FMC1959
Well-known member
Sorry it took a while to respond, I was having trouble with my camera and uploading pics.
I did this a couple of years ago and there were a couple of different ways I could have done it. In my case, the panel closet to the wall is staggered or sticks out. The other two are directly on top of each other; they can all be staggered or all directly on top of each other, your choice.
I hope these pictures show enough so you understand how I did it
On this pic you can see the last of the three 2x3's. the screw head is not one long screw holding all four 2x3', but going into 2x3 number 3, from 3 a screw on number 2, from 2 a screw going into 2x3 number 1, and number 1 a screw goes into the wall, this would be the same wall the door is on, it's about a 5 inch space going from the corner to the door frame. Once this 2x3 sandwich was made, there are a couple of screws going into the blue wall that would be behind the door when it is open, to hold everything securely. Last thing is the first "leaf" secured with 3 hinges to these 2x3's.
This pic you see leaf 1 against the wall (with the hacksaws) and leaf 2 open. The angle of the pic you can't see it because the frame of leaf 2 is hiding it, but the top hinge for leaf 2 is at about the same height as leaf one. This second sandwich of 2x3's is 2 deep.
This pic shows leaf 2 with the red level closed on top of leaf 1, and the 3rd leaf open (a blue square hanging off the backside)
I had no more room to put another 2x3, unless I would screw it into the door frame, so I put a 2x3 flat onto the other 2x3. By putting the hinge on the face of this 2x3, it gives me the necessary clearance for leaf 3 to rest on leaf 2.
I hope this makes sense; why I staggered the leaf against the wall and had leaf 2 & 3 directly on top of each other....I don't remember the reasoning, if there was any. I am pretty sure, depending on how much space you have you can stagger them all or place them all aligned on top of each other.
If you have the room you could put 4,5 or more leafs. Also, I framed mine with 2x3's because that is the depth I needed on the leafs. You could use 2x2's if you had thin stuff to hang or 2x4's or even 2x6's if you had stuff that stands out enough.
In fact you don't necessarily need to do this behind a door, but anywhere you want; behind the door was convenient for me. I used three 3" hinges, which was more than enough for the weight I had. If you get into a larger leaf and heavy stuff, use 4" hinges and even use 4 per leaf if necessary. Overall hinges can hold quite a bit of weight (think monster heavy front doors made of solid would or steel), more important is to make sure the frame (like my 2x3 sandwiches) are secured and there will be no problems.
*****.....
