Sunday, January 22, 2012

Progess: Hall Closet

I recently discovered Of Monsters and Men, and all I can say is how sad it is that their album only has four songs. This song, "Little Talks," was on repeat on several nights while working on this project.


Here's what I've learned about being a DIYer...things take A LOT longer than you think! Take the hall closet that we have been working on. After drawing it out on paper, and seeing what a simple design it was, I really figured it would be a weekend project. It seemed so easy: a few pieces of wood, some straight cuts, a little paint, and some screws. Wrong. The process is tedious. Case in point, measuring. Measurements are usually a little off, which requires extra cuts. Also, paint, there is a significant amount of wait time between coats. Don't get me started on wood putty! All those nails and nicks need to be concealed, and wood putty needs to dry, not to mention be sanded down and then painted over twice. 

I really wanted to write this post once the closet was all done, but it's been so long, I wanted to give everyone an update. It's 90% complete, so that's not too bad.

Here's the closet we are talking about. This is an early shot, before floors or paint. We actually built this closet by moving the hallway wall up two feet in to the living room. 


Here's an after shot. No trim or doors yet! We wanted to wait to install those till after we were done with the built-ins.


Keeping in line with the rest of the wood in our house, we painted some 1x2s in a glossy white...


And cut them to size. These babies will hold the shelves in the closet...
 

Next up, a very important step, was measuring the distance between each shelf and using a level to draw out where we were going to attach the 1x2s....


We used a nail gun and then concealed the nails with wood putty, which we then let dry and sanded down...


After all that, here is what we've got...


It wasn't until after we attached all the 1x2s that we got our Kreg Jig (read about it here,) but thankfully our kit came with a portable jig, so we used it to create pocket holes at the ends of the 1x2s that are along the wall...


We then used the pocket holes to attach a 16 foot wide piece of plywoodEssentially, we created a wall at the center of the closet. The reason the shelves do not extend all the way is because for one, the closet is almost 10 feet wide, and these babies would dip, and secondly, since this is a custom closet, we decided that we didn't want shelves on both sides. We needed space to hang some coats and room for the vacuum, ironing board, and so on.


Again, we attached 1x2s to support the shelves...


Lastly, we added the shelves. The first three rows of shelves are also made of 16 foot wide pieces of plywood which Home Depot, or Loews, do not carry. We had to by from a specialty lumber yard.


On the other side, we set up the closet a little bit different to accommodate some coats, wet suits, and dresses.


Lastly it was time to caulk and paint. It is amazing what a difference caulking makes! Take these before and after shots:

   
























We also used Floetrol when we painted. An ingenious solution to brush strokes and roller marks. It's a conditioner for paint that allows it to dry nice and smooth. Perfect for closets or cabinets.


When all was said and done, it took us three weeks to complete, but it was worth it. We have more than enough space to store all our junk.



The above picture is our linen closet, as well as a storage place for our boat supplies and anything else that finds it way in here. I am not too worried,  I'm sure we will fill it up. 

Still no baseboard or trim on the walls....soon, very soon. It just bugs me looking at this picture on not having those installed!





On the other side, we have space for coats on the right (we haven't hung the chrome rod yet) and on the left we made room for an ironing board, a vacuum and a broom. Above that are baskets for, well, junk, and of course more shelving! 

We are in the midst of tackling our bedroom closets! Update soon. 

P.S.- How awesome was that song? Did you want to dance around as much as I did?


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