DIY

How to build your own DIY closet

Closets, or cabinets, are obviously available in all shapes and sizes, but you can also build your own DIY closet. And while it may be a piece of cake for you to build a simple bookcase, building a custom wardrobe with sliding doors or a chest of drawers may well require a lot more from you.

Although the difficulty differs a lot, all closets have something in common: they are usually made of wood. Making a closet is an art of woodwork. To do this kind of work you will need the following tools and materials:

Required tools and materials for a DIY closet

Other tools that may be necessary:

Steps

Not only does making a DIY closet require skilfulness, but also to think clearly about preparing and organizing things well. Following these steps might come in handy.

Inspiration

Would you like a neat, functional closet or a classic-look made of a beautiful type of wood? What are the best hinges and locks for your project? Which layout is the most useful? You can get many new ideas by looking around in furniture stores or on the internet.

Making the design

If you have decided how the closet will look like, you then need to make a detailed design. Draw all dimensions accurately on scale and make your design as complete as possible. Where do you want to drill the screw holes? What will be the height of the handles? All these details should be included in the construction drawing. A good design – using a drawing program or graph paper – is the basis for the purchase of materials and is a guide for building your DIY closet.

Tip: We recommend searching on the internet to see some examples of construction drawings.

And here’s another tip, especially for fitted wardrobes: Would you like the DIY closet to reach up to the ceiling, or a closet that fits between two walls? In that case, please measure and see if the distance between the floor and the ceiling is equal and if the walls have straight angles. To do so, you can measure the dimensions in different spots.

Choosing the material

The different types of wood each have their own character. Not only in appearance but also in strength, moisture resistance and processability. Moreover, they all come in different standard dimensions. A few possibilities:

  • Chipboard, MDF and plywood are relatively cheap and easy to saw and screw. You need to prime MDF first in order to prevent warping. A disadvantage of these materials is that they are not very resistant against moisture and are therefore less suitable for the kitchen or bathroom. In those places it is best to use Plywood Exterior, a special outdoor plywood.
  • Pine woods are easy to work with and they have a beautiful, natural look. Some types of pine are slightly darker and need more drawing and larger brushes. It’s also firmer and is often used as construction timber.
  • Scaffolding wood and pallet wood. Whether sandpapered and stained or not, this recycled wood is an original and atmospheric material for making closets.
  • And there are all sorts of more expensive types of wood suited to each person’s taste, from oak and birch to walnut veneer.

Making the wood state

‘Wood state’ is the professional term for your shopping list. Apart from the necessary plate and shelf material, you will also need to make note of all the other items you need, including screws, wood glue, hinges and locks. Consider the standard formats of the wood you want to purchase to prevent unnecessary waste.

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Preparation

The better your preparation, the faster and the more smooth it will be to put your DIY closet together. The preparation begins with treating the material, for example by sandpapering raw wood or by priming MDF.

Then saw all materials using the correct dimensions and do as much drilling as possible. Prepare all work materials and assembly materials and check the construction drawing to see if something is missing. It is annoying to go back to the hardware store because you forgot something.

Assembling the DIY closet

Now is the time to put the DIY closet together and to assemble the various elements. Best is to use a cordless drill because it allows you to reach all spots more easily. Your construction will be stronger if you use screws and also wood glue. Use glue clamps to allow the glue to dry while pressured.

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Mounting shelves

Mark the bore-hole at the desired height on the inside of the closet before mounting the shelves. Please make sure the holes are equally positioned from the side of the closet and that they are perfectly level. The drilling depth is up to half the length of the carriers.

You can also screw the shelves through the outside of the closet. In that case please increase the size of the holes a little by using a head sink, so that the screw heads disappear into the wood. Often times the middle shelf is also glued for extra strength.

Mounting drawers

There are different ways to mount drawers. The easiest is to use sliding slats. Using runners and drawer rails require a bit more work. When using slats, the drawers between sliding slats must be kept in place. To do so, measure the height of the drawer and take two millimetres space. Mark that spot in the closet level and attach the slat with screws and glue. Apart from a simple installation, this system has another big advantage, namely that you do not waste space since the drawer makes full use of the available space.

When using the system with sliders, a slat is attached to the side of the drawer between two sliding slats. Add two millimetres to the width of the slider to have some space, and attach both sliding slats level. Optionally, you can inject the sliding slats with teflon spray for smoothness.

Finally, there is also the system with steel drawer rails. This brings the smoothest result because the drawer runs on a track with wheels. To install the guides you need to mount the drawer guide with the wheel at the back against the bottom and side of your drawer. After that you mount the other half of the rail set level at the desired height inside your DIY closet, with the wheel at the front. Keep the drawer slightly diagonal so that you can place it in the closet.

Revolving doors

After you have sawn the doors, mark the position of the hinges. It is best to use three hinges for each door: top, middle and bottom. First screw the hinges only in the middle hole for easier assembly.

Then mark the correct height of the hinges on the closet. You can do this by positioning the door at the correct height against the closet and by marking the position of the hinges. Here you must also first attach the middle screw. The other screws are attached only when aligning the doors. Finally you assemble the handles and any magnet closures in the pre-drilled spots.

Sliding doors

It is important to measure different spots when building floor-to-ceiling built-in closets. If the deviation is greater than about 1.5 cm, you can make a correction by using a sloping hackneyed filling slat.

For ordinary fitted wardrobes you install the rails directly on the ceiling using plugs and screws. After the head rail is attached, you will assemble the bottom rail using a plumb or a level. Before you start hanging the doors, you put the rollers of the bottom rail on the highest setting so that you have as much space as possible to install the door. Lock the sliding wall. This can be done easily with a pen or nail. Then slide the door into the head rail, starting at the rear rail. Remove the pen or nail and allow the door to sink into the bottom rail. Finally you assemble the doors using adjustment bolts on the bottom rollers.

Of course there is much more to discuss regarding this subject. In the future we will certainly talk more about this topic. The Klium blog is a great source of tips and information that is growing by the week.

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