Create a Secret Space

A secret space provides a place you can go for a quiet moment or store items without others knowing. Creating a secret space is a fun project that gives you somewhere to call your own. Take a new look at the space in and around your house, and you can find a place to create your secret space. A few tools and some creativity are all you need to make your own secret hiding place.

Steps

Building a Secret Room

1. Choose a location for your secret room. Find a place in your house that you would like to use to create your secret room. You can use existing space and create a hidden entrance, or you can create a new room in unfinished space. Walk through your house and pick a place where you can install a new door or wall to create a secret space.
   • A large closet is a good option for a hidden room.
   • Dividing a room in half with a new wall containing a hidden door can create a secret space.
   • Wall off unfinished space to create a hidden hiding place behind the wall.
2. Choose a method of concealing the doorway. The most important part of a secret room is the doorway. The entrance to your room should not look like a doorway, or people will know that there is a room beyond the door. Doors can be hidden in the woodwork or disguised as a piece of furniture. When building a secret room, the door will make or break your secret.
   • A bookshelf on a hinge and rollers can easily conceal an entryway.
   • Wood paneling can mask doors although the edge of the door can sometimes give away its location.
   • Stairs can be built with a hinge to raise up and reveal another set of stairs leading down to a hidden basement room.
3. Draw plans for your doorway. Before attempting to install a secret doorway, make a plan detailing how your finished door will look. When designing your doorway make sure you consider the hardware that will make the door functional.
   • Consider how to conceal the hinge of the door. A hinge door that opens into the secret space is easier to conceal than a hinge on a door that swings out.
   • The latch must be secure to keep the door from opening accidentally.
   • Decide how to open the secret door from the outside. A wire that extends from the latch on the inside to a disguised triggering mechanism outside the door can do the trick.
4. Install your hidden door. Build a door frame using 2x4s Measure the height and width of the doorway and cut 2x4s with a circular saw to frame the outer edge of the doorway. Using a drill and a chisel, create a cutout in the wood to mount the hinges for your door. If using a bookshelf for a doorway, you will need to mount the hinges on the bookshelf as well. Install steel casters on the bottom of the bookshelf to allow it to roll across the floor as it opens.
   • Measure the depth of the bookshelf and align the front face of the bookshelf with the wall to allow it to blend in with the wall.
   • Align the hinges carefully; measuring the doorway and the door multiple times will ensure that your door will swing smoothly.
5. Create a latch to open and close the door. A gate latch on the inside of the secret room is an easy way to conceal the latching mechanism from outside view. A wire can extend through the hidden door to a trigger on the outside of the door.
   • Mount the gate latch to the door frame with the locking pin attached to the door.
   • Attach a wire to the latch and thread it through a hole drilled in the bookshelf or doorway.
   • Connect the wire to a book or object that will trigger the latch when pulled. Glue a piece of wood inside a book jacket; connect the wire to the fake book using a screw. Place the book on the shelf to conceal the wire. when the book is pulled the door will open.
6. Add trim to the bookshelf to give it a built in look. To keep your bookshelf from standing out, add wood trim around the edges flush with the wall. The trim work will help conceal the edges around the shelf and prevent it from looking like an opening.

Creating a Secret Hiding Place for Valuables

1. Use a razor knife to cut pages out of a book. Create a secret hiding place by removing the centers of pages in a large book. Small items such as jewelry, money, or memory cards can be stored inside.
   • Visit a used book store or thrift shop and purchase a large, thick book. You will want a book with several hundred pages to provide depth for the items you wish to conceal.
   • Open the book 25-50 pages.
   • Cut a rectangle out of the middle of the pages leaving about 1 inch around the outer edge of the pages.
   • Use a razor knife to slice through several pages at a time.
   • Carefully turn the cutout pages to reveal the uncut pages that lie beneath, and repeat the cutting process until you are 20-50 pages from the back of the book.
   • Glue the cut pages of the book together to create a solid frame around your hollow space.
   • Place the items you wish to hide inside the cutout rectangle and close the book.
   • Hide the book in plain sight with other books on a shelf.
2. Build a false bottom in a drawer. A deep drawer in a cabinet or a dresser can be modified to contain a false bottom to conceal items.
   • Purchase a sheet of lauan plywood from your local home improvement store.
   • Measure the inner dimensions of the drawer.
   • Cut the plywood to fit inside the drawer.
   • Glue small wood blocks along the edges of the drawer to support the false bottom. The size of your blocks will depend on the depth of your false bottom. Anything deeper than two inches may make the drawer look suspiciously modified when opened.
   • Place the plywood on the supports as a false bottom. You may want to attach a ribbon or small string on the plywood to help you lift the false bottom, although, doing so may give away your secret!
3. Use a picture to conceal a hidden compartment in the wall. A large, well placed picture can disguise a shelf built into the wall. If the space is not already present in the wall, you can easily add a shelf in an existing wall.
   • Cut out a square of drywall between two studs. Studs are usually located 16-18 inches apart. Use a razor knife or drywall saw to cut a square out of the drywall.
   • Install a horizontal 2x4 between the two studs. Measure the space between the studs and cut a 2x4 to fit the opening. Drill pocket holes at an angle on one side of the 2x4 toward each end. Screw the horizontal 2x4 to the studs on each end.
   • Hang a large picture just above your opening. Choose a picture that is large enough to cover the entire opening by several inches on each side.

Making a Secret Space Outdoors

1. Choose a location that is away from walking pathways. Pick a place in a wooded area that is not traveled by many people. the less people that pass by your hidden space, the more likely your secret will stay hidden.
   • Follow property laws to make sure you are not trespassing on someone’s land when creating a secret space outdoors.
2. Use the natural vegetation as cover. In a heavily wooded area you can use branches and leaves as a natural cover to conceal a location.
   • Overlap branches with one another to create a natural screen.
   • Pile leaves and moss on the branches to further obstruct the view.
3. Enclose your secret space with camouflage netting and cloth. Make your secret space harder to spot by layering camouflage netting behind your natural covering.
4. Conceal the pathway to your secret spot. If you are planning to visit your secret spot often, use a different path to reach the spot each time you visit. Taking the same path each time will create a walkway that can easily be followed by others.
5. Plan for seasonal changes in the plants. A spot that is concealed during the summer months may become exposed when the trees lose their leaves during the winter months. Make sure to visit your secret spot in the fall and adjust your coverings as necessary to keep your secret spot hidden during the winter months.

Tips

• When working with wood, make sure to measure twice before cutting so you don’t make mistakes.
• Limit the number of people who know about your secret space to keep your secret from spreading.

Warnings

• Do not use secret spaces for illegal purposes.

Related Articles

• Build a Hidden Door Bookshelf
• Make a Book Safe
• Make a Hollow Book

Sources and Citations

See also

• Make a Secret Place in Your Room

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