How to Install a Lid Stay

The mudroom locker I'm working on here calls for a flip-up door here on top of the cabinet, it's gonna be great for storage, but there's an issue. The door is hinged, but there's nothing to keep it in an open position. So, there's a chance here that somebody's getting something outta there and they're gonna get bonked right on the noggin. So what we want to do is add to this door what's called a stay. And just like the name says, what that means is when this doors in an open position, it's gonna stay open.

Additionally, with the hardware I've got for this piece, when we're closing the door, it's gonna add a soft close to it so that it doesn't come down here and slam on the case itself. So it's gonna add a real nice detail, and it's gonna make it a whole lot safer to stand under the door. So let's have a look at what it takes to install that hardware on this cabinet. Following the manufacturer's instructions, I've got the hardware up on here. It's just a big knuckle, and that arm with its spring action inside here is what's gonna hold our door in an upright position.

So now, we can get the door on here, get the rest of the hardware in place. Pretty soon, we're gonna be able to see just what kinda opening and closing action this provides on our flip-up door. Following the manufacturer's instructions, I got that mounting bracket on the door. Now this component goes onto my lift arm, and just like that, engages on the mounting bracket. There's a screw that'll hold everything together there.

And one of the things we can do once this is all set is use a tightening screw down here to help control the action of the door itself. In other words, I can tighten the screw in order to provide additional friction, or back the screw off in order to reduce the friction a little bit. So with no adjustment at all, that's pretty loose right there. Let's see just what this is gonna do for our project. That's pretty cool.

Soft close. When I get my pull on here, I'll be able to grab my door, open her up with no fear of that bonking anybody in the head. So, a stay like this, lift arm, soft close. All I need to do now is put the cover on there. Looks good, works good, and does a great job of really enhancing the flip-up door on my mudroom locker.