# Building a secret compartment



## Big Bob

These hidden spots can be a lot of fun...I built hidden closets next to fireplaces..trap door escape routes.. phony air vents and duplex outlets..
They only work if you can keep them secret...so leave a map hidden in your will at the bank vault.

Best thing is to buy a Big container of tofu... toss the tofu ... put your valuables in the container... put this in the freezer ... even if they steal your freezer...odds are they will toss the frozen tofu on the floor.

Or place in a big ziplock bag and duct tape it to the back of the refrig. This works only: If you have an old refrig nobody would steal.


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## Marvin Gardens

I have several hidden spots in my house. I keep my long guns in there so that if someone breaks in and steals my stuff they won't find the guns.

My favorite places are in closets above the doors where I have some compartments where I keep my home defense guns which keeps them out of the way of kids and "others".

We have a panel in the bedroom that has some of our valuables like my mothers jewelery and important documents like car titles and anything that could be used for identity theft.

Our vacation home has these also since it is in the middle of nowhere and no one around to keep an eye for it. I have a buried cache that has my computer in it that records every thing that happens on my property.

I line my wall compartments with osb to keep the contents from pushing through the sheet rock especially the larger compartments.

Secret compartments are cool, especially in this day and age of high crime.


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## yesitsconcrete

note to self - do not burgle marvin's house or camp :laughing:


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## DangerMouse

i made one at a friend's house as we were redoing his upstairs drywall, i ripped 2x4s down to 1/4" and stained them with walnut stain, then drilled and countersunk holes to 'cover the drywall seams'. he didn't want to mud. we left one section that we did not screw the drywall first, but used construction adhesive to glue the trim to the sheet. (knee wall) 2'x2' square opening was created in the wall this way. (this was under a window, thus the 2'x2' size) 4 screws held it to the wall. the rest of the room is trimmed and screwed the same way, so it blends in just fine. he keeps his important stuff there now.
another friend had his favorite handgun drywalled right into the wall!, he figured if he needed it, he knew where it was and he could 'fist' it out and repair the drywall later. if he lived......

DM


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## Marvin Gardens

yesitsconcrete said:


> note to self - do not burgle marvin's house or camp :laughing:


Yes. Good thinking.

My vacation home was broken into before it had much in it. They just broke a window and took a few cheap tools.

Now I have lights that go on, loud music that plays, a recording of me telling them I have a shotgun and then the recording of a shotgun being racked.

There are 8 video cameras that record when there is motion so at the very least I will have some good images of the perps. To keep them from stealing the computer it is hidden in a weatherproof underground storage.

I worry about my solar panels. They are mounted on the ground and have a lot of copper in there. Oregon is the meth capitol of the world and these tweakers love solar panels for all the copper they have.


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## DangerMouse

point one of those 8 cams in that direction too then Marvin. or move them to the roof and make it a LITTLE harder for them to steal.

DM


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## DangerMouse

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


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## DangerMouse

man, i like this thread... come on guys! more ideas! lol

DM


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## Marvin Gardens

MdangermouseM said:


> point one of those 8 cams in that direction too then Marvin. or move them to the roof and make it a LITTLE harder for them to steal.
> 
> DM


I have a 120 db siren that is wired to the solar panels. If that wire is broken the siren goes off. The siren is located in the pump house and you have to get into the pump house to rip it out.

If they think they can just shut off the electricity they are wrong. I have battery backup and the electricity will continue till the sun sets or the wind stops blowing and the batteries die.

I have cameras covering all angles of the property and most can't been seen as they are real small and hidden in the structures. Even if they do steal the cameras the ftp server has their faces on the hard drive.

Most people are deterred but the sounds and leave right away. I have seen cars drive up and the people get out. Within minutes they are back in the car and gone. Most look like they are lost and stopping to ask directions. This frontier area and there are no stores, no homes, poor cell service, no gas, just me and my wife.

Even the coyotes, deer and antelope don't come around anymore which is a sad byproduct of trying to keep my home secure. I might back off on the music and the other sounds. We like having the deer wander in during the day when we are there.

Oh, and you know what music plays when the security sensors are activated? "I fought the law and the law won".


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## DangerMouse

excellent! what do you think of my last post? i'm building it right now! i'll post pics of progress and installation, if anyone's interested.

DM


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## Marvin Gardens

MdangermouseM 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


That sounds like way too much fun and a good idea.


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## DangerMouse

*step 1*

find a nice place to put it. try to ignore crazy dog that wants to stick nose in everything you do.

DM


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## DangerMouse

*all done!!*

first pic, the frame.
2nd pic, the hdd magnet from an old dead hard drive
3rd pic next, build the box. i ripped 2x4 to get the material, shaving down the edges to make it straight, and make room for the 1/4' plywood back. i also used nuts and bolts to hold it, 2" screws and glue to assemble. glued and screwnailed the back to it. added scrap walnut ledge and old drawer handle. top steel piece is old window lock i flattened and broke a piece off of.
any scrap steel will do.
4th pic same thing, different view. note 'stop blocks' in frame
5th pic 3 small coffee jars full of nails suspended. if you want to hold more weight, i suggest 2 hdd magnets, one on each end. 
the last two in just a second or two. too many pics to upload at one time.
brb

DM


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## DangerMouse

*last two pics*

thank you for this thread Klein! this was a fun day for once! woohoo!
1st pic drywall back up, nosy dog
2nd pic grate on and trim layed for effect. (be sure to leave room for baseboard, i almost forgot!)

all in all a 4 hour job. and fun besides!

hope y'all enjoy the early Christmas present!! :santa:

DM


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## Shamus

I built one in my last house when I put up wainscoating and a chair rail in the dining room. This was easy because the back of one wall was centered on a fireplace. About a 3'x1'x9' space clearance that I used concrete board to separate/insulate from the brick chimney and then lined with drywall. Just push the right panel up in it's track and it exposed enough space to hide a few firearms inside.

