The other day, my roommate, my mom, commented on my “fancy” studio door. I’d made a foam wall dividing the office to cut down heating costs. This post shows how I made it the door through the foam wall.
Placing the door somewhere you wouldn’t expect it gives me a sense of satisfaction when I use it. Coming into the office, there’s a set of stairs immediately to the right. A door at the top of the stairs makes sense, but isn’t dramatic. So I moved the door over, accessing it from the other half of the office space.
When making the door, the shape was also something to consider. I didn’t want a small square, as my dad has successfully cut into the front of the garage door. Instead, I opted for a submarine-style door. The size was large enough for me to get a double mattress through—it’s at least 56” high x 30” wide—in case I need to move in the space.
Once the door shape was decided, I set out to cut the shape out of the existing foam wall, make it durable, and figure out how to hinge the door. This sequence of pictures shows this process:
I traced the door using a sharpie, a large t-square, an an HDMI cable for the curves. I cut it out with a utility knife. 
Adding a 1” foam trim board made the opening stable. A vertical trim board helps reduce the “wow” curve in the wall. 
The hinge, a typical bolt hinge my dad had, is ~ 2” thick. I doubled up the foam. 
Attaching the hinge to the door frame. 
Hinge screw s to the the wall and door too!
I did some simple math to figure out how high to make the hinges.
Once attached to the door frame, I had a hard time closing and opening the door. Even with modification, which left some gaps around the door, it was tough to get the door to close. Later, I figured out it was because of the curve (wow) in the foam walls. I boarded up the wall for a few weeks, and it seemed to help straighten the curve, enough to open and close the door.
It is especially important to note that I could not have finished this project without the help of my sister, Julia, who helped me put a basic latch on the outside of the door. It was boarded over until she came and helped me finish my project. Nothing like a good sister to bail me out!
Thank you also to our friend David P. Who I based the door latch off of, and who helped guide me through various parts of the project, like using washers so the screws don’t pull through the foam. Thanks to my roommates, mom and dad, for their support and the office space to work in!
Chadd G Hippensteel 