Bi-fold doors work well for closets.
A bi-fold closet door makes it easier to access the materials you store in your closet. The door works best for long shallow closets, and can be framed and installed by a homeowner with basic DIY skills and tools. When you purchase the bi-fold door make sure that it comes with the pieces needed to install the door into the frame you are building. Before you design and build your closet, you should know the size of the door you will be using. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Mark the studs in the already existing wall, and measure where you want your closet to go. The new walls need to attach to an existing stud, so this determines the size of your closet. Measure from the floor to the ceiling and subtract 4 inches to determine the height of your stud pieces. Measure the width and height of your bi-fold door and add 2 inches to each to determine the size you will build your door frame.
2. Cut two pieces of 2-by-4 lumber the length of each wall that will be the top and bottom of the frame. Additionally, cut as many 2-by-4 studs as necessary to place one every 16 inches along the length of your wall -- each should be 4 inches shorter than the height of the wall to account for the top and bottom of the frame. Also cut a piece that is the width of the door frame, as well as pieces that fit between the top of the door frame, and the top of the wall frame to hold it in place. Subtract the height of the door plus 4 inches from the wall height to get the size of these above-door studs, often called "cripple" studs.
3. Nail the cut wall frame lumber together, assembling them as described in Step 2. The 4-inch sides of the top and bottom pieces should be flush to the ceiling and the floor. Nail in the studs every 16 inches across the length of the frame, except where you want the bi-fold door to go. Nail a stud in at the edge of the door frame area, so that the bi-fold door will fit with an extra 2 inches around it. Nail the top of the frame in place at the correct height, so there is an extra 2 inches in the space.
4. Put up the wall frame. Nail it into the existing stud every 12 inches from top to bottom, and then on either side of each stud. Use a handsaw to cut out the portion of wall frame where the framed door goes.
5. Screw a drywall stud into each stud along the top, bottom and middle of the drywall sheet. You need to hang drywall on both the interior and exterior of the closet. Cover the screws with drywall cement and use the tape and cement to seal the seams between the drywall pieces. Allow it to dry, then sand it and paint the wall, and the door frame.
6. Install the bi-fold doors by attaching the hinges to each wall, and then screwing the tracking piece into place along the top of the door frame. Make sure the door can move freely, which is why you have the extra space in the door frame. Put trim up around the interior and exterior of the door frame, and then install baseboards along the bottom of the floors.
Tags: door frame, bi-fold door, wall frame, your closet, every inches, along bottom, bottom frame
