# Built In Closets



## SPHinTampa (Apr 23, 2008)

*Getting Started - I hate wire shelves*

Recently the wire shelves in our closets have started to fall down due to overloading. A normal person might have given away some cloths and re mounted the shelves. An aspiring lumber jock, however, will recognize a chance to rip out everything and rebuild from scratch.










So I decided to the take the lessons learned and the designs from my previous closet project and scale it up to a room that is nearly three times the size










Basic design is 6 towers and 4 sets of shelves. Each tower consists of four plywood panels (left, right, top and bottom), three shelves (top, middle, bottom), a toe kick across base and a mounting strip/shelf support under each shelf. Shelves are biscuit joined and pocket screwed.










Plywood box will be strengthened with a solid woodface frame and then mounted directly to wall using 3" cabinet screws thru mounting strip into wall studs. Space between towers will be filled with floating shelves, supported by 1/4" dowels in holes drilled into panel sides. Face frame is biscuit joined. All maple stock.

I do not use sketch up for design - I used power point to make a scale drawing. And then built a story stick to mark the shelf, support and pin locations. Then used it to place the biscuit locations for both the towers and the face frames. A plywood story stick (avoids warping) was a good idea in the 16th century and hasn't required improvement since then.



















Part 2 - Cutting up all the wood


----------



## DerekL (Aug 18, 2008)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Getting Started - I hate wire shelves*
> 
> Recently the wire shelves in our closets have started to fall down due to overloading. A normal person might have given away some cloths and re mounted the shelves. An aspiring lumber jock, however, will recognize a chance to rip out everything and rebuild from scratch.
> 
> ...


"An aspiring lumber jock, however, will recognize a chance to rip out everything and rebuild from scratch."

Spot on!


----------



## Magnum (Feb 5, 2010)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Getting Started - I hate wire shelves*
> 
> Recently the wire shelves in our closets have started to fall down due to overloading. A normal person might have given away some cloths and re mounted the shelves. An aspiring lumber jock, however, will recognize a chance to rip out everything and rebuild from scratch.
> 
> ...


Shawn:

I'm trying to figure out which words go with which picture. The picture with the White Columns behind a tower….Do the words ABOVE the picture apply to that picture?

Also the "Story Stick" I've never used one before. I THINK I can see HOW they are used. (the height/location of various components?) how do they avoid warping?

Sorry for the confusion on my part.


----------



## SPHinTampa (Apr 23, 2008)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Getting Started - I hate wire shelves*
> 
> Recently the wire shelves in our closets have started to fall down due to overloading. A normal person might have given away some cloths and re mounted the shelves. An aspiring lumber jock, however, will recognize a chance to rip out everything and rebuild from scratch.
> 
> ...


Sorry for the confusion … I tried to show a couple of pictures of the tower. The first picture is intended to show the room prior to installation. The second picture is an example of what I am trying to achieve based on a prior project.

The third picture (the one with the white columns) shows what an assembled tower looks like so people can see the basic construction (two sides/three shelves/toe kick and three shelf braces).

The last two pictures were the best I could do to show the story stick.

The story stick is a just what you have described … a stick with the project dimensions measured and labeled on it. I use plywood to make mine because I find that plywood warps less than a ripped piece of stock, which can bow over time. Story sticks are not more accurate necessarily, but they are more consistent. You measure once, double and triple check, mark it and re use the same measurement over and over again.


----------



## Magnum (Feb 5, 2010)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Getting Started - I hate wire shelves*
> 
> Recently the wire shelves in our closets have started to fall down due to overloading. A normal person might have given away some cloths and re mounted the shelves. An aspiring lumber jock, however, will recognize a chance to rip out everything and rebuild from scratch.
> 
> ...


Thanks Shawn. Look forward to watching your Progress in Your Blog.

Rick


----------



## SPHinTampa (Apr 23, 2008)

*Making the pieces*

I ordered 5 sheets of 3/4" maple ply from Tampa Intercity Lumber (if you are in the area, they are very helpful and carry nice stock). Until recently I did not have a decent table saw (more on that later), so rented shop time from Intercity Lumber and cut down the panels to 15" widths before loading into my Avalanche and heading home.

