Tile Top Plant Stand Plans

Free woodworking plans to build an inexpensive plant stand with a tile top.

I decided to add more plants to my home without first thinking about where to put them! So I came up with this simple yet attractive design for DIY plant stand that's easy to build. You can even build it with minimal tools or get the wood cut for you at the store. You can build one for as little as $8 or if you're building 3 of them the cost comes down to around $6 each depending on the wood you choose.
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Attic Storage Shelf Plans

Free woodworking plans to build 2-tier attic shelving system.

I was browsing online for something unrelated for my attic when I came across this AtticMaxx Shelving System. It's a pretty ingenious system for attics that can't have wide shelves because they either use engineered roof trusses or include purlin bracing in the framing which can get in the way of regular shelves. The problem though with the AtticMaxx is the price. For 8 shelves it's currently $169. Yikes! And it doesn't include the totes.

Below you'll find plans to build an attic shelving system that solves some of the same problems the AtticMax does but at a fraction of the cost. I also made the bottom shelves a little longer which will allow you to slide out the bottom tote so you can access the contents after you spin it sideways.
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Organizing Phone Lines In An Old Home

These days most new construction has well laid out voice, data and video lines but in older homes things can be a bit messy. I recently worked on a small phone project and thought I'd share some tips.

I've helped a family member run some new phone lines a couple of times over the years. The last time being a couple of weeks ago. That's when I was reminded about what a mess some of the phone wiring was which caused us some problems running the wires.

Back when this house was built there where usually only one or two phone jacks installed. One in the kitchen and one in the master bedroom. Over the years as phones became cheaper more rooms started to get phone jacks and eventually it was common for homes to have multiple lines.

As new phone jacks were added it was common to just run a line from a nearby phone jack to the new location or even just splice an existing wire in the middle of a run.

It was just easier to run phones in series like that. The problem is, just like Christmas lights that are wired in series, if ones line goes bad all of them could, or at least all the ones that follow after the problem and it's difficult to figure out where the problem is.

These days it's recommended to have all wires start from a common point with a single wire going to each jack without running cables one jack to another or splicing the wire in between jacks. This is referred to as a star topology and makes it easier to troubleshoot and repair bad lines in the future.

You have your incoming lines from the telephone company enter your home and connect to a device like a 110 or 66 block then you'll run your phone lines to each phone jack from there and make connections between the incoming lines and the lines to the jacks.

Sadly, this can be quite difficult to do in an older home without tearing through some existing walls. Luckily for us most of the jacks were wired in a star topology with only a couple of jacks upstairs running off of the only line that ran upstairs from the basement. We could keep that for now.

The big issue though was that there wasn't a 110, 66 or similar device installed that was capable of handling that many connections. To my knowledge, these types of telephone hubs aren't very common in older residential phone installations.

Instead there was just a standard telephone wall jack used to make all the connections as a sort of junction box. It was bad enough there were so many wires that it was difficult to keep them secured on the screw terminals while attempting to add more lines but the installer never even bothered to attach it to anything. It was just floating in between a couple of floor joists in the basement. Adding a new phone line usually meant disturbing an existing one and sometimes the wall jack would get jostled while using the storage shelf below it and some of the wires would get knocked loose.

I had originally planned to install a 110 block but since this was a very simple phone system with only one line I opted to go with a Leviton 47689-B 1x9 Bridged Telephone Module (with bracket).

It's a simple device that consists of 10 110 punch down connectors that allow you to connect up to 4 incoming phone lines to up to 9 phone jacks. It's also smaller and easier to use than a 110 or 66 block. All you have to do is punch down the incoming phone lines and the lines that lead to the phone jacks without worrying about making connections between the two.

Looking at the back of the Leviton 47689-B  we can see that it's just 10 110 punch down connectors mounted to a circuit board with each pin of the connector connected to all of the other pins with the same color of the other connectors in series using traces.

This is designed primarily for residential phone systems and fits into Leviton's structured media cabinets. You don't need a structured media cabinet to use it though. There are 2 black push connectors that are used to attach it to the cabinet but I removed both of them carefully with a pair of pliers, leaving 2 holes that I could use to screw the bracket down pretty much anywhere I wanted.