Current residence has an second floor hall closet over the stairwell. I plan on building a false wall 4'x1'x9' tall inside the closet and will use drywall and a piano hinge to swing it open. The clothes rod will be all thats necessary to keep it shut but will probably add a latch of some type. Plan on keeping most of the guns and a few "secret" papers hidden there.

Gotta love them hidden spaces, they can be added a bunch of places with some thought. Especially if your doing remodeling. As mentioned, be sure to not tell/show anyone. Otherwise it ain't secret no more. And as mentioned, add a note in your safety deposit box with details and maybe a pic or two. (This is really an excellent tip Big Bob).


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## DangerMouse

the hard drive magnets would be ideal in your closet to hold it shut without the rod. =o)

DM


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## Marvin Gardens

Now that is really cool. I will have to remember that next time I am into building a secret compartment.


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## DangerMouse

which one? his idea (which i like, but can't you see the hinge?) or what i built at the bottom of page one? or both? (hopefully both)

DM


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## Knucklez

OMG, he stuffed the dog in there toO!

:whistling2:


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## Wildie

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!


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## DangerMouse

Knucklez said:


> OMG, he stuffed the dog in there toO!
> 
> :whistling2:


well i told that darn dog to keep out of the way! not my fault.

DM


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## klein

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?


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## DangerMouse

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


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## Shamus

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?


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## Eusibius2

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!


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## Eusibius2

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!


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## pyper

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.


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## DangerMouse

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


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## DangerMouse

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


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## rocketdoctor

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.


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## 7echo

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.


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## DangerMouse

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.


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


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## MI-Roger

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


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.


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## DangerMouse

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.


-=chuckle=- i think you answered your own question as to why not. 
magnets last for ages and are a lot easier IMHO

DM


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## Red Squirrel

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.


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## gma2rjc

Red Squirrel said:


> This gives me ideas, could be a lot of fun, and fairly easy to do depending on how far you go........
> 
> .........Great place to store bodies before a search warrant.


Note to self: Don't say anything to make Red Squirrel angry.

:laughing::laughing::laughing:

Barb


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## mem

Secret door, eh? While not exactly DIY, this guy's project is really over the top. One of the coolest builds I've seen. His secret door is around page 25.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12234


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## gma2rjc

Does anyone know of a place to buy special hinges and hardware that isn't sold at regular hardwares?


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## ddawg16

gma2rjc said:


> Does anyone know of a place to buy special hinges and hardware that isn't sold at regular hardwares?


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.


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## gma2rjc

Thanks ddawg. 

I'm thinking about making a hidden compartment(s) in the wall behind a shelving unit in my scrapbooking room. The whole unit would open like a cabinet door. 

Here's a picture of the one I'm talking about. It's the unit on the right. The hinges would be on the right side. 

I could probably get away with doing it to the left shelving unit too, but there is an electric wire running behind that one.


EDIT: Thanks for adding the picture DM!

Barb


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## BigJim

gma2rjc said:


> Thanks ddawg.
> 
> I'm thinking about making a hidden compartment(s) in the wall behind a shelving unit in my scrapbooking room. The whole unit would open like a cabinet door.
> 
> Here's a picture of the one I'm talking about. In the first picture, it's the tall unit on the right in post #2.
> 
> http://www.diychatroom.com/f49/my-scrapbooking-room-45796/
> 
> The hinges would be on the right side.
> 
> Barb


Barb, that link didn't open for me. 

My crew made a drawer unit for a bedroom which installed into an inset about 4 feet deep. The inset was just dead space so they installed the unit at the front of the inset and the unit had really deep drawers which went beyond the back of the unit with a false back and hidden lock. The man hide some of his guns in the drawers.

I have made swing out bookcases with hidden spaces behind them, computer desk with a hidden room behind the unit with access through the knee space of the desk and hidden doors.


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## gma2rjc

Sorry about the link. I'll try to figure it out. DangerMouse said it's not working for him either. 

Do you have any pictures of your work Jim? I'd especially love to see the ones of the swing out bookcases.


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## Oh-Fudge

This site has some cool hardware: http://www.rensup.com/

(and the catalog makes for some good BR reading, keep you occupied till you legs fall asleep :whistling2


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## BigJim

gma2rjc said:


> Sorry about the link. I'll try to figure it out. DangerMouse said it's not working for him either.
> 
> Do you have any pictures of your work Jim? I'd especially love to see the ones of the swing out bookcases.


Barb I do have some pictures of my work but I didn't start keeping pictures until about 10 or so years before I retired. I didn't take any of the swing out bookcase. Here is the one I was talking about having a full room behind for guns and was accessed through the knee space of the computer desk. These are before and after finish.


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## BigJim

OK, now for the picture, :whistling2:


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## gma2rjc

Wow! That is beautiful Jim! The family will treasure that for years to come. 

What a great idea, accessing it from under the desk. Did the panel swing open into the hidden space?

Thanks for showing us.

The picture I was talking about in my earlier post is there now (instead of the link that didn't work).

Barb


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## gma2rjc

Lots of good ideas in this ol' thread!


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