How to install a glass door and save upto Rs.600

Do you have the need to cover a cabinet with a glass door?

Do you feel your existing cabinet glass door can do with some newer look?

Or do you just wish to learn something cost effective and functional?

Then this tutorial is for you.

After three years of following up with the original vendor who built our TV floor unit, we decided to install a door for the centre cabinet .The DTH system and DVD player are remote controlled and hence installing a glass door was the obvious choice. Here’s how you can do a glass door installation.

Cost of project: Low- includes cost of the glass panels, and glass door hinges
Difficulty level: Medium to high

Time required: 2-4 hours

Tangible benefits: A better looking cabinet with all the clutter being hidden, additional cost saved on transport and installation charges

In-tangible benefits: The sense of satisfaction that any DIY can give you

Step 1 - Identify the cabinet

Step 2 - Materials and tools required

 Step 1: Objective – Install a glass door

• Identify the cabinet requiring a glass door
• In this case, it is the centre cabinet of our TV floor unit

Step 2: Materials and tools required

• Glass door hinges
• Electrical drill
• 6mm wood drill bit
• Screw driver
• Fevicol (optional)
• Glass panels cut to the required dimension. 
• Glass sheets of 5mm thickness are ideal for such small doors. Neither are they too heavy not are they fragile. Depending on your requirement, you can choose the type of glass required. Some of the prominent ones :
• Plain transparent glass (most common)
• Plain dark glass
• One side tinted glass (The tinted side acts almost like a mirror under light). We chose this for our need.
• You should be able to find these glasses in most plywood stores. At the store, you can have the glass cut to the required dimension and have the edges smoothened. Depending on where you buy, you may be charged for cutting and smoothening

Step 3: Measuring the glass door dimension

Step 3 - Inset Dimension

Step 3 - Glass dimension 

• Since the glass panel is sandwiched between the two walls of each hinge, and the hinges themselves take up 1mm of space on the top and bottom and the side, the glass doors need to be sufficiently smaller in length and width than the inset dimensions of the cabinet
• Being too long will mean the glass doors will not fit in and will result in another visit to the glass shop and being too small will result in big gaps between the cabinet edge and the door, and hence arriving at an accurate measurement is important
• As a thumb rule, you can subtract 5 mm from the height, and 2-3mm from the length of the actual inset dimension  of the cabinet walls

Hinge Hardware

Step 4:  Understanding the hinge hardware

Click on picture to enlarge

• There are many varieties, but the one we would discuss would be installed on the top and bottom walls of the cabinet
• One pair of hinges is required for each glass door
• The hinges will allow the glass to be inserted through their open side and will clamp the glass against the hinge wall with the help of clamp screws. This means there is no need to drill holes in the glass
• A small metallic duct will be placed in a hole drilled on the wood
• The hinge has a cylindrical projection which will be placed inside the metallic duct. Once housed, the projection allows for free rotation of the hinge, and in turn the door

Step 5 - Drill hole for hinge duct placement

Step 5 - House hinge in duct

Step 5 :Drilling hole and hinge placement

• Drill a hole on the bottom and top inner walls of the cabinet 
• Drill it closer to the side wall of the cabinet
• Place the metallic duct inside this hole and secure it using Fevicol
• Now place the cylindrical projection on the hinge  inside the duct in such a way the hinge edges are in contact with the cabinet walls (top and bottom)

Step 6 : Glass door installation

Glass door cabinet - Final Look

Step 6: Glass door installation

• Now with the hinge placed, insert the glass panel top and bottom hinges
• Adjust the placement of the glass door until you are convinced with the spacing between the glass and the cabinet. This is probably what would take much of your time.
• Once positioned, tighten the clamps to sandwich and secure the glass in between the hinge walls
• Now install the other hinges for the other doors in the same manner as explained above
• And now you may give yourself a pat of the back

Click to download pdf version of this tutorial

How do you save up to Rs.600 ?

Carpenters in Chennai usually charge Rs.500 for a day's work. However, considering it is glass, they charge a premium for installation. I inquired at the Plywood store and they charge anywhere between 250-300 for a single pair of door, irrespective of it not taking all their days time. Cutting and glazing (for blunting the edges of the glass) charges are extra. A 20-30% additional overhead is included to cover their travel and transportation charges. So, depending on which part of the country you are in, the actual values might vary, but in general, you pay about Rs.600 extra.

P.S. Linking in : Lines across my face, Colours Dekor

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- Somu