Telephone Wire Color Standards

Over the years the standard wire used for telephone installations has changed. The original wire installed was the old 4 conductor (green, red, black and yellow) that was a fairly thick gauge. This wire is called JK or quad cable and sometimes referred to as Christmas/Haloween cable because of the colors.

Some point later another jack was added using a thinner gauge JK cable. After that the standard wire used for phone installations changed to unsheilded twisted pair (UTP). A couple of runs of 3 pair Cat3 and one run of 4 pair Cat5e were used, a couple of which I helped install.

Cat cable uses a different color scheme. Each pair consists of a wire with the primary color and a second wire with the secondary color striped with the primary color. For example line 1 is a blue wire paired with a white wire with blue stripes. One thing that hasn't changed however is that each phone line still only requires two wires, a tip and a ring.

There are a couple of options. You can try to replace as much of the old JK wiring with Cat5e wiring as possible. Category (Cat) cable is preferred because it can reduce unwanted noise from interference and crosstalk (where you can hear the conversations on one line when connected to a different line.

If you have multiple phone lines or use ADSL you should try to replace as much of it as you can with Cat cable for better quality in your phone service. In our case, we only had one line to worry about so we opted to save the hassle of pulling new cable. Some of it would have been easy since we could just use the existing cable to fish the new cable up to the jacks but there's always a risk of something going wrong that would require us to get into the walls which we didn't want to do.

As long as we followed the color coding standards we could we would be fine.

Line		Cat colors		Old Colors
1	Tip	white/blue		green
	Ring	blue		red
2	Tip	white/orange		black
	Ring	orange		yellow
3	Tip	white/green		white
	Ring	green		blue

With that knowledge in hand I was ready to start wiring up the new panel after mounting it to a wall.

Do one cable at a time

I thought it was a good idea to identify and label the cables while we were working on them again. Some of them seemed obvious but there were some surprises so I'm happy we stopped to do that.

I would cut one cable from the wall plate that was used as a junction box then we'd check to see which phones stopped working and make a label. We repeated this until we had identified all the lines. We did the incoming line last as we were fairly certain which one that was.

Telephone Wire Splicing

There was one more small problem.. The older, thicker gauge JK wire I believe was thicker than the 110 connectors were designed to accept. I did manage to punch down one of the thicker wires (and the phone worked) but I decided to splice a short section of thinner gauge Cat5e cable onto the other thick JK cables just to make things easier.

I used these Gel Splice UY 2 Port Wire Connectors to splice each wire from the old JK cable to the new Cat5e cable following the color conventions above. These wire connectors work great. You don't need to strip the wires. Just slip one wire from one cable in on one side, the corresponding color wire from the other cable, make sure they're in all the way then squeeze them with a pair of pliers to make the connection and secure the wires.

(Ooops I just noticed in the photo that the first connection I made on the right I mixed up the tip and ring. It should be green, red, black yellow from top to bottom. I'll fix that later. The phones on those lines still work well though as modern phones aren't too picky when it comes to polarity of the tip and ring wires)

Making the connections

Once you know how to terminate cables on a 110 connector it goes pretty fast.

1. Trim off a few inches of the outer cable jacket at the end you are going to terminate but do not cut any of the wires
2. Grab the string you see mixed in with the 4 pairs of wires and pull it down to make a slit in the outer jacket a couple more inches down the outer jacket. Peel back and trim off the excess jacket and string.
3. Without untwisting the pairs too much and trying to keep as little of the unsheathed pairs showing, Start placing the wires into the grooves in the connector. The connector has colors that tell you which wire pair to insert in that spot to help guide you. The white color goes on top, followed by the primary color cable. So from the top of line 1 down the Cat cable wires should be white/blue, blue, white orange, orange, white green, green, white/brown, brown. Or in the case of the quad cable, green, red, black yellow and white  and blue for line 3 if there are 6 wires.
4. Do one connector at a time and after you place the wire in the slots with your fingers, use a punch down tool to seat the wires in the connector. As you seat the wires, the connector makes a small slit in the insulation which is how the wire connects to the connector without having to strip any of the insulation off before making the connection. If you don't own a punch down tool a small plastic one is included with the panel but it lacks a cutting side that trims off the excess wire as you punch it down so you'll need to trim the wires some other way.

One more time here are the colors and how they are inserted in the 110 IDC.

