Craft Closet #2

We were able to get the theater room and craft closets textured, primed and ready for paint. I installed the counter tops as shown below. The black counter with the green painted pegboard actually looks good (I never thought I would say peg board looked good...)


Notice the two layers of trim at the top. The ceiling in the closet is 1 1/4" out of level due to the house sagging over the years. The stone fireplace upstairs was not adequately supported (now it is), causing the sag. The lower layer of trim is even with the pegboard holes and the upper layer is partially cut to match the ceiling. It also runs a bit out of level, splitting the difference. All this together effectively hides the out-of-level condition, especially once the closet doors are added.

We bought the laminate counter piece at Home Depot - $78 for an eight foot piece. The other half went to the other craft closet (one for sewing, one for stamping, paper crafts, etc.) It seems like a nice high quality surface, with a fully wrapped front. I cut it with a new carbide saw blade on the table saw, and had no chip-out.


My DW will keep her sewing machine and surger on this counter, so they will always be ready to use. To keep the counter from sagging over time under the constant weight, I added these heavy duty shelf supports (rated at 400 lbs). I quickly painted the wood backup pieces once I installed them, which helps me avoid extra masking. I also glued and screwed a fir 1x4 across the front behind the counter lip.


Next I need to make a couple of shelves for the top of the closet and 3 drawers that go under the counter. After that, my DW will get all the pegboard stuff.

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.

Walk-in Closet #4 - Done

I finished the dresser cabinet and other details in my daughter's walk-in closet. As shown in the photo, we decided to go with a light maple top, which contrasts nicely with all the dark ebony wood.

At the bottom of the picture, you can see my DD's shoes. We decided to make the toe space under the cabinet 9 inches deep to allow for shoe storage. I could have made this deeper (all the way to 24 inches), but it would have become a black hole for junk. This depth seems about right to be useful, but not a pit.

I still need to set the door, then do the trim - but that should be pretty simple. I have 5 other doors to do as part of our basement remodel, and I am planning to do them all at one time. I have a very simple (almost fool-proof) method of setting pre-hung doors, which I will post when I install them.

Walk-in Closet #3

I finished installing the drawers and shelves into my daughter's walk-in closet. Here are a couple of pictures. Of course my daughter needed to hang at least one thing in there for the shot.



These drawers are 24" deep, giving quite a bit more space than a typical dresser.



All I need to do is build and install the cabinet tops - hopefully by the end of the weekend.

Here is a tip on how to easily install tight-fitting shelves...

• I have found it hard to cut shelves that sit on pins exactly right - they are either too tight and get damaged, or too loose and rattle a bit.


• Cut the shelf 1/4" inch less than the width of the box or cabinet they need to go into. This will give plenty of room for pins and an easy fit.


• Apply a piece of protection felt to each end. This is the self-adhesive felt used to protect hardwood floors from furniture feet. These are about 3/16 thick, but can compress.


• The felt allows easy install and removal, but the shelves are tight when in place.

Walk-in Closet #2

Yesterday, I was able install most of the closet organizer I built for my daughter. She wanted the thing stained dark black, and I have to admit that it looks really good. The pictures here aren't very good - its hard to get nice photos through the doorway.



The wood used here is laminated pine, stained with Minwax ebony color, and sealed with Minwax Polycrylic.

The picture below shows the built in dresser frame. I still need to install the drawer slides and top. Tha small cabinet will have a single drawer, and leave space above to hang long dresses.

Storage Closet #2

I installed the shelves into the storage closet today. We have had fantastic weather here in Oregon, and I wanted to take advantage of it by setting up the tablesaw and router out in the driveway. I have a feeling the rain is coming...



I still need to install the support brackets, set the door and trim it out to call it finished. I am not sure if I need the brackets to keep the shelves from sagging in the long-term, but with it being low cost and effot, it makes sense to put them in. I agree with Holmes on Homes - taking the time and care to make sure things done well is the only way to go.

Here is how the storage crates are going fit:



Allowing a little space at the top makes getting them out much easier, especially on the upper shelves.

Finally, the space between the shelves is critical. You need to have enough room to comfortably pull the crates straight out. There is 40" here, and it seems to be plenty of room. I think 36" would be too tight, and anything over 42" is not needed.



I'll post the final pictures one the closet is loaded with stuff.

