Cabinet doors hinged at the top- help on how best to support the weight

[Gnovice17]

I have a face frame cabinet with two 14 inch wide x 30 inch tall doors that I would like to have hinged at the top and supported to stay open most of the time.  This cabinet holds a small tv and stereo equipment in my shop.  I want it open so I can see the tv most of the time, but would like the ability to close it when sawing to minimize dust on the tv and stereo equipment.

My idea was to fastened the two doors together so they would open as one unit.  I would have them hinged with european style hinges at the top with some type of gas/spring lid support. When open to 90degrees it would be against the soffit and out of the way. Has anyone used this set up?  Can you suggest the proper type of lid support?  Does any one have any other ideas how to accomplish this?

 

[nclemmons]

Why not keep the TV exposed and just put the stereo equipment in a cabinet?  I've had a flat screen in my shop for several years and have never had an issue with dust - just lightly vacuum the screen if there is accumulation with a brush on the hose.  Plus these days, you can buy a TV pretty inexpensively.  A 24" TV is under $150 on Black Friday I'm sure.  No matter how much you cover it, it will attract some dust, so I don't know that having it in the cabinet would remove the chance of dust, and just wonder if it might be overkill.

You could do what you suggest - I could envision hinges at the top and dowels or even dominos at the bottom of the door on either side that would ratchet up into indexed holders on either side of the door to hold it open against the face frame.  30" tall doors would mean 15" profusion above the TV, which would mean that you probably would need the bottom edge of the door to still be maybe 4" to 5" down from the top of the frame to 'cantilever' the door and not put too much stress on the hinges.  I'm assuming you are using 3/4 material, so it will have some weight.

Or you could consider tambour sliding door that would slide up and over as an easier way to access with less worry about weight.

neil

 

[festup]

Funny, I just did this for a friend that needed a cabinet above his refrigerator shortened a few inches. He bought a new door from the cabinet company, and I cut the carcass down. I mounted three euro hinges on the top and the lid stays, and the door pull. Dimensions were 12" x 36".

 

[Gnovice17]

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[Gnovice17]

Funny, I just did this for a friend that needed a cabinet above his refrigerator shortened a few inches. He bought a new door from the cabinet company, and I cut the carcass down. I mounted three euro hinges on the top and the lid stays, and the door pull. Dimensions were 12" x 36".

this is the idea but the door is longer and is about the same width .  I want something that will support that much weight. The area to be covered by the doors is seen in the picture I  sent in my previous post

 

[tiralie]

You could use a bifold system like Blum aventos HF?
Tim

 

[sheeschen]

I used the Blum Aventos system in our kitchen.  Requirement was to have plants draping down in front of the cabinets and not have to worry about them getting pinched by the door closing on them.  I was a little nervous - first set of cabinets for me, and then adding this weird, non-standard door to them.  Worked out well.  A little pricey, but nice and impressive.

I used the Aventos HK and HF.  Love the HK (simple flip up) - very easy to deal with.  The HF (bi-fold) is more fiddly, and restricts where we can put our shelves, since the hardware extends further down the inside of the door.  I also had to trim the shelves down, depth-wise, for them to fit, since the hardware extends further into the cabinet.

The reason for the two different kinds was door height.  I think I maxed out the height for the HF system - 42".  The HK only handles up to 24" tall cabinet doors.

The HF is nice if the cabinet is up high - the handle remains within reach.  The HK leaves the handle above the top of the cabinet when fully open.  Since you've got your stereo and TV there, it's probably not too high up, and the HK would work well.  I think Salice and some other brands have similar hardware, but I already had Blum everywhere else and just stayed within the same brand.

Anyways, my two cents.

  Scott

 

[Gnovice17]

Thanks- the aventos system looks like it should work- maybe the aventos s.

Thanks for your help

 

[mastercabman]

Thanks- the aventos system looks like it should work- maybe the aventos s.

Thanks for your help

And to make it very cool....
Get the servo drive version!!!