Lining a closet with cedar repels insects.
If you have a small space in an unfinished attic and you're not sure what it's good for, why not install your own cedar closet there? With a kit of tongue-and-groove cedar boards, it's a lot easier than finishing the room in drywall, and the cedar will give a fresh, clean aroma to your clothes while repelling insects. This project is especially easy in an unfinished attic because you can see where the wall studs are located for attaching the cedar planks. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Insulate the open exterior walls of the attic area, if they aren't already. Measure and cut each roll of insulation for a strip that entirely fills the space between every pair of studs on the attic walls. Make the cuts with a razor knife.
2. Set the insulation in place with the exposed fiberglass facing the wall and the vapor barrier -- such as a kraft-paper backing -- facing into the room. Secure the insulation by stapling the paper flaps to the studs on each side.
3. Measure the width of a cedar plank and add 1/2 inch. Measure that distance up from the floor on each stud along the wall. Draw a line at that mark on each stud.
4. Lay a level across the lines on the studs. Adjust the level upward on either side as needed to get the lines level; remark them if necessary.
5. Measure and cut a cedar plank to the length of the wall, using your miter saw. Set the plank on the wall under the horizontal line with the tongue edge on the line, facing up. There should be a small gap between the bottom of the board and the floor.
6. Secure the plank to the studs with a trim nail gun. Drive a pair of nails through the face of the plank at each location where it crosses a stud.
7. Measure and cut the next plank on your miter saw. Set it on top of the first one, locking the planks together by their tongue-and-groove edges. Secure the second plank by shooting one nail through the side of the board at an angle, at each point where it crosses a stud. Don't nail through the face of the board.
8. Repeat the process for each cedar plank, working your way up the wall. Measure the remaining space at the top of the wall and subtract 1/2 inch. Cut the top piece lengthwise to this measurement, using a table saw. Install the top piece by face-nailing it to the studs as you did the bottom board.
9. Repeat the whole cedar-plank installation process for each wall.
10. Install wall trim over the gaps at the floor, ceiling and corners. Cut the trim to size on your miter saw. Secure the trim pieces in place with the trim nail gun.
Tags: cedar plank, your miter, board Repeat, bottom board, crosses stud, each stud