Here are the cut down panels










For the face frames, I also purchased 32 bd ft of 1×8" maple, which I then cut down into 1×2.25". The router profile did not look good on regular 1×2 stock.

Here is the profile










Although I have a planer and joiner, as well as several hand planes, I find 8 ft lengths difficult to dimension from rough stock and I made the judgment that the time saved from stock prep could be used elsewhere on the project. Ripped using my RAS - which can be done safely if the saw is tuned and you have an anti kickback system.

I did use the planes to clean up the ripped stock.









I also had some nice maple stock left over for a future project.










Made a test block (see the profile picture above) and then routed the face frames in three passes on my router table. Used feather boards to both hold down the stock and hold it against the bit. Made a mistake on the first couple of pieces by not cleaning up the edge before routing, thought that running against the fence rather than the bearing would be enough. Made for an ugly profile in a couple of places. Adjusted height for last pass against the test block to ensure I got the result I was looking for. Even with three passes and reduced router bit speed, I still got some tear out. Raised the bit 1/64" to get rid of the worst and had to sand out the rest.

Marked out my side panels clearly to ensure I cut the proper pattern in them.










I cross cut down the panel lengths to create the shelves using the radial arm saw. 1/8" shallow scoring cut, followed by through cut almost entirely eliminated splintering.

I then cut the biscuit joints and drilled the pocket screws for panels.

Biscuiting the panel









Biscuiting the edge









Drilled pocket screws between biscuit slots. Tried el cheapo jig to start, got bad results. So I bought an older Kreg K2 jig and it works awesome. Lesson learned (over and over again) - cheap tools are not worth it. By the time you are good enough to make a cheap tool work, you can have saved up the money (from time lost and stock screwed up) for a good tool.

Cut shelf brackets and toe kicks on RAS as well. Used Kreg jig to drill in pocket screws for joinery.










Used 150 grit sand paper to clean up panels and used 1" blue tape to cover glue areas.

Here is the last step in creating all the pieces


----------



## Howie (May 25, 2010)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Making the pieces*
> 
> I ordered 5 sheets of 3/4" maple ply from Tampa Intercity Lumber (if you are in the area, they are very helpful and carry nice stock). Until recently I did not have a decent table saw (more on that later), so rented shop time from Intercity Lumber and cut down the panels to 15" widths before loading into my Avalanche and heading home.
> 
> ...


Taking shape real nice. BTW I live in Seffner and go to Intercity also. Keep the progress coming.


----------



## SPHinTampa (Apr 23, 2008)

*Face Frames*

I forgot to cover cutting the biscuits for the face frames in the last blog entry. So here we go. Using story stick, I marked the biscuit centers on the face frame styles. And I marked the center of one rail to set up the jig. Then I used a biscuiting jig that I built using plans from Wood Magazine to cut the FF sized biscuit joints for the face frames.



















Lesson Learned … make sure you have adequate space to cut joinery when you route a profile into a face frame … in a couple of places, the biscuit is at risk of showing.










I then finished the face frames using the Veritas moulding sanding blocks (cheap and really helpful). In retrospect, I should have finished first and then cut joinery because I could have conceivably interfered with biscuit slot depths. However, I find biscuits forgiving (or sloppy if you prefer).










I used a block plane and goose neck scrapers to help take care of the worst tear out on face frames. I am amazed by how much you can clean up mistakes with router "snipe" and tear our using the profile sanding blocks and 100 grit sandpaper but I do not enjoy the elbow grease required to do so.










Now that we have face frames sanded to 180 grit, a few Bessey Clamps are needed to glue them up.










Since I am planning to nail the face frames into place, I did not prefinish the frames so I could putty them.

I am interested in anyone's experience with this
... should I try to just glue and clamp onto frame?
... should I finish, nail, putty and touch up just the holes?
... any other approaches?

Next steps … tower sub assemblies.


----------



## SPHinTampa (Apr 23, 2008)

*Brief break for a tool gloat - sometimes good things happen to bad people*

I am writing this as a separate entry in case people do not like gloats.

