Hinges for built in Ironing board?

[Greg Peterson]

I'm converting our two car garage into a shop and laundry room. Framing in the laundry room so that noise and dust stay out of the living space and provide me with a proper work space.

One of the items I want to put into the laundry room is a recessed or built in ironing board. When not in use, it simply folds up into the wall and out of the way. Also have an outlet and storage space for the iron, much like the built in ironing centers one can find online.

I can make an ironing board and all the associated cabinetry for the ironing center, but the hinges for the board are leaving me scratching my head. The board will fold down from vertical and will need hinges that will stop at 90 degree's and can support 30-40 pounds.

Any idea's or sources?

[mark page]

No, can't reply on the resources, but if LOML see's this, she'll want one too!!! Now you went and done it for all of us!!!! Someone just reply it can't be done. Her's will be: What we have here is a failure to comunicate...Some men just can't be reached.....

[Jamie Buxton]

Those fold-down ironing boards generally don't have a simple hinge, because they don't easily support the kinds of loads you're contemplating.

I've installed one which had a slightly more complex support scheme. There was a support brace hinged at both ends. One end was connected to the underside of the ironing board. The other end was connected to the bottom of the cabinet. Right at the end of the ironing board, inside the cabinet, there were two pins sticking out sideways. Those slid in vertical channels on the side walls inside the cabinet. There were stops in the channels at the top. As you pull the tip of the ironing board down, the pins slide up those channels. When the ironing board is in its ironing position, the pins are at the upper stops, and the brace is at something like 45 degrees.

[Greg Peterson]

All righty boys. Sorry if I caused another Honey-Do project to be added to the list.

I just can't bring myself to go out an buy a ready made ironing station. I'm not that domesticated. Wife just got me to start using coasters and keeping my feet off the coffee table. I can't give in just yet.

Jamie, your design looks pretty elegant. Kudos. I'm going to have to weigh my options.

[Jamie Buxton]

Greg, if you're going to make your own from scratch (and I applaud that!), another issue might be the material of the ironing board itself. You're going to be hitting it with steam. So maybe it should be a low-shrinkage species like cedar or redwood -- the kinds of woods often used for saunas.

[Greg Peterson]

Jamie,

I had to go to Lowes this evening and I looked at their built in ironing systems. They use a design very similar to your. However the manufacturer of the unit simply routed out slots in the sides rather than install any kind of track as you did. And for $158, I think I can build a much nicer system.

As for the board, thanks for the tip on wood species. I haven't ruled out modifying our existing steel framed ironing board. The length comes in handy when ironing trouser legs and the cover size is common.