96″ closet closet system plans

Parts

Cut list

Kerf 1/8″ included. Every cut runs edge to edge.

Steps

• Tape measure
• Speed square
• Pencil
• Drill/driver
• Clamps
• Safety glasses
• Hearing protection
• Dust mask
• Circular saw and a straight edge (or have the store cut the sheets)
• Hammer
• Stud finder
• Level
• Hacksaw or pipe cutter (for the steel rod)
• Sander, 120 and 180 grit

Underlined words have a short explanation: hover or tap them. All of them are on the glossary page.

1. 1Before you start

   Read every step once, start to finish, before you buy or cut anything. Each step names the parts it uses by letter; the parts list gives their sizes.

   Set up somewhere flat with good light. A pair of sawhorses with a sheet of plywood on top makes a fine work table.

   Wear safety glasses whenever a tool is running, hearing protection for saws, and a dust mask for sanding and for cutting treated wood or sheet goods. Tie back long hair and loose sleeves. Keep children and pets out of the work area.

   • Tip At the store, pick straight boards: hold each one up to your eye and look down its length. Skip boards that bow, twist or have big knots near the ends.
   • Tip Measure twice, cut once. Most mistakes are a misread tape, not a bad cut.

2. 2Cut and label the parts

   Cut every part on the cut list. Cut the longest parts first: if one goes wrong, it can still become a shorter part.

   To mark a cut, hook your tape on the end of the board, make a small V with its point exactly at the measurement, and draw a square line through the point with a speed square. Put an X on the waste side.

   Cut on the waste side of the line, so the blade's kerf (about 1/8″) comes out of the scrap, not your part. Cut sheets with the good face down when using a circular saw: the blade splinters the top face.

   Write each part's letter in pencil on a face that won't show, and stack the parts by letter.

   Sand the faces before assembly while they're flat and easy to reach: 120 grit, then 180.

   ✓ Lay the parts out and count them against the parts list. Measure a few: if one is off by more than 1/16″, recut it now.

   STOP. Let the saw reach full speed before it touches the wood, keep both hands clear of the blade's path, and never reach under a board you're cutting. Support long boards on both sides of the cut so the blade doesn't pinch.

3. 3Measure and clear the closet

   Measure the back wall of the closet at the floor, at 40″ and at 80″. This plan uses 96″: use your smallest number.

   Empty the closet and take down the old rod and shelf. Pry the baseboard off along the back wall where the tower will stand so it can sit flat against the wall; patch the holes left by the old brackets.

   Mark the tower position on the floor: 0″ to 24″ from the left wall.

   • Tip Mark the studs on the back wall and both side walls now with a stud finder; you need them for the anchors, the rod cleats and any centre supports.

   ✓ The closet is at least 96″ wide at all three heights and the towers' 84″ fit under the ceiling with room to tip them up (about 85 11/16″).

4. 4Edge-band

   Iron edge banding onto every front edge that shows, and all four edges of each door and drawer front. Trim and sand.

   Set a household iron to "cotton" with the steam off. Cut each strip of banding about 1″ longer than the edge, lay it glue side down so it hangs a little past both faces, and slide the iron along it slowly, about 10 seconds per foot.

   While the glue is still hot, rub the banding down hard with a scrap block. Let it cool, then trim the ends with a sharp utility knife and the overhanging sides with an edge-banding trimmer or a sanding block held at a slight angle.

   • Tip Band the parts before assembly. Once the case is together the iron cannot reach the inside corners.

   ✓ Run a fingernail along every banded edge: nothing lifts and nothing overhangs. Re-iron any loose spot.

5. 5Drill the shelf-pin holes

   Two rows per side of each shelf bay, 2″ from the front and back, 1/4″ holes 3/8″ deep every 1 1/4″ (32 mm): bay 1: 29 9/16″ to 80 5/16″.

   Use a shelf-pin jig so both sides match.

   • Tip Mark the bottom end of each side and always hook the jig on that end. If one side is flipped end for end, the holes will not line up.
   • Tip Wrap tape around the bit as a depth flag, or use a stop collar. Test the depth on a scrap first.

   ✓ Push 4 pins in at the same row and lay a shelf on them: it sits flat and does not rock.

   STOP. A hole drilled through a side shows on the outside and cannot be hidden. Check the depth stop before each side.

6. 6Mark the slide lines

   Draw a slide line at 5 7/16″, 12 13/16″, 20 3/16″ from the floor end, on both faces of each drawer bay.

   • Tip Lay the two sides next to each other, bottom ends lined up, and mark both at once with a square so the drawers sit level.

   ✓ Measure each line on both sides of every bay: they match within 1/32″.

7. 7Build the case

   Work on a flat floor with the front edges facing up. Stand the bottom between the sides first; clamp a square scrap block inside each corner to hold it at 90° while you drive the screws.

   Drill a pilot hole with a countersink bit for every screw, 3/8″ in from the edge so the screw lands in the middle of the plywood edge. Wipe glue squeeze-out with a damp rag before it dries.