I am very thankful that I met up with a craftsman in Tampa that was retiring. I saw an ad in Craigslist, by chance, with shop tools for sale. The gentleman had a tablesaw listed at $400.










When I called him, he told me it was a 10" Jet Cabinet saw and it was running fine. I begged him not to sell until I had a chance to get down there and look at it. He agreed to wait (8 people called while we were loading it).

When I got there, sure enough it was a 3HP JTAS-10-1 in very good shape including the fence system.









He threw in 4 blades, including 2 forrest workworkers. I confirmed that he knew that this saw was worth a quite a bit when new and then agreed to his price.










He helped me load into the back of the Avalanche - very, very heavy - now I finally own a decent tablesaw.

No more ripping on the radial arm saw for me.

Thank you Jerry, I hope you enjoy your retirement. I will put your saw to good use.


----------



## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Brief break for a tool gloat - sometimes good things happen to bad people*
> 
> I am writing this as a separate entry in case people do not like gloats.
> 
> ...


lucky!


----------



## rivergirl (Aug 18, 2010)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Brief break for a tool gloat - sometimes good things happen to bad people*
> 
> I am writing this as a separate entry in case people do not like gloats.
> 
> ...


whooo hoooo! Hooray for your good luck. And I bet you aren't even a "bad person. "


----------



## longgone (May 5, 2009)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Brief break for a tool gloat - sometimes good things happen to bad people*
> 
> I am writing this as a separate entry in case people do not like gloats.
> 
> ...


Congratulations on your great find. An excellent saw at a fantastic price…I am still looking for my great deal on craigslist. Have not fond it yet. One of these days….


----------



## GaryD (Mar 5, 2009)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Brief break for a tool gloat - sometimes good things happen to bad people*
> 
> I am writing this as a separate entry in case people do not like gloats.
> 
> ...


Congrats, nice find


----------



## JonathanG (Jan 18, 2010)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Brief break for a tool gloat - sometimes good things happen to bad people*
> 
> I am writing this as a separate entry in case people do not like gloats.
> 
> ...


Wow, definitely a score (albeit, a heavy one)!

Chalk another one up for Craigslist.

Maybe I'm putting the cart before the horse here (meaning that a thread already exists on this topic), but I've been thinking about starting a thread on my own Craigslist tool acquisitions. If nothing else, it'd give everyone a baseline that is either looking to buy or sell a particular tool on Craigslist. Guess I'll go do that now.

Again, great find!


----------



## Lochlainn1066 (Oct 18, 2010)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Brief break for a tool gloat - sometimes good things happen to bad people*
> 
> I am writing this as a separate entry in case people do not like gloats.
> 
> ...


Great deal. Congrats!


----------



## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Brief break for a tool gloat - sometimes good things happen to bad people*
> 
> I am writing this as a separate entry in case people do not like gloats.
> 
> ...


yeah, use it up ) Congrats!!


----------



## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Brief break for a tool gloat - sometimes good things happen to bad people*
> 
> I am writing this as a separate entry in case people do not like gloats.
> 
> ...


Congrats on a nice score.


----------



## SPHinTampa (Apr 23, 2008)

*Pre Finishing and Sub Assembly*

Having the bulk of pieces, cut and sanded, I elected to tape and pre finish most of the components.

Finishing large projects is a huge challenge for me as I work in a 3 car garage and can not easily spray stuff. Since I was finishing many large panels, I decided to try applying the clear coat with a floor roller. Since I like their other products, I decided to use a Zinsser water based poly. It worked as well as brushing does, however, the coats go on thick and you need to watch the roller to ensure even coverage. I used the specialty foam roller to apply (not the big thick ones, just 1/8" hard foam over cardboard tube)










Having put three coats on each component, I was ready to start assembling the pieces with biscuits and pocket screws. I attached the shelves to the shelf supports for top and middle shelves and put both the shelf support and toekick on the bottom shelves.










A little lesson learned during dry fitting. Both fine and coarse pocket screws push up enough material to cause a "dimple" on the surface. I had to drill, separate, sand off dimple and then go with a final glue and screw.

Another advantage of the sub assemblies is that they stand on their own, which made to process of attaching them to the tower side panels easier.



















