Very very tall doors

[GraemeM]

I have a customer who wants some built in cupboards made. Floor to ceiling doors, less a little bit for plinth etc. Only thing is; this gives a door dimension of 2980 x 600mm! She wants a completely smooth painted finish, no "fussy details"

Any suggestions on what you would make them out of?

They want to be flat and stay flat, plus its a posh house and she wants something that feels good and solid, but not so good an solid, its a two handed job to open.

Thoughts welcome.

Cheers
Graeme

PS Lovin the forum, some good stuff, clearly from guys who know what there talkin about. Wish the search engine was better, but i have seen comments about that already from others.

 

[jasonB]

Should just get two out of a sheet of large press MR MDF, 22 or 25mm thick and get them sprayed if you don't feel you can paint them to the required level.

Probably want about eight concealed hinges, I would use half & half sprung/unsprung.

If they want high gloss then consider Parapan


Jason

 

[disco_monkey79]

I'm a complete novice, so please disregard if I'm talking out of my backside.

However, if the client wants a totally smooth looks on the exterior, could the framework/crossbracing etc be done on the inside. The outside then being clad in, say, MDF?

 

[GraemeM]

JaosnB, Solid MDF 25mm thick is a good option i.e. 10' board. Weight is a consideration, I would recon about 22kg, so as you say a whole load of hinges. The client is pointing me at some nice finial butt hinges that they like the look of to make things interesting! I know this goes against the no fuss statement.

Disco, thats not such a bad idea. I don't want any twist or flex as the door opens, so had thought about a torsion box / honey comb type construction to reduce weight but get the same thickness. Also a bit more or something to screw into if butt hinges are the thing! (Not a fan of MDF but will cross to the dark side when pressed :evil: )

Any more good ideas very very welcome.

Cheers
G

 

[9fingers]

If you are worried about weight how about a 'torsion box' design with 6 or 9mm mdf on the faces.

Bob

 

[ajmoran]

Graeme,
My 2p's worth addition to what's already been said:
- don't use ply. You usually get away with it but not always (i've been there). So MDF it is.
- If using 35mm cup hinges go for a high quality version that can be fully adjusted in all planes with simple screw turns. Ideally choose clip on/clip off. Reason being with 6-8 hinges adjustments to get door in line can be a nightmare with a cheap hinge
- Do you really need 600mm wide? With a big door you need to look out for furniture placement in the way of the door swing e.g. bed must be more than 600mm away from this piece. Personally I go for doors less than 400mm wide.
- 600mm leaves no space for trim cuts of the sheet material. You probably want to trim the stock sheet to make sure it's perfectly straight and square? A sheet material processor I work with always asks his customers to go for 595mm to leave space for a trim cut to get rid of puffy edges.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[jasonB]

Weight will be closer to 37kg not 22!!

Don't be tempted to use teh lightweight and ultralite MDF its too fluffy to get a decent finish on.

With a saw cut down the middle and a rip down the side you should have a waste strip of approx 5mm each side which will be plenty to get a decent edge. But 595 would be the right sort of width for a nominal 600mm carcase, you may even need a bit more with 25mm thick boards if they want square edges.

You could always fit the finial hinges as dummies and use the concealed ones for their afdjustability

Jason

 

[BradNaylor]

The client is pointing me at some nice finial butt hinges that they like the look of to make things interesting! I know this goes against the no fuss statement.

This suggests 'in-frame' doors.

I would not even consider fitting doors this big and heavy within a face frame - there is just too much chance of a bit of sag and endless return visits to sort out sticking doors.

Go for lay-on doors and concealed hinges. Judicious use of end panels and projecting plinths and cornices can give the illusion of in-frame doors anyway.

I like the idea of torsion-box construction with a skin of 6mm MR MDF. That should stay flat, be nice and light, and take a good painted finish.

Do you have your own spray finishing facilities? If not, an idea is to find a local car finisher who will do them for you.

Cheers
Brad

 

[GraemeM]

Thanks Jason. If I go for solid MDF (and it is tempting), say 25mm (or for that matter 22mm) how would you finish the edging. I am not a fan of MDF so don't have a lot of experience , but where I have used it before I have used a heat adhesive edge banding or seal then paint, but on such a thick board which way would you go (not sure I have seen that wide an edge band anyway)

Cheers
G

 

[jasonB]

Edge banding will show on the front face. I just prime, rub down, undercoat, rubdown, and 2 eggshells with rubbing between cts. Thats for hand painting

Jason

 

[GraemeM]

Brad, you are correct I was thinking face frame, but thats probably habit on my part. I like the look, but hate the hassle and some of the limitations through lack of hinge choices. These cabinets are big/tall and there is lots of them! 5.4M of wall to cover in cabinets! So simplicity might be the word in should keep in mind.

The door construction is going to be an ongoing debate for me. I like the simplicity of a solid door. I am concerned about the weight, but with enough good quality hinges and a good solid carcass behind that should be OK. The torsion box could be a lot of work for not much reduction is risk and all that edge finishing could be hassle.

I am lucky I have a spray unit next to my workshop and do a lot of spray finishing, but as I mentioned in previous posts, not a great fan of MDF so that will be a new thing for me. Getting and good edge finish is going to be important.

 

[jasonB]

For something that size I would make the carcases from MFC and use a hardwood frame ex 50x100, with the 50mm width facing the front, This gives enough depth to mount the inset hinge plates without the problems of having to use tall mounting plates.

This wardrobe is about 10ft tall and uses 100x50 tulipwood for the FF.

Jason

 

[Alex]

Jason, what hinge did you use on those doors, without tall back plate? or did you rebate the 4'x2' to take the door with ordinary lay-on hinge.

 

[jasonB]

Standard Blum cliptop for inset doors with cam adjustable zero hight mounting plates. There is no rebate to the frame or any other battens or packers.

Hinge and plates

Jason