Sometimes you need cabinets more than closets.
Sometimes contractors build kitchens with closets meant to store cleaning materials, brooms and mops but then lack sufficient storage space for canned goods, boxed meals or other food items. The kitchen might be in a central location, making it an easy-access location to store cleaning items, and it is usually where most the spills occur. However, it's often more convenient to move your cleaning products to a utility room or other storage area and convert the closet to a cabinet. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Remove any rods and rod-hanging hardware. Normally the rod will lift out of a support pocket on the wall, but sometimes the rod has been painted or otherwise tightly attached to the wall. In these cases, you may need to saw through the rod and work it loose. Most rod mounting hardware is connected by a few screws; unscrew these and remove them. If the rod-hanging hardware has been painted over, insert a screwdriver at the edge of the hardware and tap the end of the screwdriver handle and break the hanger loose from the wall. Try not to gouge the wall.
2. Measure the height of the closet and determine how many shelves you want to install. Most shelves should be spaced at least 12 inches apart from the bottom of one shelf to the bottom of the next, but it's convenient to have some taller shelves. You can fit four shelves easily into a 5-foot closet.
3. Measure the width across the back of the closet and subtract 2 inches from the measurement. Cut a 1-by-1-inch board to this length for a shelf support. Measure the width of the side walls of the closet and subtract 2 inches from the width. Cut two pieces from the 1-by-1-inch board to this length.
4. Measure and mark the wall every 12 inches from the floor to indicate where to put the top of the shelf supports. Use a stud finder and locate where the wall studs cross the 12-inch marks and mark an X on the wall in each spot.
5. Line the shelf support up just below the 12-inch marks on the wall and insert a 1 1/2-inch screw through the support and into the wall studs. Check the shelf support for level, adjusting the shelf support if needed, and insert a second screw into a second wall stud. Repeat for the wall across from the first. Double check that the marks are level from one wall to another before securing the second shelf support to the wall. Attach the shelf support across the back wall of the closet last. Repeat for all the other shelves.
6. Cut a piece of 3/4-inch plywood to fit across the width of the closet. Sand the edges with 120-grit sandpaper. Insert the shelves, setting them on top of the three shelf supports. You may have to tilt the shelves to get them into the cabinet before setting them on the supports.
Tags: shelf support, inches from, 12-inch marks, 1-by-1-inch board, 1-by-1-inch board this, across back