Once I had the shelves in place, could attach the second panel, checking for square at each step, to create the basic towers (rear view)










As you can see my garage gets quite full.

Next Step is to attach the face frames …

But now is the time to take my most important project to play in her first orchestra


----------



## DrPain (Sep 2, 2009)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Pre Finishing and Sub Assembly*
> 
> Having the bulk of pieces, cut and sanded, I elected to tape and pre finish most of the components.
> 
> ...


Interesting!


----------



## bigfish_95008 (Nov 26, 2009)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Pre Finishing and Sub Assembly*
> 
> Having the bulk of pieces, cut and sanded, I elected to tape and pre finish most of the components.
> 
> ...


2 very nice looking projects. Beautiful music where ever you go. Tools singing and daughter playing.


----------



## SPHinTampa (Apr 23, 2008)

*Face Frames*

Final step is to attach and finish face frames. I may have already covered this but here is the face frame glue up.










Dry fit with clamps to make sure everything lines up.










Lessons Learned … do not store your framing materials like this:










A warped face frame is difficult to fix, no matter how are you nail it, clamp it and glue it.

See my shame below:










Next step was to set up tower on saw horses ($22 for metal saw horses that fold up at Lowe's - I really like them) and use my little black and decker compressor/18g nail gun to glue and nail face frame onto casing.










I use the shop light at the end as a "raking light" to make sure I can spot any scratches in the face frames so I can catch them during the final sanding.

I used wood putty to fill holes and used it cover up my mistake at cutting biscuits into face frames (see blog #3). The putty looks fine now but I am guessing it will separate due to wood movement over time and look not so good. Here is how my cover up looks:










Final sanding to remove excess putty from nail holes and then finished using min wax spray poly … which is a lot cheaper at Walmart than Home Depot.

Also built a jig to pre drill screws for closet rods. The cut out fits around the shelf support brackets.










And slowly the complete units begin to stack up in the living room "staging area". First a few:










And now more:










One of the reasons that I keep stretching myself on projects well beyond my skill level is that my girls continue to be very supportive. My daughter couldn't wait to give me this sign that she picked out at the fair - she spent a lot of time picking out the specific tools on it:


----------



## dub560 (Jun 4, 2010)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Face Frames*
> 
> Final step is to attach and finish face frames. I may have already covered this but here is the face frame glue up.
> 
> ...


Looking good there my brotha


----------



## sramiro (Oct 15, 2010)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Face Frames*
> 
> Final step is to attach and finish face frames. I may have already covered this but here is the face frame glue up.
> 
> ...


Hello, im looking forward to see the next chapter, I going to do a very similar project, so Im following yours as a guide, thanks and keep on showing pictures and explanations.


----------



## SPHinTampa (Apr 23, 2008)

*Getting the room ready - demo, patch, paint *

Now that the towers are built, I am ready to fix up the closet.

First of all get everything out and pile it all over the house:










Then pull out the remaining wire shelves










These things leave a nasty hole when extracted










All done










Remove baseboards using prybar and try to avoid leaving holes likes these. I usually put a metal putty knife against wall where I insert prybar and this is why:










After a quick trip to Lowe's to buy a patching kit.

Patch the holes using light spackle followed by spray texture (not shown)










Kidnap one of your daughter's friends to cut in edges while you roll on the paint










And done (so close … )


----------



## FatherHooligan (Mar 27, 2008)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Getting the room ready - demo, patch, paint *
> 
> Now that the towers are built, I am ready to fix up the closet.
> 
> ...


Looking good…


----------



## nailbanger2 (Oct 17, 2009)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Getting the room ready - demo, patch, paint *
> 
> Now that the towers are built, I am ready to fix up the closet.
> 
> ...


Shawn, next time you do something similar (like you ever want to do it again), just dimple the anchors into the drywall with a hammer. Much easier to finish, and no mesh tape.


----------



## SPHinTampa (Apr 23, 2008)

*Installation Part I - Amateur mistake destroys weeks of work*

Installation was not a pleasant experience. I made a mistake so dumb it makes me wonder if I should just put my workshop on Craigslist and take up knitting.

I had the closet units completed assembled, finished with face frames attached.