Storage Closet #1

As part of the basement remodel, we are adding a storage closet. This will mainly hold crafts, holiday items and clothing.

As you can see in the diagram to the right, the foot print of the closet is 4' x 7.5', with a door in the center. This layout allows for a bank five 4' x 2' shelves on each end. I will also make a rolling storage cart that fits in the center.

I wanted to make stout shelves that look reasonably good, as well as keep the cost down, so I chose OSB and 1x3 furring strips as the materials. This plan requires 3 sheets of OSB at about $7 each, 22 furring strips at $1.25 each, and ten 12" shelf brackets at $1.50 each - totalling $65.

I cut the furring strips to go along the back and sides of the shelf. Notice that I bevelled the side pieces, which gives them a more finished look. I attached these to the wall with poly glue and 18 gage finish nails (using an air nailer) for simplicity, then affixed them with 2.5" deck screws into the studs.

Here is a picture of all five sets. I put the OSB shelf in place and a crate show how it all fits.

Here is closer shot of the shelf. It is a piece of 2' x 4' OSB with a front edge attached for looks and strength. I ripped the furring strips so they could be assembled back into an "L" that would cover the front and give support.

Each of the shelves will hold 3 of these crates. Including the floor, which has a bit more space, we can put 18 of these on each side of the closet, or 36 in all. For our needs, this is a lot of storage space.

Here is a shot of the "L" strips from the underside. They butt into the side strips mounted on the wall.

Once I have glued and nailed these shelves into place, I will put the support brackets in to make sure they never sag.

More Resources on Building Closet Organizers

I found a fairly good on-line magazine: Extreme How-To. After I got over my personal prejudice against the overuse of the word "extreme', I found the publication to be OK (and free is a good price)

I just received the current version yesterday, and its has an indepth article on building your own closet organizers. There is enough information here to get you through the entire project.

It details how to layout, assemble and fit the pieces into your closet. My general estimate is that if you DIY this from basic materials, you will save 50% of the cost. Even if you do buy a kit and install it yourself, the techniques shown here will help you be succesful with it.

One thing I really like about the magazine is that you can either look at it online or download an executable file to read it off line. Since I travel quite a bit, I download it and save it for an upcoming flight.

Walk-in Closet #1

As part of remodeling our basement, I am adding a walk-in closet to my daughter's bedroom and a large storage closet to our bonus room.

While our house is relatively large (3600 sf), there is minimal storage. Since our basement bonus room is about 1300 sf of open space (in the shape of an L), taking 4 feet of the end of it is hardly noticed.

Here is the plan (orange walls are new)

This closet is basically 4" x 8", which I think is about the minimum you would want for a walk-in. You could argue its too small, but it provides 8 continuous feet of closet space, plus takes most of the area in front of the closet (the clearance space you need for standing) out of the room. This actually increases the footprint of the bedroom quite a bit.

We are moving my daughter's old closet to our boys' room. These are closets have just a four foot opening, and they need space as well.

Here is a diagram of the design we came up with. This eneded up being a combination of daughter, DW and me all putting our ideas in the mix. There will also be some shelving along the back wall, not shown here.


After looking at the prices, quality and options for closet organizers, I decided to build it myself (for more on cabinet building, click here). We are using 5/8" laminated pine boards from Home Depot. I'll add pictures in a few days. I figure I can cut the cost in about half, and make exactly what we want.

Most closet organizer sites want to sell you a unit and are not focused on helping you with building and designing you own. After searching a while, I did find a good resource: Designing a closet organizer by Ace Hardware. It provides typical dimensions (I inserted the table below), plus overall installation techniques.

Five men's suit coats	12" wide, 38" long
Six men's shirts (on hangers)	12" wide, 38" long
Man's shirt (folded)	8" wide, 14" long
Man's pants (on straight hangers)	44" long
Man's pants (folded on hangers)	27" long
Man's dress hat	6" x 11"
Man's shoes	9" wide, 12" long
Woman's dress	68" long
Woman's robe	52" long
Woman's dress	50" long
Woman's jacket	36" long
Woman's blouse (on hanger)	34" long
Woman's blouse (folded)	10" wide, 13" long
Woman's skirt	36" long
Woman's shoes	6" wide, 9-1/2" long
Sweater (folded)	10" wide, 14" long
Boots	9" wide, 12" deep, 14" high