Basic closets can be built in a few days with the proper tools.
Some rooms in the home don't automatically come with a closet. Bonus rooms, play areas and finished basements won't normally have a space to hang up clothes unless it was planned during construction. If you have one of these areas and want to turn it into a spare bedroom, you can build the closet yourself with some basic tools and construction supplies. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Select a corner of the room and measure out how big you want the closet to be. Tape off the floor with masking tape and use a square to insure the tape lines for the walls are perpendicular to the walls. Leave an opening for a door. Purchase a pre-hung door for the project. These are already framed and need to be nailed to the studs on either side. Measure the width of the pre-hung door from one side of the frame to the other. Leave an opening in the tape that is this width.
2. Cut two-by-fours to the length of the tape on the floor. Do this twice so that you have a matching two-by-four for the ceiling. Measure the boards out, mark them with a pencil and cut on the line with a circular saw.
3. Place the two-by-fours on the floor next to the tape length that matches up with them. Set them so that the edges of the boards are up against the edge of the tape. This should keep them at the same angle. Check with a square to be sure. Drill 3-inch nails through the boards and into the floor. Repeat the process again by attaching boards to the ceiling directly above the boards on the floor. Run a straight line up the walls on both sides of the corner where the floor boards are located to find the point where the ceiling boards should be attached. After attaching the boards, you should have mirrored floor and ceiling boards coming out from the walls in the corner of the room that would intersect if it weren't for the gap left on the outside corner of the closet space. The gap is for the door.
4. Measure and make a mark every 16 inches along the floor boards. This is for the wall studs. Measure the length between the floor and ceiling boards to get the measurement for the wall studs.
5. Cut two-by-four boards to the length determined in step 4. Place them one at a time on the marks that you made every 16 inches. Use a level to ensure they are square and attach them to the top and bottom boards. Drill screws in on the ends of the studs at an angle so that they go into the floor and ceiling boards. Use 3-inch screws. Repeat for each board. No matter what the spacing works out to be, attach a board at both ends of both stud walls.
6. Stand the pre-hung door up and put it in its opening. Make a mark along the studs to the side of the door where the top of the door is located. Lay the door back down. Cut a two-by-four the width of the opening and attach it at these marks. This will give you something to attach the top of the doorframe to.
7. Raise the door back up and check it with a level to ensure it is straight. Use wood shims to adjust it if needed, then nail the doorframe to the side studs and top board. You could also use screws if you prefer. Cut the wood shims off smooth with the wall if you had to use them.
8. Lift drywall up to the studs with the help of another person and screw it to the studs with drywall screws. Drywall is typically hung so that its length is horizontal to the floor. Measure and cut with a circular saw when you need smaller pieces, such as above the door. For a complete look, hang drywall on the inside of the closet as well as the outside.
9. Spread drywall mud over the seams and place drywall tape over the mud. Press it in slightly and spread another thin coating of drywall mud over the tape. Spread mud over the screw heads as well. Let this dry for 24 hours.
10. Sand the surface of the dried mud to smooth it out, then apply a second coat of mud over the tape areas. Make this coating wider than the last and taper it out smooth as you get further from the tape. Let this dry another day, then sand it smooth as well.
11. Cut baseboard trim to the length of the walls and nail it to the bottom. Counter sink the nails and fill them with wood putty. Let the putty dry for an hour.
12. Paint the newly built walls and trim to match the rest of the room. Once done you can install whatever shelving system you want.
Tags: ceiling boards, floor ceiling, floor ceiling boards, pre-hung door, attaching boards, boards should, corner room
