Adding a large closet increases your storage space and home value.
It's hard to think of anything that makes a difference in your home like closet storage space. It can enlarge the smallest home through maximizing the living space. Building a closet is also cost-efficient; a basic closet requires little more than some 2-by-4 boards -- called studs -- and wall covering to finish the outside. Of course, you can get fancier, adding wiring, shelves or even insulation. But the basic closet takes only a day of your time from building it to filling it. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Plan out your closet, sketching the design to better visualize it. Draw the closet with 15-foot-deep walls and the width you desire; use existing side walls, when possible, along with the rear wall. As you "see" the closet, consider the location of windows in your room, where you want the closet door and the type of door you desire. You will want to provide swinging doors clearance to open and avoid covering windows.
2. Measure from the back wall forward 15 feet and mark the floor, ceiling and a side wall that will become a closet wall with an "X" to notate where to place the front wall. Measure over from the side wall, along the imaginary front of the closet, the width of the closet you desire. Mark another "X" on both the floor and ceiling as well as on the wall if there is a side wall present that will become a closet wall.
3. Draw straight lines connecting all measurement marks using a 2-by-4 stud as a guide -- up and down any side walls that form your closet, indicating the placement of the front wall vertically, and along both the ceiling and floor to show where the front wall will set.
4. Lay a 2-by-4 on edge with the wide side facing out. Mark the board every 16 inches to indicate stud placement. Repeat with a second 2-by-4 to create a header and footer for your first wall section. Prepare headers and footers for every wall section needed; the maximum length a wall section can reach is 8 feet, due to the length of a 2-by-4, so you will need one 8-foot- and one 7-foot-section for any side wall needed plus enough sections to span the width of your closet.
5. Stud walls are the basis of any construction, including closet walls.
Measure and cut studs for your walls. Make the studs the height of your walls minus 3 1/4 inches so there will be room to lift the walls into place. Cut one stud for each stud mark created, minus the stud marks that occupy the space where you want your door to be located. Instead, mark the width of the door you will use on the header and footer corresponding to the door placement and write "door" to notate.
6. Line studs up, narrow end up, between the footer and header; start at the very beginning of the wall section and end flush with the end of the footer and header. Nail studs in place through the outside edge of the footer and header into the stud end. Repeat until all studs are secured, including a stud on either side of your marked door opening.
7. Cut a length of 2-by-4 measuring the width of your door opening. Nail into place between the studs marking your door opening, allowing for the height of the door -- typically 82 inches. This step creates a door header.
8. Stand each wall up, aligning it with the wall marks showing placement. Shove shims, as needed, underneath each section to create a snug fit. Hold a level up to each section to ensure the wall is perfectly straight, then secure with nails through the footer, header and walls as applicable. Space the nails about every 24 inches, making sure you nail the wall sections together as well.
9. Add sections of 2-by-4s, cut to fit between the studs, and nail into place to create structural support for shelves and clothes rods. You want the wide sides of your 2-by-4s facing outward to create a wide nailing surface.
10. Finish the closet by hanging wall covering and the door. Paint, trim and install a light as desired.
Tags: footer header, side wall, wall section, door opening, front wall, into place, your closet
