On Friday, September 20, 2019 at 8:36:47 PM UTC-4, dpb wrote:
On Fri, 20 Sep 2019 18:03:30 -0400, wrote:

How about a strong magnet hang it in the closet, put a piece of steel
in the trap door.

Ha ! great minds think alike ! fools seldom differ

I was just now looking-up strong magnets - they make them to lift
a few hundred pounds - for salvaging stuff from rivers & lakes ..
but they don't seem to have any "release" mechanism ..

just one example :

http://tinyurl.com/yy55s2az

Not sure what thickness of flooring it would lift 10 - 20 pounds
through ? Easy to experiment on scrap wood pieces ..
It would allow the hidey-hole to remain invisible ..
.. to the narcs :-) but not their dogs ...
John T.
Might be fancier than you want to get but lots of newer cars have
electric powered hatch lifters. Kick your foot at it a couple of
times and the hatch opens, kick again and it closes. The lifters and
sensors you should be able to get for a reasonable price at a junk
yard. The logic to put them together I don't know about.

I had thought a little about magnets as one alternative...can always
counterbore to create thinner location. Was trying to figure out a
clever mechanism that could move opposing poles in line to "pop up" the
one end...

Many of examples on the video somebody posted link to use that kind of
lifting mechanism. This is small enough the mechanism would probably
cover more of the opening than can spare.

Dunno about where or when you've last tried to price something from a
salvage yard but my experiences recently trying that route are they're
more expensive than NAPA replacements and almost impossible to actually
find what one's looking for besides.

--

OK, modify this idea as required...

Plug an electromagnet into a smart plug and have it hold down a lightly
spring-loaded door. Maybe even just a piece of foam weather stripping. Just
enough so that when it releases, you can get your fingers in a rabbet, if
not under the door itself.

When you say "Alexa, door off" the smart plug will turn off and the magnet
will release the door. Pop! To close, say "Alexa, door on" and then press
the door closed to engage the magnet.