These units need to brought into the bedroom, brought into a hallway, lifted and tilted in.










I drew out the dimensions in advance to ensure I could get the unit in. My drawing were wrong. The d*#n units can not be tilted in, they are too big. I did not realize my daughter had brought friends home and I embarrassed her by cursing loudly in the bedroom. Not a good role model day.

I took a day of feeling sorry for myself and trying to figure out how to fix. I considered:
- cutting a section out of lintel (but I hate finish work and dry walling)
- cutting a section out of adjacent wall (ditto)
- burning everything and calling in real professional (where is Holmes when you need him)
- cutting cabinets into top and bottom components and rebuilding face frames in place

Finally I settled on trying to remove one side of the cabinets. I used a flush cut saw at face frame joints to cut them apart. I unscrewed the pocket screws. I scored along the edges where the shelf meets the sides. Finally, my amateur status helped me. My glue up was bad enough that I could separate the side wall with a rubber mallet and some anger without damaging the unit too badly and with biscuits intact.

Before









After









Now they fit










(wife gloat) Eat your heart out Tim Allen, I have the best looking shop assistant in town:










Reglue and re install pocket screws and the first unit is in the closet.










And the face frames only suck a little bit:


----------



## sras (Oct 31, 2009)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Installation Part I - Amateur mistake destroys weeks of work*
> 
> Installation was not a pleasant experience. I made a mistake so dumb it makes me wonder if I should just put my workshop on Craigslist and take up knitting.
> 
> ...


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.


----------



## longgone (May 5, 2009)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Installation Part I - Amateur mistake destroys weeks of work*
> 
> Installation was not a pleasant experience. I made a mistake so dumb it makes me wonder if I should just put my workshop on Craigslist and take up knitting.
> 
> ...


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.


----------



## Manitario (Jul 4, 2010)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Installation Part I - Amateur mistake destroys weeks of work*
> 
> Installation was not a pleasant experience. I made a mistake so dumb it makes me wonder if I should just put my workshop on Craigslist and take up knitting.
> 
> ...


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…


----------



## RonPeters (Jul 7, 2010)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Installation Part I - Amateur mistake destroys weeks of work*
> 
> Installation was not a pleasant experience. I made a mistake so dumb it makes me wonder if I should just put my workshop on Craigslist and take up knitting.
> 
> ...


I've never made a mistake just once….
.
.
and, if I were just a little more humble, I'd be perfect….
.

.
Careful with those knitting needles, I stabbed myself once and it really hurt!
.
.
...so I took up woodworking instead…. ;-)


----------



## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Installation Part I - Amateur mistake destroys weeks of work*
> 
> Installation was not a pleasant experience. I made a mistake so dumb it makes me wonder if I should just put my workshop on Craigslist and take up knitting.
> 
> ...


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


----------



## Greedo (Apr 18, 2010)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Installation Part I - Amateur mistake destroys weeks of work*
> 
> Installation was not a pleasant experience. I made a mistake so dumb it makes me wonder if I should just put my workshop on Craigslist and take up knitting.
> 
> ...


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.


----------



## lanwater (May 14, 2010)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Installation Part I - Amateur mistake destroys weeks of work*
> 
> Installation was not a pleasant experience. I made a mistake so dumb it makes me wonder if I should just put my workshop on Craigslist and take up knitting.
> 
> ...


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

good thinking.


----------



## rroades (Oct 16, 2008)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Installation Part I - Amateur mistake destroys weeks of work*
> 
> Installation was not a pleasant experience. I made a mistake so dumb it makes me wonder if I should just put my workshop on Craigslist and take up knitting.
> 
> ...


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.


----------



## DrPain (Sep 2, 2009)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Installation Part I - Amateur mistake destroys weeks of work*
> 
> Installation was not a pleasant experience. I made a mistake so dumb it makes me wonder if I should just put my workshop on Craigslist and take up knitting.
> 
> ...


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!


----------



## lightweightladylefty (Mar 27, 2008)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Installation Part I - Amateur mistake destroys weeks of work*
> 
> Installation was not a pleasant experience. I made a mistake so dumb it makes me wonder if I should just put my workshop on Craigslist and take up knitting.
> 
> ...


