Add closet space to a home.
Adding a closet to a room provides a place for storage to keep a room organized. Homes may be built without adequate storage making it necessary to add closets into rooms. The size of the new closet it completely up to you. Plan for enough space to allow for easy storage. A 24-inch or 36-inch wide closet is standard in most homes. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Plan for the length and width measurement of your choice. Start in the corner, and measure to the front of your closet. Mark the width line on the wall. Measure from the corner along the opposite wall sideways to mark the length line.
2. Use a stud finder to locate the nearest wall stud to your width and length marks. Place an X on the nearest stud to each measurement. These marks are your new closet measurements, and you should refer to themthroughout construction.
3. Measure from floor to ceiling to get an accurate height measurement. Deduct 4 inches from that measurement to allow for a top and bottom plate on the closet wall. Calculate the number of boards needed by turning the length and width into inch measurements and dividing by 16. Add eight boards to the amount calculated to reach a total board count.
4. Cut the top and bottom plate for the length wall using the measurements from Step 2. Lay these boards on the floor width-edge facing up. Stretch a measuring tape along the tops and place a mark every 16 inches on both boards. Repeat this process for the width wall. Cut the remaining 2-by-4 boards according to your height measurement minus 4 inches. Use a carpenter's square to mark each board accurately, and cut the boards precisely.
5. Lay out the width wall. Lay out your top plate on its narrow edge. Lay two boards flush together at the end of the top plate. Lay a board at each 16-inch mark and two boards at the other end of the top plate. Line the boards up so that the lines marked on the plate lay in the center of each board.
6. Hammer nails into the width portion of the top plate clear through to the upright boards. Sink two nails completely into each board, and move on to the next. Repeat for the remaining boards. Attach the bottom plate in the same fashion, and set the width wall aside.
7. Layout and assemble the length wall in the same fashion as the width wall, removing a board from the center. Boards will line up square when each board is centered on the 16-inch marks.
8. Using the width line in Step 2 prepare to put the length wall in place. Slide the wall so that it butts against the wall with the width mark. Raise the wall to a standing position. Align the wall with the carpenter's square. Use a level to make sure the wall stands straight up and down. Secure the wall to the floor using four 16D nails hammered through the bottom plate and into the floor between each closet wall stud.
9. Slide the width wall into place between the two length walls. Secure the width wall in the same fashion as the length wall. Climb a ladder and use the stud finder to locate the ceiling studs. Shim the top plate, and hammer two nails through the top plate at each ceiling stud.
10. Cut two scraps of 2-by-4 board 32 inches long. Measure the door frame opening from the floor to 72 inches high on each side. Align these boards flush on all sides and nail them together with 16D nails.
11. Center the doorway header on the 72-inch marks on either side of the doorway. Level the doorway plate, and secure it to the closet wall studs with nails. Measure from the center of the doorway plate to the top plate, and cut a board to fit in this space to replace the missing stud. Sheathe the wall in the material of your choice to complete the installation.
Tags: width wall, bottom plate, each board, length wall, closet wall