring loaded ones....you push on it and it pops out a little so you can grab it.

I have built a few hidden compartments....one was in the top of a cabinet. The whole top lifts up to expose 2" deep tray.
 
21 - 40 of 48 Posts
About this Discussion
47 Replies
19 Participants
Last post:
gma2rjc
DIY Home Improvement Forum
posts
3.4M
members
353K
Since
2003
A forum community dedicated to Do it yourself-ers and home improvement enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about tools, projects, builds, styles, scales, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more! Helping You to Do It Yourself!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Electrical HVAC Building & Construction Plumbing General DIY Discussions