Built In Closets #8: Installation Part I - Amateur mistake destroys weeks of work

You know what? After they are in place and in use, no one will EVER KNOW about what it took to get them there. You are not the first one to have to make a “minor alteration” to an original plan. Adapting is part of the game. They look great! I am sure they will be much appreciated as well.

-- Steve - Impatience is Expensive

I made the same mistake years ago with a built in tall cabinet for our bathroom…it just would not fit through the hallway doors and around the corners. I ended up renting a scissors lift for about $50 for a few hours and had to raise the cabinet in through the 2nd story window. Worked out well except for my ego bruising and an additional $50 for the rental. Live and Learn.

-- Every step of any project should be considered your masterpiece if you want the finished product to reflect the quality of your work. http://www.FineArtBoxes.com

Try not to be too hard on yourself; I’m sure many of us (including myself!) have done this. I’m in the midst of basement renos, and many times I have carefully measured boards, carefully cut, and then brought them back downstairs to find they don’t fit. My wife has just learned to ignore the stream of cursing coming from the basement…

-- Rob, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

I’ve never made a mistake just once….
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and, if I were just a little more humble, I’d be perfect….
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Careful with those knitting needles, I stabbed myself once and it really hurt!
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...so I took up woodworking instead…. ;-)

-- “Once more unto the breach, dear friends...” Henry V - Act III, Scene I

a good woodworker knows how to move beyond an “oops” and make it work.
I’m impressed!! Well done.

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

i feel with ya, i had to dismantle a cabinet and shorten it to fit it in my newly insulated workshop.
lucky for us that biscuit joints are so incredibly weak and come apart with a few mallet hits.

We all make mistakes, the best are those who fix theirs.

good thinking.

I spent years in drywall learning what I needed so when I started woodworking I could modify the house to fit what I build to put in it.

I’ve not built anything as large as those and I just know someday I will. I am also sure that after learning from other people’s mistakes, I’ll have to learn from their work-arounds too.

But I can swear all on my own.

I think they turned out great, and as noted – NO ONE will know the difference.

-- There are many tempting parking places on the road to success

I’ve got this very fear for the built-in bed project I’m currently working on. I’m going to assemble it in the room (I know it won’t fit assembled) but I’m worried that the large panels are just not going to fit around some corner or another.

I like the idea of a scissors lift, though! :-)

Shawn,

That hurts! I’ve been working on a closet also and am hoping that after six months of work, my measurements are correct. It’s in three parts and they are all too big for me to carry in and out of the house for fitting. I’m on the home stretch now, but we have to move the bedroom doorway to install them where I want them.

I’ve made some pretty bad measuring errors in the past and am nervous about a repeat! I hope if I have made a mistake, I’ll be able to make as good a recovery as you did!

L/W

-- Jesus is the ONLY reason for ANY season.

I made a similar boo boo with a book case. A valuable lesson. I don’t know the highest size that will fit my house, but I learned to make everything about a foot shorter. A good height for my low ceiling workshop too. Your project turned out just fine. If you don’t tell on yourself, no one will know and you’ve got a great closet out of it.
Vicki

-- Vicki on the Eastern Shore of MD

I hope you’re not offended by this but I’m really glad this happens to other people too. After all these years I’m starting to get the message I take a lot of measurements now particularly in entrances. Can you believe I’ve actually removed double glazed window panels to get into a room. Honest!
Great job though
Best regards
Trevor

-- God created wood that we may create. Trevor East Yorkshire UK