Replacing the closet

Rennie Heuer

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Constantine, MI
In a stroke of genius about 15 years ago we decided to remove the closet in our smallest bedroom and turn it into a den. Now, as we ready the house for sale, the wisdom of that choice becomes evident, hence the replacement.

I could just bang up a 2x4 wall, slap up some Sheetrock and a sliding door, but that would not be in keeping with the rest of the house, nearly every room has some form of custom built in.

Here is the space that was once occupied by the closet.
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And the plan for the replacement
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I decided to build it from pre finished maple ply. This saves a lot of time on the interior finishing. The face frame, drawers and door frames will be painted maple with mdf panels and there will be a frame and panel end, painted as well. Around here the pre finished ply is only about $15 more than the better quality ply available from Lowe's. The pre finished are also larger by 1/2" on each dimension.

First job is to move everything around in the shop to accommodate the cutting of the large panels. That means calling the router table into service as an out feed support as well as the workbench. Note the aux fence clamped the the bench. This helps keep the cut straight until I can get more bearing on the ts fence.

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Running over to woodcraft today to pick up some plywood screws so I can assemble the box later this week.
 
I will be watching this with interest. I too find traditional closets to be more junk gathering space than actual clothing holders. Besides, I would rather look at a nice armoire than a pair of sliding doors anyway. Cool tip on the auxiliary stabilizer to help guide the long panels.
 
:lurk:

I've kind of wanted to do a set of built ins for our closet since we moved to this house (~9 years ago.. hah) but haven't gotten motivated thus far. Will be interesting to see what you do here for ideas..
 
Over the past few days I managed to complete the box and then got it installed this morning. Boy is this thing heavy! Had to set it up on the base two or three times to make sure everything fit well. For the sharp-eyed among you, yes the wall on the left is out of plum by nearly 7/16 of an inch.

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Well, I was so proud of myself. I got the face frame together, scribed it and got a good fit, sanded it all down and painted. Looked great. Except.... There was this nagging feeling that I had forgotten something....

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Doh! I forgot to put the rail in between the drawers! Excuse me for a few minutes, I need to go bang my head against a wall. I think something might have come loose up there.
 
While I am sure this will look nice, is this going to be permanently affixed, or is this effectively a wardrobe/antique portable closet?
What did the real estate agent say, PRIOR to doing this, or did you seek advice?
I ask, because you might have been financially ahead to do the studs and drywall thing, over a wardrobe.
 
It will be a permanent fixture. I did check with my agent, a close friend, and explained what I wanted to do. He agreed that it was going to be more money, however, I have built-ins in most of the other rooms which adds to both the charm and value of the home. Yes, I might have been ahead a few bucks going with the studs and drywall, but the strategy is to sell fast at a good price by offering a higher perceived value - the built in provides that.

Well, at least that's the theory! :rofl:
 
I picked up all of the poplar I will need for the drawer boxes, drawer fronts and face frames. Amazing how much lumber those things can take!
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Hey Ryan, I've heard that song, it's a poplar tune.

Got the joinery done for the drawer boxes. Nothing fancy. These are large drawers, inside dimensions are 41" wide, 20" deep, and 7" high. I would normally use 1/4" ply for the bottom, but for these I think I might go to 3/8" or 1/2".
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