Designing and Building Secret Rooms is This Mechanical Engineer’s Speciality

Thanks to killer set design in movies and television, almost everyone wants their own secret room.

And who wouldn’t? Having your own private sanctum sounds like a blast: peace and quiet, the freedom to do what you want, plus the rooms are usually sealed off in the coolest way possible — waterfalls, anybody?

Creative Home Engineering is a company born from this fantasy (its website name, hiddenpassageway.com, is a reference to this).

When company president Steve Humble was renting a large house with his friends back in 2003, he thought it would be cool to secretly wall off sections of the house like in popular movies. But after doing some research and discovering there wasn’t a company who specialized in the field, he aptly quit his job designing medical surgical lasers and decided to put his mechanical engineering expertise to cooler uses.

14 years later, and his dream has become a worldwide manufacturer for motorized, high-security passageways for celebrities, professional athletes, and even the government (for obvious reasons). Creative Home Engineering’s projects range from hidden bookcases, raised staircases, false cabinets, fireplaces – just about any piece of the household can be repurposed by these guys to hide entire sections of an abode.

Each project is analyzed by a team before construction commences. They take in the woodwork of the house, the location of the room to be hidden, and any other concerns the client might have when it comes to secrecy.

The secret doors, in particular, can be customized with security cameras, motorized opening systems, and even bulletproofing material (if you REALLY don’t want someone to get inside). Gaps between the door, floor, and walls are kept to a minimum with integrated warp control, while bookcases, cabinets, and dressers shelve the things they should without looking conspicuous.

Owners have the option to install either a “fail-safe” or “fail-secure” measure in case the power goes out (the former unlocks the door while the later keeps it locked). No matter which countermeasure is chosen, all doors come with a fail-safe exit switch so no one gets trapped in secret. When the power isn’t out, however, the doors can be opened by hitting a hidden switch, pulling out a particular book, or arranging a number of objects a certain way. It all depends on the client’s preference.

The price for having a secret room varies depending on the size, quality, and scope of the project, but rest assured it isn’t cheap. Dreaming about having a secret room is totally free though, and Creative Home Engineering’s gallery has some of the best hidey-holes in the world.

The post Designing and Building Secret Rooms is This Mechanical Engineer’s Speciality appeared first on SolidSmack.

Read more about CAD, product design and related technology at SolidSmack.com