It's easy to convert a closet into a rack of shelves.
The standard closet design of one shelf installed above a hanging rod works well for storing coats and clothing. However, if you want to use that same closet for storage, its arrangement results in a single shelf sitting above a jumbled pile of disorganization. As luck would have it, converting that closet into a rack of shelves is one of the easier home improvement projects available. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
Organization
1. Empty the closet of everything you're currently storing inside of it.
2. Remove the hanging rod. In most cases, you do this by lifting it out of one open-topped bracket, then sliding it out at an angle.
3. Remove the mounting brackets for your hanging rod. In most cases, this means unscrewing them using your screwdriver.
4. Remove the existing shelf if you want to. Many people prefer to leave it in place.
Measuring and Planning
5. Measure the width, height and depth of your closet.
6. Calculate the number of shelves you want using the closet's height and the size of the items you want to store. For example, shelves for hardback books should be about 13 inches apart. You would divide the total height of your closet by 13, rounding down. Shelves for other items would need different spacing, allowing a different number of shelves.
7. Use a power saw to cut the wood planks to match the width of your closet minus 1/2 inch. For example, a 40-inch-wide closet needs 39 1/2-inch long planks. Cut one plank for each shelf you want. If your closet is more than 24 inches deep, consider cutting two planks per shelf to provide deeper storage.
8. Cut wood strips to make support rails for your shelves. Cut the strips to 1 inch shorter than your closet is deep. A 20-inch deep closet would need 19-inch rails. Cut two side rails per shelf.
9. Cut support rails to be attached to the closet's back if your closet is more than 36 inches wide. Cut the strips to 1 inch shorter than the closet's width.
10. Mark the side walls of your closet at the heights where you want your individual shelves to be placed; use your measuring tape and level to ensure that the lines are even. If your closet is more than 36 inches wide, mark the back wall as well.
Installing the Shelving
11. Find the studs in the side and back wall of your closet. If you have a stud finder, use it according to the instructions. If not, knock on the wall and listen for a change in pitch. Spaces between studs are hollow and sound deeper. Note that the standard spacing for wall studs is 16 inches on center. That means that the centers of the studs are 16 inches apart.
12. Make marks along the lines already drawn on the closet's walls and back to denote the placement of the studs.
13. Mount the support rails for your lowest shelf by using the hammer and nails to nail them in place with one edge along the level line you marked. Use one nail for each stud in the side wall. If your closet is wide enough to require support rails on the back, mount those support rails to the wall studs in the back wall.
14. Mount support rails for your other shelves following the same method.
15. Install the lowest shelf plank by setting it in place resting on your support rails. If you're using two planks per shelf, set the rear shelf in first.
16. Install the remaining shelf planks working from the closet's bottom to its top.
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