   Glue and screw the bottom between the sides with its underside at 3″, and the top flush with the top ends. 1 5/8″ screws, 3 per joint.

   Screw in the fixed shelves with their undersides at 25 13/16″ in bay 1.

   Screw the kick board under the bottom, 1/2″ back from the front.

   Square the case and nail on the back.

   • Tip To square the case before the back goes on, push on the long diagonal until both diagonals measure the same, then nail one corner of the back and work around it every 6″.
   • Tip Plywood edges split if a screw is closer than 3/8″ to a face. Keep the drill straight.

   ✓ Diagonals match within 1/16″.

8. 8Build and hang the drawers

   Glue and brad each box: fronts and backs between the sides, bottom nailed underneath. Screw the slides on (case half on the line, drawer half flush with the box front) and click the boxes in.

   • Tip Each slide comes apart in two: press the little release lever and pull. The wider half goes in the case, the narrow half on the drawer box.
   • Tip Cut a scrap spacer exactly as tall as the slide line. Rest the slide on it while you drive the screws and every slide ends up at the same height.

   ✓ Each box runs smoothly with no rubbing.

9. 9Attach the drawer fronts

   Start at the bottom. Tape each front on with 1/8″ spacers between and 1/16″ at the edges, then drive four 1″ screws from inside the box.

   • Tip Stick each front on with two strips of double-sided tape, open the drawer and drive the screws from inside. Tape lets you nudge it before it is fixed.

   ✓ Gaps are an even 1/8″.

10. 10Set the shelves

    Glue a strip under the front of each adjustable shelf, flush with the edge.

    Push in 4 pins per shelf and lay the shelves on.

    • Tip Set heavy things on the lowest shelves. Shelf heights can change later: the pins just pull out.

11. 11Set the tower

    Tip the tower up in the closet and slide it onto its marks, tight to the back wall.

    Set a level on the top both ways and shim under the kick until it reads level. Check the sides for plumb.

    Fasten the anti-tip strap from the top of the tower into a back-wall stud before anything goes in it.

    ✓ Each tower is level, plumb and doesn't move when you pull on the top front edge.

    STOP. A tower full of folded clothes is heavy and tall. Do not load it until it is anchored.

12. 12Hang the rod cleats on the wall

    Hold each rod cleat (L) flat on the side wall, its long edge level, centred on the rod height: 82″ and 40″ above the floor, starting 1″ from the back wall. Draw along its top edge with a level.

    Slide a stud finder along the wall and mark every stud with a pencil. Studs are usually 16″ apart, measured center to center. Confirm one by drilling a tiny test hole where the trim will hide it: you'll feel the drill bite into wood.

    Drill pilot holes through the back or hanging rail where it crosses a stud, then drive #10 × 3″ screws into the studs: 8 in all.

    • Tip Before drilling, check the wall for pipes and wires: avoid drilling directly above or below outlets and switches, and behind sinks.

    ✓ Every screw went into wood (they pull tight, not spin). The piece doesn't move when you pull on it firmly.

    STOP. Drywall alone won't hold it. Never hang this with only drywall anchors. Keep the load under about 150 lb, and never hang it over a bed or crib.

13. 13Hang the rods

    Screw a rod socket to the side of each tower facing a rod, and to the middle of each cleat, centred 12″ from the back wall at 82″ and 40″ above the floor.

    For each rod longer than 48″, screw a centre support bracket into the back-wall stud nearest the middle of the run with two #10 × 3″ screws, its hook level with the sockets.

    Measure between each pair of sockets and cut the rod 1/8″ shorter with a hacksaw or a pipe cutter. File the cut end smooth. Drop the rods in.

    • Tip A pipe cutter makes a clean square cut in a steel rod in a minute: clamp it on, tighten a little each turn.
    • Tip Hang the heaviest coats near the sockets and supports, not in the middle of a long run.

    ✓ A level on each rod reads level, and the rod doesn't lift out when you pull a hanger along it.

14. 14Anchor to the wall

    Slide a stud finder along the wall behind where the piece will stand and mark the studs.

    Fix the anti-tip kit's bracket to the back or top of the piece, then screw its other end into a stud with the screws supplied.

    Do not load the piece until it is anchored.

    STOP. Confirm the wall type first. Drywall on studs: use the studs. Plaster or masonry: use the kit's matching anchors or ask a pro.

15. 15Finish

    Ease every sharp edge and corner with 120-grit sandpaper so nobody gets a splinter.

    Sand all over with 180 grit, always along the grain (the direction the wood fibres run). Scratches across the grain show through stain.

    Wipe off the dust with a barely damp rag and let it dry.

    Paint, stain or a clear coat (water-based polyurethane is the easiest). Apply thin coats with the grain, let each dry fully, and sand lightly with 220 grit between coats.

    Let it dry for the time on the can before using it.

    • Tip Try your finish on a scrap of the same wood first: stain looks different on every board.