Bottom line: You are reading this review because you're not a secret door expert. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here. A few months ago I wasn't a secret door expert. Now I am. Here's what I have to say about Murphy Door.
First and most important: customer service, specifically Kodi in customer service. As a not-expert I came to her with 100 questions, maybe more. She answered all patiently. She got back to me with answers quickly. She is 100% why they got the sale. I'm just a guy who wanted a few secret doors in his house. Kodi made me confident enough in her product to drop the $$$ with her. Because of this excellent customer service, there were no surprises from tip to toe. I knew what I was getting into.
The product: I bought 3 secret doors. A 2-way mirror/bookcase and two bookcase doors. Shipping was beyond reproach. Packed incredibly well with sensors to ensure they never tipped. Because of time and money I bought them all unfinished. I knew what I was getting into but I had a vision for these doors. First thing I did was seal all the MDF with an oil based primer. Overkill? Maybe. But everything I had read about MDF suggested that was best practice.
I worked with an excellent carpenter to install these (and I recommend you do the same). Getting your jambs set and level is obviously important. Although Murphy included trim with the order we used our own to keep it seamless with the rest of the house. Dropping the door in is a two person gig. These doors are SOLID. We are about 2 months into regular use of them and they perform as well as they did on day one. They are smooth as butter, and when I say regular use, I mean a lot. We did not buy these doors to go to places we never use. All three are regular passes in our house.
I'll attach some photos. Everything I did to these doors I did solo with items you can find on Amazon and Lowes. Minimal expense, maximum imagination. Remember, I knew NOTHING about secret doors before these arrived.
Back to customer service. A couple more reasons why Murphy excelled: 1) a few days after I ordered they had a Black Friday sale. They immediately applied the sale to my order, 2) they addressed an issue with shipping head on and made it right. I do not judge anyone by their mistakes, it's how they handle it - and Murphy ran at it, not away from it. Big kudos.
If you've read this far then I'll end with - go out and become a secret door expert! They are super FUN and that's what it's all about. Fun is the only reason we shelled out the money here. Murphy will be straight and patient with you (THANK YOU Kodi!) and when it's time they will deliver a solid product to you. Get yourself a partner with some skills and tools and get to work!