A closet is a great addition to a room because it stores clothing and other items. However, some rooms in older homes have no closet. If you plan to turn a den into a bedroom or want to add closet space to a room without a closet, you can do it yourself without help from a contractor. This project does involve carpentry skills and the use of power tools, however. If you do not have power tools, leave this to the professionals. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Take up the carpeting with a carpet pulling tool and pull it back beyond the area where the closet is going.
2. Draw the area for the closet on the floor using a large ruler or carpenter's level and pencil.
3. Install 2x4 boards along the length and width of the new closet area by nailing them to the floor with 2-inch nails and a hammer. This creates a base plate for the wall framing. Cut the boards to size first with a circular saw.
4. Trace up the wall from the inside edge of the base plate boards with the carpenter's level and a pencil to draw the outline for the closet wall framing. Draw all the way up to the ceiling and along the ceiling to mark the edges for the top base plate boards.
5. Install the top base plate boards by cutting 2x4 boards to the proper size and nailing them to the ceiling with 2-inch nails and a hammer. Cut 2x4 boards to fit along the sides of the closet on the existing wall between the top and bottom base plate. Install and nail these boards to the walls with 2-inch nails.
6. Mark a section for the closet doors wide enough to fit your new doors and their jambs on the bottom base plate with a pencil. Saw out this section and remove it completely. This is your doorway. The measurement will typically be 34 to 36 inches, depending on your closet door size. This varies depending on how large your closet is going to be.
7. Install studs 16 inches apart between the top and bottom base plates by cutting more 2x4 boards to fit between the two boards and nailing them into place with 2-inch nails. Nail through the stud and into the base plates to secure each one.
8. Install drywall on the framed walls by measuring the wall sizes and transferring the measurements onto the drywall. Lay a drywall ruler along the drywall where it needs to be cut, score the line with a razor, break the drywall and install it on the wall with a power screwdriver and drywall screws.
Tags: base plate, 2-inch nails, with 2-inch, with 2-inch nails, base plate boards, bottom base