One of the more common complaints of many homeowners is the lack of closet space. For the do-it-yourself, adding a new closet is a great solution. If your home has enough floor space and you have any amount of building skill you too can create a great looking closet. Framing in the closet door opening is a simple process. Follow a few steps and you will soon be on your way to having the additional closet space you've always wanted. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
Frame in Closet Door Opening
1. Purchase 2 by 4's to frame in your closet door opening. Either construct the frame lying down and then raise it in place, or construct it already in place. Either way works. If you build the closet door opening frame on the floor you need to build it 1/4 in. shorter than the ceiling height. When the frame is lifted it will be slightly short; using shims or thin blocks between the top plate and the ceiling will enclose the gap.
2. Cut your full length studs, commonly referred to as king studs, 3 and 3/4 in. lower than the ceiling height. These studs are used for framing the rough opening of your closet door. There is one king stud on each side of the door opening.
3. Nail in place a trimmer stud on the inside of each king stud. The trimmer or jack studs are cut shorter than the king studs because they are used to support the header.
4. Attached to the top plate in the closet door opening are four 7 in. pieces of plywood called cripple studs. Attached to the cripple studs is the header. After the header is measured and cut it will be nailed to the cripple studs using 16d nails. Use 8d nails to attach the header to the king studs.
5. Decide how wide you want the closet door opening, and after it is framed, add more trimmer studs to the inside of the door opening to narrow the gap to the desired width. Make sure all of the studs are nailed properly.
Tags: door opening, closet door opening, closet door, cripple studs, king studs, ceiling height, closet door
