building custom shelves, part 2.

I should never, ever say that I'm going to post part 2 of anything. Unless its already written and any applicable photographs are taken, uploaded to my computer, and cropped/edited as necessary.

Anyway. This is a sequel - here are the links to the before/unfinished after and the details, part 1.

Also, I should mention that I started to write this post, then realized I couldn't remember how we attached the vertical parts of the shelves (the pieces that divide the closet). So, I called my dad, who also couldn't remember, so I had to send him a picture so he could say what he would do if he had to do it again.

The shelves

After we cleared everything out of the closet, including the old shelves, Dad marked the height for the new shelves on the wall (the shelves are 12 inches apart), and drew horizontal lines on the wall with one of these:

(image from Home Depot)

I have a tiny little 12-inch level. A big level is one of the things on my wish list. So is a nail gun.

So, we started by cutting 1x2s to the proper length and nailing these to the walls on two sides (the left and the back). Once we were ready with the vertical supports, we would nail another piece of 1x2 to the supports, then the 1x12s would sit on top of these braces. We used the drawn lines as guides - each horizontal brace was placed just under the line.

(notice the nail that didn't actually go into the brace? :-) )

The vertical support closest to the wall, was nailed to the horizontal braces that ran parallel to it (after Dad used a hand saw to cut a notch to go around the baseboard). Then we attached the horizontal braces, including the piece of 1x4 that ran across the top, and the second vertical piece of 1x4.

Then it was just a matter of cutting the 1x12s down to the proper length. Each of these was nailed into the horizontal braces, with the exception of the bottom shelf. That shelf currently blocks the access to the bathroom plumbing, so those shelves are just sitting on the braces, so they can easily be removed.

The very top shelf is the same one that was already there - we just replaced the horizontal braces. There is a piece of 1x2 on the left, and a piece of 1x4 on the right (because of the pegboard - I'll explain that in a second). This shelf also sits on top of the divider.

The rod

We added a piece of 1x4 horizontally to the right side of the vertical supports (for the hanging-space section of the closet). The closet rod is attached to that piece, and the one on the opposite wall (that is also supporting the top shelf).

We considered trying to re-use the rod that was already in there, but (1) we would have needed to borrow something to cut it down to size, (2) we would have needed some way to attach each end to the horizontal support pieces, and (3) this 2-foot rod was only $7.

The pegboard

The pegboard is my favorite part! Dad used the circular saw to cut it down to size (it was just a bit too wide to fit on the wall). We attached extra pieces of 1x2s to the back of the two sides - this helped to make sure that when it was attached to the board at the top, that it hung straight. Screw it in to the top support, and its ready to go.

Seriously, pegboard has to be one of the most versatile organization tools out there. Need proof? Check out this gift wrap organizer, or article from Real Simple (with ideas to organize your office, closet, and laundry room).

The light

I had assumed the light bulb was attached to the ceiling - instead it was just kind of sitting loose on the inside door frame. So, Dad screwed it in the wall above the frame. Initially, I wasn't crazy about the string hanging down, and thought about trying to find some way to pretty it up, but honestly, with the stuff on the shelves, its not even noticable.

The plumbing access door

Since we had enough extra pieces of 1x4, we also cut a rough frame for the access door, just to make that look a little nicer.

The finished product

I primed everything, then painted the walls blue (I wanted something bright) and the shelves and trim a basic white.

Then, it was just a matter of sorting, grouping, and putting everything away! The shelves are full, but very organized and everything is in a logical place - I love it! Plus, now there's room for my coats and vacuum cleaner, and the top shelf is nearly empty.

The very last step is to hang a curtain of some sort to hide things when I want to - but my original plan for that isn't quite working out and I haven't figured out yet what I want to do to fix it.

I'm still marking goal #8 as done!