A low-ceiling is no barrier to building a closet.
Attics without headroom leave little in the way of storage space, so when building an attic room, factor in space for a closet. You can build a closet in one end of an attic using standard DIY equipment to provide extra shelving and cupboard space. With lighting added to the closet, it can become the perfect space to store winter bedding, Christmas decorations and other items that are needed only at certain times of the year. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
Building the Frame
1. Decide on where the closet will stand. For the most height, choose one end of the attic. Measure 18 inches out along the floor from the end of the attic. Mark this point on the floor with chalk. This will form the front portion of your closet. Measure the height of the attic at its highest point from this front line.
2. Measure the width of the attic at the front line. Cut a piece of 2-by-4 lumber to the height of the attic minus 1 inch, using a circular saw. Cut two pieces of 2-by-4 lumber to half the width of the attic minus 2 inches. Drill a 1-inch wide, 1-inch deep hole in the middle of one end of both width-long pieces.
3. Lay the width-long pieces on the ground with the drilled holes facing one-another. Stand one of the height-long pieces vertically in between the drilled ends of the width-long pieces, with the 4-inch wide faces toward the holes. Mark the point on the height-long piece where the holes connect with it. Drill through the piece at the marked point.
4. Cut a piece of dowel 4 inches long. Apply wood glue around the circumference of the dowel. Tap the dowel into the hole in the height-long piece using a hammer until a 1 inch piece of dowel sticks out on either side of the piece. Line the dowel up with the holes in the width-long pieces. Tap the width-long pieces onto the dowel until they are flush with the height-long piece.
5. Stand the joined wooden pieces on the front line. Screw the width-long pieces to the floor using three L brackets per piece, with the brackets facing toward the end wall of the attic. Cut two pieces of 2-by-4 to half the height of the attic. Mark 1 inch down one side of both pieces. Cut one end of each piece at a 45-degree angle from the marked point.
6. Stand one piece halfway along the left width-long piece and the other halfway along the right width-long piece. Screw the half-height pieces to the width-long pieces using two L brackets per piece. Cut two pieces of 2-by-4 as long as one-quarter width of the attic. Measure 1 inch along from one end on each piece. Cut the pieces at an angle of 45 degrees at the marked points.
7. Hold the 1/4-width-long pieces onto the frame half way up the height-long piece with the 45-degree angle edges connecting with the roof line. Screw the pieces to the height-long piece using two L brackets per piece. Screw the ends of the pieces connecting with the roof to the half-height-long pieces using one L bracket per piece.
8. Measure the width of the attic at the back wall behind the frame. Cut a piece of 2-by-4 to this width. Mark 1 inch in from either end of the piece. Cut the ends at an angle of 45 degrees at these points. Hold the piece horizontally against the wall with the 4-inch wide faces vertical. Align the piece so the top edge is level with the top edge of the two 1/4-width-long pieces.
9. Drill through the piece and into the wall every 6 inches along the length of the piece, using a hammer drill. Plug the holes in the wall with wall plugs. Screw the piece to the wall using 4-inch long screws. Cut a piece of 2-by-4 12 inches long. Screw the piece to the height-long piece and the wall-mounted piece using two L brackets per joint.
10. Cut two pieces of 2-by-4 10 inches long. Hold the first piece against the joists on one side of the attic with the 4-inch long sides vertical against the joists and the ends of the piece equidistant from the frame and the wall-mounted piece. Ensure the top edge of the wood is at the same height as the top edge of the wood joining the frame to the wall-mounted piece.
11. Screw the piece to the joists using four 3-inch long screws. Screw the second piece to the joists on the opposite side of the attic, in the same manner. Cut two pieces of 2-by-4 inch lumber as long as half the width of the attic. Cut one end of each piece at a 45-degree angle. Screw the pieces to the floor against the end wall using four L brackets per piece.
12. Cut five pieces of 2-by-4 lumber 12 inches long. Screw one piece to the floor at either side of the closet using three L-brackets per piece. Screw one piece to the floor below the center support beam, using two L-brackets on either side of the piece. Screw the remaining two between the edge and center pieces using two L brackets on either side of the piece.
Finishing the Closet
13. Cut two sheets of 3/4-inch thick plywood 18 inches long and as wide as half the width of the attic. Screw the first sheet on top of the base of the frame and the floor support beams on the left side of the closet using four 1-inch long screws per side of the sheet. Screw the second sheet to the right side of the frame in the same manner.
14. Cut two sheets of 3/4 inch thick plywood 18 inches long and 1/4 of the width of the attic wide. Screw the first sheet to the top of the center support frame, the left wall support, the wall-mounted support and the center support on the frame, using countersunk 1 inch long screws. Screw the second sheet to the right side of the frame in the same manner.
15. Cut a sheet of 3/4 inch thick plywood 1/2 the height of the attic long and 1/4 of the width of the attic wide. Cut the sheet in half diagonally, to form two right-angled triangles. Screw the first triangle to the front of the frame on the left side of the closet using four 1-inch long screws per side. Screw the second triangle to the right side of the frame in the same manner.
16. Cut two sheets of 3/4-inch thick plywood half the height of the attic's length and one-quarter of the width of the attic wide. Screw two hinges to one half of the height edge, equidistant from the ends, on both sheets. Screw a cupboard door handle half way along the opposite edge. Screw the hinges to the lower half of the center support on the frame so the sheets act as doors covering the lower half of the closet.
17.Cut a sheet of 3/4-inch thick plywood half the height of the attic long and a quarter of the width of the attic wide. Cut the sheet in half diagonally to form two right-angled triangles. Screw two hinges to the half attic height edge of both triangles, equidistant from the ends of the edge. Screw a cupboard door handle near the point on the opposite edge of the triangle to the hinges.
18. Screw the hinges of both triangles to the center support post on the frame, so the sheets act as doors covering the top half of the closet. Paint or varnish the the closet and the closet doors using a paintbrush. Allow the paint or varnish to dry fully before using the closet for the first time.
Tags: width attic, width-long pieces, height attic, height-long piece, inches long