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


----------



## Blondewood (Mar 30, 2009)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Installation Part I - Amateur mistake destroys weeks of work*
> 
> Installation was not a pleasant experience. I made a mistake so dumb it makes me wonder if I should just put my workshop on Craigslist and take up knitting.
> 
> ...


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


----------



## tdv (Dec 29, 2009)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Installation Part I - Amateur mistake destroys weeks of work*
> 
> Installation was not a pleasant experience. I made a mistake so dumb it makes me wonder if I should just put my workshop on Craigslist and take up knitting.
> 
> ...


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


----------



## SPHinTampa (Apr 23, 2008)

*Installation Part 2 - Recovering from dumb mistakes*

As described in Part I of installation, I screwed up my measurements and was unable to fit the closet units thru the hallway. After a lot of agonizing, I decided to carefully "un assemble" one side on each unit. And it worked.

Now that the first unit has been put back together, I am feeling a lot better:










One of the benefits of this approach is that is made it easier to cut the holes in the unit sides that I needed to accommodate the various outlets in the corner. I should have cut the holes in side before assembling the first item.

The problem










The solution










Now the units are assembled in place and ready to be attached into final position










Using my stud finder, I marked out the locations of the studs against the back walls. Although I made the face frames 1/4" oversized with a slight back bevel to allow for scribing, I decided against attempting it. Although I understand the concept of how this should work, I was not confident enough in my abilities to try it. In addition, I am confused about how the shelves and the exposed sides would get scribed.

To attach the unit to the wall, I used 3" cabinet screws driven thru all three cross brace shelf supports and into the stud. You can see the braces in this picture










I tested the strength of the assembly by have all 215 lbs of me hanging from the top of the unit. Nothing moved, creaked or gave.

So they are now in place:



















Weeks to build, days to install, minutes to fill:










Next step … mirrors and shelves.


----------



## nailbanger2 (Oct 17, 2009)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Installation Part 2 - Recovering from dumb mistakes*
> 
> As described in Part I of installation, I screwed up my measurements and was unable to fit the closet units thru the hallway. After a lot of agonizing, I decided to carefully "un assemble" one side on each unit. And it worked.
> 
> ...


Looking good, Shawn. Makes for a happy wife, which is better than the alternative.


----------



## sras (Oct 31, 2009)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Installation Part 2 - Recovering from dumb mistakes*
> 
> As described in Part I of installation, I screwed up my measurements and was unable to fit the closet units thru the hallway. After a lot of agonizing, I decided to carefully "un assemble" one side on each unit. And it worked.
> 
> ...


Looks like as first rate install!


----------



## Hopdevil (Dec 13, 2009)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Installation Part 2 - Recovering from dumb mistakes*
> 
> As described in Part I of installation, I screwed up my measurements and was unable to fit the closet units thru the hallway. After a lot of agonizing, I decided to carefully "un assemble" one side on each unit. And it worked.
> 
> ...


Nicely done!


----------



## RonPeters (Jul 7, 2010)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Installation Part 2 - Recovering from dumb mistakes*
> 
> As described in Part I of installation, I screwed up my measurements and was unable to fit the closet units thru the hallway. After a lot of agonizing, I decided to carefully "un assemble" one side on each unit. And it worked.
> 
> ...


Happy wife, happy life!

Looks as if you need a bigger closet, or as my wife says fewer clothes…!

Beautiful job you did there….


----------



## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Installation Part 2 - Recovering from dumb mistakes*
> 
> As described in Part I of installation, I screwed up my measurements and was unable to fit the closet units thru the hallway. After a lot of agonizing, I decided to carefully "un assemble" one side on each unit. And it worked.
> 
> ...


Thats a lot of units.


----------



## SPHinTampa (Apr 23, 2008)

*Shelves*

Next step in this project is to add shelving between the towers which contain the closet rods.

Start with left over sheet stock










Glued 1/8" strips (ripped on portable table saw) to long side of the plywood










I used masking tape to "clamp" strip to board and put shelf face down on shop floor to use shelf weight to apply additional clamping pressure. Using random orbit sander, went from 180 grit then 220 grit on faces. Use plane to clean up strip overhang on the shelves and card scraper followed by 100 thru 220 grit sandpaper to finish shelf fronts. Cut the shelves to rough size using radial arm saw. I then finished them with three coats of water based poly.










