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how can I keep closed a closet door?

13 years ago

We are in the process of making a small closet door. It will be 30 inches wide, by 6+ ft, tall. and 1 1/2 inches thick. The door will be made of glued t&g australian cypress, one side going vertical, the other horizontal, hopefully this will limit warpage. The boards are already sealed.

We were thinking of putting a regular door handle on it but really do not need to be able to lock it. And we would rather not have to drill into the framing, we'd rather keep it simple. We made some cedar doors years ago for our kitchen closet, and were only concerned with keeping the doors closed. So we put some large, pretty brass pulls on them and then put those awful hydraulic closers that you see on screen doors. They have been a real pain in the neck, as they are hard to keep open and all we really wanted was something to keep the doors somewhat tightly closed.

What can we use? Are there any sort of magnets that are not hard to look at? Our last resort would be to put a conventional doorknob on the door but we'd rather go with something else if we could.

Nancy

Comments (5)

bobismyuncle
13 years ago
Would this work?

Here is a link that might be useful: hinge pin closer
Jon1270
13 years ago
Touch latches, perhaps?
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brickeyee
13 years ago
Magnetic 'latches' have been around for a long time.

If you cannot find a single one strong enough to hold the door closed, just add another.

Some flat head wood screws in the jamb and the newer 'super magnets' also works well.

I have a kitchen end panel held on a steel frame supporting the counter with six 'super magnets.'

It can be removed if needed, but appears to be attached to the DW.
nancyk
Original Author
13 years ago
The basic cypress door is now glued together, came out great. I have emailed the above links/ideas to my husband for him to look over. Thanks.

Nancy
dickross
13 years ago
Drill the top frame near the latch side with a 1" forstner bit from the top to about 1/8" from going thru. Use of a positive drill stop is highly recomended. glue in a 1" dia X 1" long NC40 or better neodium magnet. At a matching location in the top of the door, drill a 1/2" X 1 1/4" deep hole. glue in a 1/2" dia X 1" long NC40 neodium magnet flush with the top of the door. MAKE SURE IT IS OPOSITE POLARITY FROM THE FRAME MAGNET.

This makes a "no touch" "no show" latch that will gently pull the door closed from 1 to 2" but will have no effect on the door staying full open. The large magnet is needed because of the distance (1/8" wood + 1/8" door clearance). The Range of a magnet is roughly proportional to it's size.

This same magnet would require a 50-75# pull to open the door if the magnets were touching. I just used this on a double door. The pull required to open the door is less than 5# (guesstimate). If you want stronger double up on the magnets. I wouldn't recomend larger magnets, they can get real nasty to handle.

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