# Cabinet doors that fold flat on the sides when open



## sammy.se (2 Sep 2015)

Hi Guys, i'm working through a design (mostly in my head at the moment) of a TV cabinet that I can put my 50" telly in.

I want to be able to close the doors completely, so that the TV is hidden, and then when I want to open the cabinet, the doors need to fold flat against the outside of the cabinet, so that the TV is not obscured.

(The cabinet will have an open back and plenty of ventilation holes by the way)

I've hand drawn what I mean, so it's easier to understand:

Picture 1 is two cabinet doors. 1) closed. 2) opening method 3) doors fully opened and folded flat on the sides







Picture 2 is more realistic, since the width of the doors would be too wide for the depth of the cabinet, i will create two bi-fold doors. 1) closed. 2) opening method 3) doors fully opened and folded flat on the sides






I'm thinking 18mm frames or similar, made of beech or another wood that can take a dark stain.

My questions are:

a) what kind of hinges can be used to achieve this? 
b) given what I'm trying to achieve with the TV cabinet, does anyone have any other ideas?


Thanks all

Sammy


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## MMUK (2 Sep 2015)

Have you considered pins and tracks so the doors slide down the insides? All it means is that you need to make double skin walls if you want to fit any shelves.


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## sammy.se (2 Sep 2015)

Hi mmuk,

I had considered that but I really want to have cabinet doors rather than multiple vertical slats. Also, I'm not to keen on having the vertical slats collected at the back when the tv is in use, restricting the ventilation


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## Droogs (2 Sep 2015)

you could use barrel hinges;
http://www.ironmongerydirect.co.uk/prod ... lsrc=aw.ds


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## blackrodd (2 Sep 2015)

Would cranked 180 degree do the job?

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=180+d ... C96_IwM%3A

Regards Rodders


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## katellwood (2 Sep 2015)

Google 270 degree hinge or entertainment centre hinge, as to achieve what you want this is what you need. There are numerous available


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## sammy.se (3 Sep 2015)

Thanks all ! I will give them a look


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## MMUK (3 Sep 2015)

sammy.se":1ukc9czs said:


> Hi mmuk,
> 
> I had considered that but I really want to have cabinet doors rather than multiple vertical slats. Also, I'm not to keen on having the vertical slats collected at the back when the tv is in use, restricting the ventilation



Not slats, solid doors using a pin as hinge and slider. The track runs only front to back. Open as normal then slide backwards inside the unit. The solid door sections rest down the sides not around the back. If you don't have depth to accommodate single leaf doors, you can still use bi-folds in the same setup.


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## sammy.se (3 Sep 2015)

Mmuk, that sounds interesting... I'll google that and search for some examples....


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## John Brown (3 Sep 2015)

MMUK":290igkt9 said:


> sammy.se":290igkt9 said:
> 
> 
> > Hi mmuk,
> ...



"Picture 2 is more realistic, since the width of the doors would be too wide for the depth of the cabinet,"

In the light of this, the pin and track might not work...


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## sammy.se (3 Sep 2015)

John Brown":34th3p80 said:


> MMUK":34th3p80 said:
> 
> 
> > sammy.se":34th3p80 said:
> ...



It might still work if the track and pin are on the outside halves of the cabinet doors, so that it folds in on itself (maybe held together by magnets?) and then slides into the side.
Or... there can be a track on the front, in which the doors run, and then a second track (connected of course) that then runs down the side, like an 'L' shape... just thinking aloud here...

I tried searching for Pin and track kits, but couldn't find any... is it something I can buy as a kit or what constituent parts would I need to buy?

Cheers

Sammy


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## ColeyS1 (3 Sep 2015)

Try googling ' tv doors hinge' quite surprised to see some homemade versions which I guess should also work

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk


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## tobyriches (3 Sep 2015)

I think this is exactly what you need. - http://www.hafele.co.uk/shop/p/runners- ... 13855/6617

If you look at the tech specs on the page it will show you how you need to build the cabinet to accommodate the doors

I am sure you'll be able to use this system with a bi-fold door too.


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## sammy.se (4 Sep 2015)

Great, thanks all.

I'm getting good results from googling "Pivot Door Slides" and "Pivot Door hinges", like the one above from Tobyriches.


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