I trimmed each shelf to fit individually using my portable table saw - haven't had time to get 220v run to the shop to use my cabinet saw. At least it is a short trip back and forth to table saw to trim down shelves.










By now, you are probably not shocked that I screwed up and accidentally trimmed the wrong side on the last shelf. I use some left over shelf strips to glue into the miscut and then I planed the strip material flush with the shelf face. This shelf went high and into the back where it will remain unseen (hopefully).










Dropped shelves into openings and the project is really starting to come together:


----------



## dub560 (Jun 4, 2010)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Shelves*
> 
> Next step in this project is to add shelving between the towers which contain the closet rods.
> 
> ...


wonderful..it looks great


----------



## tdv (Dec 29, 2009)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Shelves*
> 
> Next step in this project is to add shelving between the towers which contain the closet rods.
> 
> ...


Real nice job but ,did anyone ever tell you you have too many clothes ?
Seasons greetings
Trevor


----------



## SPHinTampa (Apr 23, 2008)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Shelves*
> 
> Next step in this project is to add shelving between the towers which contain the closet rods.
> 
> ...


Funny, my wife never seems to feel that we have too many.


----------



## HardWood (Jun 22, 2010)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Shelves*
> 
> Next step in this project is to add shelving between the towers which contain the closet rods.
> 
> ...


No closet beats a custom closet! Nice work!


----------



## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Shelves*
> 
> Next step in this project is to add shelving between the towers which contain the closet rods.
> 
> ...


That looks great.


----------



## SPHinTampa (Apr 23, 2008)

*Mirror, mirror on the wall*

Not sure that these are the fairest of them all but they did come out ok.

Used left over face frame material to make the mirror frames. Started out by routing a two tiered rabbet - the inner rabbit for the 1/8" mirror (next time I will leave the mirror slightly proud so backer applies some pressure) and the outer rabbet for the 1/8" masonite backer board.

Most of you probably know this, but this project really drove home the importance of feather boards in both directions (pushing down and pushing into the fence) for cutting nice looking profiles and clear rabbets. I rout in 1/8" increments followed by a final 1/64" clear up pass. Still requires the profile sanding blocks to get a smooth final finish.










Here is the final product










I then took a brief break to completely re arrange my shop to fit the new tablesaw purchase (these little side distractions always slow me down)










I then used the radial arm saw for miter cuts to length










And used band clamps to glue up. I also used bar clamps to keep miters from sliding out of square during glue up.










In order to reinforce the joints, I tried to cut thin kerf splines, based on work I saw at NW Fine woodworking. Cut the spline opening with a japanese pull saw.










I then used triangles of veneer. These are there to keep miters from separating but I think I should have used two cuts or deeper cuts. These added some strength but not as much as I had hoped (dropped one frame and it opened up but did not break as it would have without splines).










Cleaned up spines with a sanding block and finished the frames using 4 coats of mini wax spray poly.










Decided to reinforce corners with L brackets (no sense in risking 7 years of bad luck by mirror dropping out of frame).










I used masonite spacers to position mirror in the frame.










And then attached 1/8" masonite backer board. I did not cut the outer rabbet wide enough to use screws … another mistake. So i had to use short brads every 2" with a nail gun - angled away from the mirror. Glad that I got it all positioned right the first time or else the backer would have been rip and replace.










Installed OOK hardware (they are worth the premium price) about 1/3 of the length from the top.










And they are ready to be hung.










Next steps … trim and lighting.


----------



## Tim29 (Oct 10, 2009)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Mirror, mirror on the wall*
> 
> Not sure that these are the fairest of them all but they did come out ok.
> 
> ...


Nice work on the frames. They are not always the easiest things to make. Getting them straight so you dont wind up with funhouse mirrors is more of a challenge than one might suspect.


----------



## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

SPHinTampa said:


> *Mirror, mirror on the wall*
> 
> Not sure that these are the fairest of them all but they did come out ok.
> 
> ...


Nice progress.


----------

