How to Build Walk-in Closet Storage

In this video, This Old House general contractor Tom Silva and host Kevin O’Connor build a storage system for a walk-in closet.

Steps:

1. Cut the plywood parts to size using a circular saw and clamp-in-place straightedge.

2. Use a clothes iron set to the cotton setting (no steam) to adhere 13/16-inch iron-on veneer onto the plywood edges.

3. Sand the veneer flush with the plywood using a sanding block and 120-grit sandpaper.

4. Use a router fitted with a ¾-inch straight bit to rout rabbets and stopped dadoes in the vertical sides of the cabinets.

5. Cut a small notch, called a haunch cut, in the front corner of the shelves using a jigsaw.

6. Install a counter-balanced, fold-down wardrobe lift to the inside surface of the upper sides.

7. Screw the cabinet parts together using a drill/driver and 2-inch drywall screws.

8. Attach a ½-inch plywood back to the rear of the cabinets using 1 ⅝-inch drywall screws.

9. Screw fixed closet rod hardware to the inside surface of the lower cabinets.

10. Set the assembled cabinets into the closet and fasten them together with 1¼-inch screws and then to the wall studs with 3-inch screws.

11. Mount the horizontal closet rods to the fold-down wardrobe lifts.

12. Install slide-out shoe racks in the lower cabinets, and slide-out pant racks at waist height.

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