A Non-traditional Door

[redfield79]

My husband recently built a bathroom and a fourth bedroom in our basement. The way the plumbing was set up made the room a bit wonky and we really needed the extra storage space. So he built a hole in the wall but because the stairs upstairs hang low, it's not a normal sized door

Comments

[wickedgirl]

Hrm. I see your conundrum. It's too late for a pocket door, nowhere for a barn door to slide, an accordion will bunch up in the doorway... how wide is the opening?

I assume this:



is framing, so a door couldn't be installed to open outwardly. What will be beyond the door, in the area where the vacuum hose(?) is lying?

Counter-intuitively (for myself, anyway), a typical door (cut to height) could be hung to open toward the toilet rather than the wall, which would swing much closer to 180° than 90°, making that two-inch door thickness a much smaller issue.

The way the toilet is sitting is fairly private so, really, leaving it open, hanging a curtain, or doing something like swinging cafe doors (yet, not so saloony... I would try to mimic the style of the other doors in the house) since they don't have to be as thick as full slab doors because of their comparably diminutive height--depending on how the bedroom will be used and who would be using it--all seem like reasonable options as well.

edited for redundancy

[redfield79]

The opening is erm...like the size of a pantry door. I need to go measure but I have toddler clawing at me atm.

That is framing for the wall behind the toilet. The space where the hose is lying...all of that will be filled with junk...holiday decorations, baby stuff she's outgrown but we're saving for kid #2 etc. Storage. :) We thought about a standard door swinging out but the height is too short and it's just weird with the lack of space on the left side. The biggest issue being we'd have to cut it a lot...and most doors come with weird paneling.

That door just goes to storage, the bathroom doorway has a standard door on it and that's where I'm standing when I took the picture. :) Just to give you an idea of the space...

[wickedgirl]

Oh! I see now. Derp, my perception was off, I thought the opening in question was the entry to the bathroom XD I'd definitely go with a curtain or, maybe, a small/lightweight folding screen, possibly hinged to the framing on the toilet side for stability/maneuverability.

Well, with that thought, the bifold door(s) you have, if they could be mounted (to the toilet side) so that the whole assembly could swing out... I think they are called "full access bifold doors". A picture is worth all the words, no?

In this typical installation, the doors are sometimes on a track or a pivot type hinge, leaving the thickness of the door in the opening:


as compared to this, where they hinge outward:


Then, when open, it shouldn't be in the way of the access at all :)

[redfield79]

ahhhh!!! That would be perfect!!! The second picture would be great! The only problem is that whatever door we get has to be solid because my husband has to cut off the top. I will look around to see if there are doors like that without the individual wood panels.

One more and I'll stop ;p

[wickedgirl]

I did a search for custom bifold doors, using a random site return (Menards) and measurements, I received a quote of $52 (without shipping). Having a custom made (via Home Depot or whichever HI store is convenient) may be an option if you aren't pressed for time.

Re: One more and I'll stop ;p

[redfield79]

Haha no you're like saving my life! My husband is reading all the comments and now he's doing research to figure out if he can do the full access bifold!! :) Like if he can get that to work my life will be so complete...or my bathroom, at least!

I'll definitely see about custom doors! thank you!!