It doesn't matter where you place the incoming phone company line as long as you put all the wires in the correct spot in the connector according to it's color code but I like having it at the end so it's easy to identify. Also, if you have multiple lines you don't have to punch down all the wires in each conductor if you only want some of the lines going to certain rooms.

Finished Panel

Now this isn't the prettiest wiring job I've ever seen, or even done but now it's a lot easier to find which wire goes where, add on additional runs easier and best of all the connections are more secure and the static that used to be on one run is now gone.

Organizing Cable Clutter

Some helpful tips on how to organize cables around your computer desk, entertainment system and other parts of your home.

Sadly, that's an actual picture of what's lurking under my desk. What's even sadder is that's just one small portion of the mess and it repeats itself in other parts of my home. (I won't mention the peanut I had to crop out so you don't think I'm a complete slob!)

I need a lot of different peripherals and even though I have good WiFi equipment as more people in the area use WiFi it's difficult to maintain speeds good enough to stream full HD video to other computers and TVs. I've bought new access points, built antenna boosters and still have to scan and switch channels from time to time. Wired ain't tired! (fake TM)

It's one of the big reasons I'm trying to plan a structured home wiring project. It would get a lot of the cables I have by my computer, and other areas, moved to a central location.

Probably the worst part of the photo is all the dust and pet hair. It's dark down there so I normally can't even tell. I try and vacuum but it's just so hard with that mess. There is definitely no 5-second rule if I drop a snack while at the computer! Partly because it just disappears into the void.

When I have to replace a cord, upgrade a device or try to plug something new in it takes me more time than it should. Over the years I've tried improving my cable management by using different things I had laying around but now it's time to do things right and this is how I'm going about it.
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DIY Table Top Photo Studio Plans

Every so often I try to get rid of things I don't need any more by selling them on Ebay or Craigslist. I've found that having good photos helps items sell faster and get better prices so I made this little table top light box to take better product photos. It was made mostly of things I had lying around. Here are plans to build one yourself.

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Better Box Fan Air Purifier

A better more efficient and odor eliminating homemade air purifier than just taping a 20x20x1 filter to a box fan. Sometimes you need to help clear the air in a dirty environment but don't want to use an expensive air purifier such as in a room after renovating and painting. Here's a cheap and easy way to build one.

Air purifiers can be expensive and you've probably seen articles recommending to just put a 20" x 20" x 1" furnace filter on a cheap 20" box fan and POOF! instant cleaner air for not a lot of money. It really does clean the air pretty cheap.

There's a problem with this though. These fans weren't designed to be run with a filter. The filter will restrict air flow which will put a higher strain on the motor causing it to use more electricity and in worse cases could be a fire hazard. The higher the MERV rating (cleaning efficiency) of the filter the more stress it will put on the fan.

Don't worry! You can still have your cheap air purifier as long as the filter area is increased to decrease the effect of air resistance. Instead of using one 20x20x1 filter we'll use two 20x25x1 filters which increases the filter surface area over 250%. It's a little more expensive because you're using two filters instead of one but the increased filter surface area also helps the filter last longer before it gets clogged up and we're saving on energy use compared to a single filter.

I can't take credit for the design, I found it via Marshall Hansen Design but I'm using different filters.

I recently remodeled my basement and there's a lot of dust (including drywall dust and sawdust) and fumes from paint, cleaners and other building materials. It's an underground basement and mold has to always be a conern too. Because part of the space will be my home theater in the future I plan to get a more expensive air purifier that's smaller and quieter such as this Fellowes Quiet Air Purifier AP-300PH with True HEPA Filter because it has great reviews, is reasonably priced and the replacement filters aren't that expensive or a Sharp Plasmacluster True HEPA Air Purifier or Blueair HepaSilent Air-Purification System if I find some extra Benjamins in the couch cushions. But I don't want to put that in the dusty environment right away because I'll have to replace the more expensive filters fairly quickly because the air is so bad. I also don't want to spend the money right now but I do want cleaner air now.

So I decided to get things going with a homemade air purifier that has filters that not only clean the air of particulates but also reduce VOCs and odors. Even after I purchase an air purifier I'll still have an air purifier I can use for other purposes like when I'm painting or cutting wood.

Also, don't forget to add more plants to your home. They're natures air purifiers. Not only do they convert carbon dioxide to oxygen but houseplants filter toxins and emit negative ions too!

