A built-in closet is a great way to improve yourhome. It takes a bit of time to complete a project, but the processis not hard. This guide and the mini-guides linked within willexplain what's involved. Let take a look.

Design the Closet

Starting with a good design is the most crucial aspect of theprocess. A closet must be designed properly in order to delight itsusers. Great craftsmanship cannot compensate for shelves just outof reach, narrow access, or improperly spaced drawers.

The Closet Design

Built-in closets are large and heavy things.Building face frames for closets is significantly harder than it isto build a frame for a cabinet. There are lots of places errors canhappen. Let's take a look at what our options are.

The Anatomy of a Face-Frame

The face frame is a built from individual pieces of stock joinedwith pocket screws and glue. It is imperative that all pieces arestraight, have a uniform width, and square ends. Imperfections willresult in an uneven reveal around the closet's opening, out ofsquare c

Assembling the closet takes three separateoperations: installing the base frame, assembling the individualunits, and installing the units.

Installing the Base

The platform frame the closet units rest on is built fromdimensional lumber. The joints are reinforced with glue and screws.Since there is little dynamic load on the frame, simple joints areall that's needed.

The separate frame is an essential part during assembly. Floorsin residential homes are never truly flat and level. A separateframe i

The attic access in my home does not come with abuilt in attic ladder. It's located in a closet. Every time need towork in the attic, I have to empty the closet to protect itscontent from the lose insulation the attic, and carry a step ladderinto the room. Climbing into the attic is a bit of an athleticundertaking. Enough is enough. It's time to install an atticladder. Let's take a look at what it takes to get this done.

Proper sizing

Two measurements are important when installing an attic ladder.The ladder's width an

I recently decided to replace a couple ofclosets in my house with new, built-in units. The existing closetswere not very usable. Each had only one rod, a sagging shelf, andno drawer space whatsoever. The new units will ultimately have 2-3xthe storage space of the old closets, look much better, and makethe users very happy.

Little did I know when I started the project that designing agood closet is hard. A lot of considerations go into the design ofa usable closet. Let's examine what it takes to design a trulygreat closet.

Poor attic ventilation can be the cause of manyproblems in your home. In my house poor ventilation caused theattic to get very hot in the summer. In the evening the heattrapped in the attic kept the rest of the house warm well into thenight. During the dog days of summer it was difficult to sleep. Tomake matters worse, the moisture trapped in the air caused mold togrow on the underside of the roof sheeting.

The proper fix for this problem would be to install proper ridgeventing (passive venting). Active venting (a motorized fan) i

Building drawers begins with building the box.The box consists of the front, the back, two sides, and thebottom.

The bottom is usually made from thinner material than the otherpieces. We chose to use the same material for all components of thedrawer to simplify material management.

The pieces that form the walls of the box are joined togetherusing one of many joint styles.

Simple butt joints are found on budget drawers. High end drawerstypically use dovetail joints. Rabbets are typically

Every woodwork dreams of building his ownkitchen. I am no exception. While I did not get to work on myactual kitchen yet, I recently complete a kitchenette in my laundryroom. This project helped me build confidence.

Getting the job done is not hard, but requires a lot of time. Tohelp the members of Hingmy, I have written tutorials for each oneof the steps. These threads should give you a good idea of what'sinvolved.

1) Build upper cabinets

• Cabinet calculator

The cheapest and fastest to install countertopis a laminated countertop. These countertops are a reasonablealternative to higher quality options like granite or tile. Maybeyou'd like something nicer in your kitchen, but in a laundry roomlaminate will often be a good option. Available at most homecenters, a laminate countertop can be installed in afternoon. Let'stake a look at what it takes.

Cutting to length

Pre-made countertops can be cut with a circular saw or a tracksaw. A high quality blade will leave no chip out.

Base cabinets, while similar to wall cabinets,require a few special considerations. Chief among them is thedecision how to build the back of the cabinet. Most economicalminded cabinet shops opt for an open back instead of a solid one.This saves material. Let's take a look at how these cabinets arebuilt.

Material saving construction

The back and the top of the cabinet are formed with 4" widestrips rather than solid pieces of wood. While this results in aplenty strong cabinet, the wall and the underside of the coun