How to Make a Simple Door Stopper
(*This is an esoteric post*)
Currently, the weather in Gandhinagar, Gujarat is too hot, and the ACs are not yet switched on in the college hostels. As a result, the outside air is often much cooler in the evening (after 7 pm) compared to inside the room. Since we don’t want to be literally cooked, we often keep the door open. However, cross air-flow from the windows (which are opposite to the door) into the corridor causes the door to bang shut loudly. So we needed a good, easy door stopper, which is non-intrusive and easy to latch or unlatch. This post will serve as a very short guide to make a custom door stopper.
Prerequisites:
Many readers might stop reading after this, mainly because the prerequisites are very specific. Failing even one of them would not allow you to proceed with the guide.
Firstly, you need an anchor to which your door stopper will attach. In our room, we have an almirah that is not frequently used, so we will use its handle as our anchor. Then, the door (which is to be stopped) has to be near the said anchor. When the door is opened, the arrangement has to be such that the door handle comes into close proximity to the anchor.
The red line shows the trajectory of the door.
Next, you need a metal hanger that is easy to unwind/realign using your hands (we don’t have pliers in our room).
The hook of the hanger looks weird because I am writing this guide after first testing whether the door stopper works (I don’t have more hangers to spare 😭😭).
With these requirements met, you are now ready to build the door stopper.
Construction of the Door Stopper
Step 1: Straightening the hook
The very first thing to do is to straighten the hook as shown. This will help us slide out the loop on the other end easily.
Step 2: Slide out the loop
Carefully do this step, as you might accidentally bend the loop-end of the hanger out of plane of the rest of the hanger.
Step 3: Bend the straight end.
Ensure that you bend it away from the loop end, so that once the loop end latches, it sits at the bottom of the V shape.
Our door stopper is now ready. Let’s see how to use it.
Latching / Unlatching the door-stopper
Step 1: Hold the door open.
Make sure the handle of the door and anchor are in close proximity.
Step 2: Hang the V end onto the anchor
Step 3: Put the loop-end through door-handle and then latch.
To latch, follow the arrow shown below.
Final Outcome
The door remains open!!
To unlatch, reverse Steps 3 and 2.
Conclusion
And that’s it. We made a simple door stopper made from a single hanger, no tools needed. It takes less than five minutes to make, and it works surprisingly well. Finally our room gets some airflow, until the ACs start operating. If you happen to have a similar door-almirah setup, give it a try. My roommate still thinks this post was unnecessary, but at least now it’s documented for anyone who disagrees.
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