What You'll Need

Materials

• Filtrete Home Odor Reduction Filter, 20-Inch by 25-Inch by 1-Inch, 4-Pack (only using 2 at a time)
• 20" Box Fan
• Cardboard (from the package the filters came in) or oak tag
• Duct Tape or Clear Cellophane Tape
• Optional  Plug-in Timer so the fan isn't running constantly without manual intervention.

Tools

• A pair of scissors or utility knife

Quick Info About Filters

The nice thing about this box fan filter setup is you can use any filters you want. If you are only concerned about large particles generated from something like cutting wood, you can use cheaper, lower MERV rated filters. If you're worried about finer particles from allergens such as mold, you can use a higher MERV rated filter. To understand more about what the MERV ratings mean have a look at Table 2 on this EPA article on residential air.

I chose to go with the Filtrete Home Odor Reduction Filters which are a new type of filter from Filtrete. They contain a lot of activated carbon to help filter out odors and VOCs.  They are rated MERV 11 and are equivalent to their 1000 MPR furnace filters. They should do a good job with even the fine drywall dust and the activated carbon will help a lot with odors. I bought a 4 pack for around $57 which gives me 2 sets of filters.

Filtrete Odor Reducing Air Filters

The filtering power of these Filtrete Odor Reducing filters isn't listed on Filtrete's website or on Amazon but I contacted them and found out that these filters have a MERV 11 rating and filter 90% of particles between 1-10 microns which makes them more efficient than the Filtrete Micro Allergen Reduction Filters I've been using in my air conditioning for the past few years. Plus Filtrete packs over 180 grams of activated carbon to help reduce odors.

After I go through both sets of carbon filters I'm probably going to switch to the Filtrete Elite Allergen Reduction Filter which does a much better job of filtering small particles. If odors are a problem I'll get some Cut-to-fit Carbon Prefilters and tape them over top of the Filtrete filters.

Okay, enough of the why, now for the how!

Step 1: Unbox The Filters

You're thinking "OMG! He's actually describing how to open a cardboard box?!?!?!" The best deal I found for these filters were on Amazon and with my Prime membership (or supersaver shipping) the shipping is free. Plus the packing box is going to be part of the filter so we need to keep in intact.

The box is sealed very well. Not only is it taped but the seams are also glued together. To get the filters out of the box I cut the top where it's perforated with a utility knife as shown.

Be careful not to cut too deep and damage the filters. Keep the box someplace safe to the side while we continue. 

Step 2: Hinge Filters

Start by taking 2 of the filters out of their plastic wrappers and lay them one on top of the other with the air flow arrows pointing towards each other. With the Odor Reducing Fitlers this means the black, carbon sides will be facing each other.

With the filters lined up, tape one of the short (20") edges of the filters to create a hinge between the two filters as shown.

I decided to go with white duck tape so it looks a little nicer but it makes it hard to see in the photos against the white cardboard filter frame.

Step 3: Tape Filters To Fan

Lay the box fan face down on a flat surface to mount the filters to the back making sure the bottom of the filters are about flush with the bottom of the fan and do not extend past the bottom.

Use a strip of duck tape to secure each side to the side of the fan.

Step 4: Cut and Attach the Cardboard

Cut out one of the large sides of from the cardboard shipping box, place it over the top of the of the filters and secure it with a strip of tape to the top of the fan. Position it so that it's pretty even over both filters but it doesn't have to be perfect.

Using a pencil, trace around the filters (while pressing down the cardboard so nothing moves) to mark where the cardboard needs to be cut.

Lift the cardboard up (the front piece of tape acts like a hinge) and cut along the lines to trim the sides. By the way, I really like these Fiskars Cuts+More 5-in-1 Multi-Purpose Scissors.

Repeat the process for the bottom cardboard. The other large piece from the box is seamed but it's taped and glued and very stiff so it shouldn't be an issue but you can run a strip of duck tape over the seem if it makes you feel better.

Also keep in mind that the bottom of the fan has feet. I positioned the cardboard underneath the feet and then pulled the feet out to tape.

After taping up the sides of the bottom cover to the filters, I added an extra strip of duck tape all the way around where the filters/cardboard meets the fan for added support. The rounded corners of the fan means there might still be an air gap there so check them and add extra duck tape if necessary. On the bottom there are also some holes, duck tape over those as well. Finally, replace the feet.

