Craft Closet #1

After watching a Martha Stewart segment on pegboard organizers my DW decided she wanted pegboard in the craft closet and sewing center I am building for her. The craft closet (4' x 5') is located at the entrance to our home theater as shown in the diagram below. The sewing center is on the other side of the basement.

We decided to focus on the storage areas of the basement remodel before completing the home theater, so we can get all the remaining stuff that is stacked in the room put away. Also, I am not 100% settled on all the theater room details, and this will give me time to work them out.

Here is a picture of the craft closet before installing pegboard. Why do all this sheetrock work if you just going to install pegboard over it? Two reasons: sound management and fire resistance. The sheetrock walls of this and the opposing closet are sound absorbers, stopping the noise from the theater traveling to the rest of the living areas. So far the sound reduction has been great, and the sheetrocked partition walls obviously contribute to this a lot. Also, even on a simple partition wall internal to the house, its best to sheetrock and tape it to help reduce airflow in case of fire. I could not find a specific requirement for it in this case, but it's always a good idea.



In this photo, the pegboard is being installed. I have a system that includes a support ledger and battens to mount the pegboard. The 1/2" battens provide room for the hooks. I used OSB that I cut into strips, which is significantly less expensive than using furring strips. I can cut 30 OSB strips for the cost of 5 1x2 furring strips (in about 15 minutes). Also, OSB is a greener option, since it's made from wood chips, not full lumber.



Here is a simple diagram showing how the pegboard is mounted. The lower ledgers will also provide support for the work surfaces I am installing later.


Here is the sewing center with the ledgers installed. Note that I have a top ledger as well. This is because the pegboard will not go all the way to the ceiling here, and I need a surface to nail the top trim to.


This next photo shows the battens installed. These are nailed directly to the studs behind the sheetrock. I also glued them with wood glue.

Note that I put small batten supports around the outlet boxes. I am going to need to add electrical box extenders to bring the face of the box even with the pegboard. I am definitely not in favor of just bringing the outlets out the surface and leaving a gap. This exposes combustible material to open wiring, which is a code violation and just plain hazardous. A few extra dollars and minutes are not a big deal.


Finally, here is the pegboard installed. I now need to trim it out before my DW paints it. The corners came out very tight, so I am only caulking these. Once painted, I will install the work surface.


I have to admit that I initially thought the idea of pegboard was crazy. I reminds me of some musty garage workbench. However, after doing a bit of research to make sure I could provide what my DW wanted, I realized there are a lot of cool accessories out there, and the overall flexibility is great.