Ron journeyed just west of Boston to the town of Wayland, Massachusetts, the home of Jack and Carole Hoag and their son, Brook. Years ago, before Ron traded his suits and ties for khakis and denims, he worked for Jack as a marketing executive. It was great fun for Ron to not only catch up with old friends, but to also work side by side with them on a wonderful home improvement project.
Click here for a list of what
you will need in order to complete this project.
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Ron was asked to help the Hoags create more storage space in their guest room by constructing a pair of matching closets that would be both attractive and practical.
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1. Design:
Carole's first thought was to build one large closet all the way across the back wall of the guest room because they needed so much storage, but that would leave them with no place to put the bureau that she wanted to have in the room. Her solution was to build a closet on either side of the bureau.
Ron created a drawing of two matched closets, with enough space between the two for the chest of drawers.
On the inside of the closet on the left, Ron designed adjustable shelves from the top to bottom. On the right side, he designed two hanging rods.
View, download and print Ron's Storage Closet Drawings
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2. Framing:
Use a compound miter saw to cut the 2 X 4s to frame the closets.
First assemble and install a rectangular frame against the ceiling and then add four vertical posts. The walls and doors will be built onto this framework.
The frames need to be mounted onto wall studs. Use electronic stud finders to locate and mark each one.
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| Build the closet framework from the top down. It is simpler to assemble the pieces of the top section first and then attach it to the ceiling as one piece.
First drill clearance holes through the ends of two boards, and then drive in the screws to assemble each side of the frame.
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| Use a 2 X 4 for temporary support, while you attach the frames directly to the wall studs. |
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| Cut a small notch at the bottom of each post so it can slip right over the baseboard.
You can easily attach the wall framing at the top and the bottom with screws, but if there are no wall stud in the middle section, you need to use toggle bolts for the center attachment. Drill through the framing and just into the wall to create a marker hole where the bolts will be located. Remove the frame piece from the wall and enlarge the marker hole to a half-inch. |
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| Pass a bolt through the 2 X 4 and screw the toggle on the other end. |
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| Squeeze the wings of the toggle together, put them into the hole, and pushed the bolt through.The wings will spring open on the inside of the wall, holding the 2 X 4 in place. Pull back on the 2 X 4 to keep the wings from spinning inside the wall and then use a power driver to tighten the bolt, which will pull the 2 X 4 firmly into contact with the wall.
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| Next use long wood screws to attach the 2 X 4 to the wall at the bottom and at the top. |
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| Attach a short piece of framing to the floor and then install the final vertical piece to complete the closet framing. |
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3. Siding and doors
Create t he sides of the closet from ¾ inch thick medium density fiberboard (MDF). Position the MDF up against the framing and use nail guns to attach it directly to the frames.
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| Next, nail fascia boards across the top front of the frames. |
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| The doors selected for this project were attractive, raised panel doors. This design uses a piano hinge, which is a long strip of continuous hinge, to attach the doors. |
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| Begin by drilling a small pilot hole using a self-centering drill bit, which protrudes from a cower or sleeve that slides back. The self-centering allows you to bore through the exact center of each hinge mounting hole. After the pilot holes are in place, follow along installing the screws. |
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| To install the door, rest it on shims to provide the necessary floor clearance. |
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