Step 5: Seal The Back

Where the hinged filters meet the cardboard in the back, add another strip of duck tape for support and to seal any gaps.

Give another look around the seams to make sure there aren't any gaps. If you find any, tape them up.

When using the fan, I always make sure that the cord isn't underneath the cardboard and instead is under the metal fan chassis, just in case something goes wrong and the cord overheats. Can never be too safe.

Replacing Filters

When it's time to replace filters, use a utility knife to cut the filters free but leave the cardboard in place. Then just hinge and attach the new filters. 

DIY Closet Organizer Plans For 5' to 8' Closet

Free woodworking plans to build a custom closet organizer for wide reach-in closets. Can be customized to suit your needs and budget.

Over the years I've been redoing many of the closets in my home. The closets previously contained a single rod and shelf which didn't provide efficient use of space. These plans were inspired by the ClosetMaid Selectives 25 in. White Custom Closet Organizer which I have installed in a couple of closets.

I was planning on making some modifications to the closets and wanted to see what I could come up with if I built everything myself. Depending on the plywood I used I could either save significant money and or come up with a more attractive and better quality closet organizer.

Dimensions

Use these plans as a guide and customize the organizer to suit your needs. It should work well for reach-in closets 5' to 8' in length. You can modify the dimensions as you see fit.

The main cabinet dimensions as planned is 84" height, 25-1/4" width and 15" depth. The plans show it installed in a 6' wide 2' deep closet.

What You'll Need

Materials

• (2) 4' x 8' Sheet 3/4" hardwood veneer plywood (for organizer)
• (2) 2' x 4' Sheet 1/2" hardwood veneer plywood (for drawer boxes)
• (1) 2' x 4' Sheet 1/4" hardwood veneer plywood or tempered hardboard (for drawer bottoms)
• (3) Blum 230M Epoxy Coated Slides 12" 3/4 Extension 100# Class Self Closing
• (3 or 6) drawer pulls 
• (1) Knape Vogt 96in Oval Tubing Chrome
• (3) pairs of Knape & Vogt Open Flange For 880 Tube Chrome
• About 60' of Wood Edgebanding to match your plywood
• (30) Kreg SML-C125-100 1-1/4-Inch Coarse Washer-Head Pocket Screws (for organizer cabinet)
• (20) Kreg SPS-C1-100  1-Inch Coarse Pocket Screws (for drawer boxes)
• (20) 1-1/2" flat head wood screws
• (20) 3-1/2" Wood screws (to secure to studs)
• (6) 1" pan head wood screws (to attach drawer front to drawer box)
• Shelf Pins

Tools

• Circular saw and guide or table saw to cut plywood
• Miter saw to cut pieces to length
• Drill/Driver and bits
• Hacksaw
• Pilot hole/counter sink bits
• Kreg Pocket Hole Jig
• Kreg KMA3200 Shelf Pin Drilling Jig
• Stud Finder
• Iron
• Utility knife or edgebanding trimmer
• Level
• Tape measure, pencil, straight edge

Cut List

Depending on the size of your closet and any modifications you choose to make your cut list may be different.

• (2) 84" x 15" 3/4 Plywood Sides
• (6) 23-3/4" x 15" 3/4" Plywood Shelves (7 if your closet is 6' wide or less)
• (1) 72" x 15" 3/4" Plywood Top Shelf
• (2) 18-3/4" x 15" 3/4" Plywood Shoe Rack Shelves
• (2) 23-3/4" x 2-5/8" 3/4" Plywood Nailers
• (1) 23-3/4" x 3-1/2" 3/4" Plywood Top Nailer
• (5) 15" x 3-1/2" 3/4" Plywood Side Brackets
• (1) 27-1/4" x 3-1/2" 3/4" Plywood Top Shelf Support (Left)
• (1) 18" x 3-1/2" 3/4" Plywood Top Shelf Support (Right)
• (1) 23-1/2" x 5-1/4" 3/4" Plywood Drawer 1 Front
• (2) 23-1/2" x 10" 3/4" Plywood Drawer 2 Fronts
• (2) 12-3/4" x 4" 1/2" Plywood Drawer Box 1 Sides
• (2) 1' 9-3/4" x 4" 1/2" Plywood Drawer Box 1 Front/Back
• (4) 12-3/4" x 8-3/4" 1/2" Plywood Drawer Box 2 Sides
• (4) 1' 9-3/4" x 8-3/4" 1/2" Plywood Drawer Box 2 Front/Back
• (3) 12-1/8" x 22-1/8" 1/4" Plywood Drawer Box Bottoms

Cut Plan

Depending on the size of your closet and any modifications to the plans you choose to make your cut plan may need to be different. . Cut the back shelf supports, top shelf and shoe shelves a little longer than necessary and trim them to size during installation.

