How to make the bathroom door more discreet/semi-hidden

tallac

I want to make a bathroom door more discreet or even semi-hidden. I want to do things as cheaply as possible, so my current thinking is, to get a normal fire rated internal door that is plain without any pattern. I would paint it the same colour as the wall it is in. The door opens outwards (i.e. does not open into the bathroom).

I was then thinking of using concealed hinges such as this:
https://ironmongeryexperts.co.uk/ceam-stainless-steel-3d-concealed-hinge-1129-ci001129vch00.html

Install a semi-flush handle on the outside like this:
https://www.ironmongerydirect.co.uk/product/altro-squash-court-flush-handle-87x87x19mm-polished-chrome-514371

And then install a magnetic latch, that would keep the door closed when the door was not locked (enough force to keep the door closed but not so much force to pull it away from the magnetic latch).

With regards to a lock on the inside, I'm not sure about that yet. But something that looks nice and modern but still allows emergency unlocking from the outside if required.

Can anyone tell me if this would work? Any problems with this idea?

Thanks in advance :-)

Belenus

tallac said:

I want to make a bathroom door more discreet or even semi-hidden. 

Why? I am curious. I'm sure you could do it but where is the benefit?



Visitor: "May I use your bathroom please".

You: "Yes, it is upstairs on the left".

Visitor pees in the airing cupboard after being unable to find the bathroom.

tallac

Belenus said:
Why? I am curious. I'm sure you could do it but where is the benefit?

If you're curious then drop me a PM and I'll explain there but I'd like to keep the discussion on topic. Thanks

fenwick458

I'm intrigued now too!
How is the wall constructed and how old? if its a modern stud wall that's nice and flat, and the casing is in square it will be fine. but if it's a 100 year old house with a solid wall, I can see problems. are you going to remove the architraves and paint it all the same colour?

Emmia

Would something like this work for the lock?

https://www.handleking.co.uk/satin-stainless-steel-bathroom-turn-release-10mm-rose-a87001s

Doozergirl

fenwick458 said:

I'm intrigued now too!
How is the wall constructed and how old? if its a modern stud wall that's nice and flat, and the casing is in square it will be fine. but if it's a 100 year old house with a solid wall, I can see problems. are you going to remove the architraves and paint it all the same colour?

The wall around the door has to be a consideration, as does the skirting board issue, as they sit proud of the plaster, preventing the door from opening. 

We've used these in a new wall and recessed the skirting.  The hinge looks similar but this is the frame too, which can be plastered flush. 
https://www.rocketdoorframes.co.uk/flush-hinged/fd30-secret-door-frame-762x1981-26-rukha37621981

tallac

fenwick458 said:

I'm intrigued now too!
How is the wall constructed and how old? if its a modern stud wall that's nice and flat, and the casing is in square it will be fine. but if it's a 100 year old house with a solid wall, I can see problems. are you going to remove the architraves and paint it all the same colour?

It's a brand new constructed stud wall. I'm not a very good DIYer but in my head I envision it as a wall which has no skirting board or architraves around the door frame.

Emmia said:

Would something like this work for the lock?

https://www.handleking.co.uk/satin-stainless-steel-bathroom-turn-release-10mm-rose-a87001s

That looks spot on with what I think would work. Thank you.

Doozergirl said:
The wall around the door has to be a consideration, as does the skirting board issue, as they sit proud of the plaster, preventing the door from opening. 

We've used these in a new wall and recessed the skirting.  The hinge looks similar but this is the frame too, which can be plastered flush. 

https://www.rocketdoorframes.co.uk/flush-hinged/fd30-secret-door-frame-762x1981-26-rukha37621981

Just for full context in case it helps: I'm not looking to make a secret hidden door, just something subtle so it's not so much of an eye sore. On the ground floor, the one and only WC is in the corner of a large open plan area. It looks weird and a little out of place. The cost to move it would be more money than I'm able to throw at it. The open plan area will have porcelain tiles and no skirting board so that will help keep thing simple.

As I understand it, the architrave on a door frame is just cosmetic finishing. If this isn't installed then the door frame should be flush with the wall it is on. If you then use a plain smooth door, then the whole wall and door becomes smooth. Normal hinges would be visible (if the door is opening outwards) and thus the concealed hinges take care of that. The few tell tale signs are the flush handle and the locking mechanism, these will be minor and give just enough clue to those who will need to use the door.

Thus my follow up questions are:
1. Does there need to be any special door frame for this? Or is it just a normal door frame without architraves?
2. Are there any other considerations that I'd need for the install that might catch me out compared to a normal door install?

Thanks in advance :-)

Doozergirl

There are many considerations over a normal door install. 

Architrave is cosmetic because it serves a practical purpose to cover the differential between the wooden door frame and a plastered wall.  It isn't there for fun.  You can't plaster straight from the plasterboard across the wood because there is movement in a doorframe.  You'll end up with whopping great cracks and chips of plaster endlessly occurring, even if you attempt to fill them.  Architrave is the traditional (and cheap) way of covering it. It's cosmetic cover for a ugly point.  

Skirting board is there for a similar reason.    Traditionally to help stop
damp, but it's brittle and so it gets smashed with the hoover etc.  Recessing the skirting to be flush with the plaster and having a shadow gap between them isn't huge amounts of extra work on one wall, it just takes skill.  

The frame I linked to is the most cost effective way I've found of doing it, other than opting for a thinner door made from plywood, for example, but it will feel more like a cupboard door and you do want to have some acoustic protection from the toilet noises...  

naf123

It does seem one needs to consider how well fit the door is to the frame is e.g you want as minimal gap as possible between the frame and the door. But have to allow for natural expansion. I would imagine a really good carpenter could do this. However Doozergirl gave a link to a door/frame which looks like it has a narrow gap already, however even with that door, skilled carpentry appears to be key here? 

tallac

Doozergirl said:

There are many considerations over a normal door install. 

Architrave is cosmetic because it serves a practical purpose to cover the differential between the wooden door frame and a plastered wall.  It isn't there for fun.  You can't plaster straight from the plasterboard across the wood because there is movement in a doorframe.  You'll end up with whopping great cracks and chips of plaster endlessly occurring, even if you attempt to fill them.  Architrave is the traditional (and cheap) way of covering it. It's cosmetic cover for a ugly point.  

Skirting board is there for a similar reason.    Traditionally to help stop
damp, but it's brittle and so it gets smashed with the hoover etc.  Recessing the skirting to be flush with the plaster and having a shadow gap between them isn't huge amounts of extra work on one wall, it just takes skill.  

The frame I linked to is the most cost effective way I've found of doing it, other than opting for a thinner door made from plywood, for example, but it will feel more like a cupboard door and you do want to have some acoustic protection from the toilet noises...  

Thank you @Doozergirl I think I now realise that what I imagine in my head isn't as easy in practice. There's a lot more too it and it doesn't seem like it's going to be an easy or cheap thing. I'll take a bit more of a look into it but it might be an idea I scrap and just go with a normal door.

Interesting point about the skirting board though that I hadn't thought of. I thought they were just decorative pieces or used to hide expansion gaps with wood flooring. I didn't think expansion gaps were needed with tiling so thought I could go with a nice clean look without skirting boards. But if the skirting boards are like bumper stoppers for things then I guess that makes sense.

TELLIT01

Fit a flush faced door, remove architraves and wallpaper the entire wall and door.  Ironmongery as described by the OP should do the rest.  Regarding the skirting board, simply leaving a gap of about 1" (thickness of the skirting board) at the hinge end of the door, and putting skirting on the rest, should overcome that issue.