3/4" Plywood

The main components of the closet organizer are constructed of 2 4' x 8' sheets of 3/4" plywood which will provide for a very strong closet system. 

1/2" Plywood

The 1/2" plywood is used to construct the drawer boxes. You'll need 2 2' x 4' Sheet. A good choice is PureBond 1/4" Maple Plywood

1/4" Plywood

For the drawer bottoms you'll need 1 2' x 4' sheet of 1/4" plywood or tempered hardboard.

Finishing

You can choose to paint or stain/finish the plywood any way you'd like. If you're painting use low VOC primers and paints and if you're staining/finishing use water based stains and finishes to prevent your clothes from smelling. Oil based paints, stains and finishes tend to out gas for a long period of time and being in a confined space like a closet will concentrate the smell which will be absorbed in your clothing.

After you cut out all the pieces paint or stain/finish the components before assembly. It will make the installation go a lot quicker. Before finishing read the entire plan to understand which edges should be edgebanded before finishing.

Why Install A Closet Organizer?

If you live in an older home, the closets may not be as big as you'd like which means it's important to get as much out of the space as possible. The single rod and shelf configuration that existed in my closets wasn't cutting it. One of my closets was 6' wide which meant I had 6' of rod space and 6 linear feet of shelf space. By installing a closet organizer I preserved my rod space but doubled my shelf space.  It makes it easier to find what I'm looking for and helps keep my clothes from getting wrinkled when bunched close together.

Why Build When You can Buy?

There are many different closet organizers you can buy. The ClosetMaid Selectives Organizer I've installed are pretty nice and not too expensive but you only get a basic closet organizer system. Adding accessories to  make it more useful starts to bring up the price tag. Building my own will save some money.

The ClosetMaid Selectives organizer is constructed of 5/8" melamine coated particle board and I have installed some 5/8" melamine coated Closet Maid shelves as well. In one closet I am storing some heavier items and even with a span of only 26" there is noticeable deflection (bending). Building a closet organizer out of 3/4" sheet goods will make it sturdier and using something like PureBond hardwood veneer plywood can result in a more attractive closet that is also formaldehyde free.

Of course being able to customize the closet organizer is also a very attractive reason for building one yourself.

What Type Of Plywood To use?

At a minimum I would recommend 5/8" thick sheet goods but 3/4" is preferred and usually easier to find. Hardwood veneered plywood is stronger and a more attractive option. Since most of the organizer will be covered with clothes you don't need to get the more expensive cabinet grade plywood. The domestic plywood available at Home Depot, such as PureBond is a good choice. If you like the scent of cedar on your clothes and the purported insect and mildew resisting properties you might want to consider making the organizer out of 3/4" aromatic cedar plywood if you can find it. 3/4" MDF (medium density fiberboard) is a little cheaper if you plan on painting it. Melamine coated particle board is also affordable and you don't have to worry about finishing the panels. Some people like the melamine coating because it's easy to keep clean and saves some time by not having to worry about painting or finishing. Particle board isn't as strong and durable as MDF or better yet plywood. In the end you should get what your taste and budget allows for.

Step 1

Edgebanding should be applied to the front edge of both Side pieces and the bottom of the top Nailer. You can edgeband the bottom of the other two nailers if you'd like but chances are you'll never see those edges.

Having already cut and finished the plywood components it's time to start assembling the closet organizer cabinet. Lay one of the Side pieces on a flat work surface and attach the 3 nailers as shown using pocket holes and screws. The 3.5" nailer gets install flush with the top of the Side panel. The 2 2-5/8" nailers get installed at 14-3/4" and 41-1/4" from the bottom.

The nailers provide support to the cabinet as well as a structure to secure it to the wall.

You'll notice that a small notch is cut at the back/bottom of the side panel. This is to accommodate for the baseboard installed in the closet so that the organizer can sit flush against the back wall. The measurements for this cut will depend on the size of your baseboards. You don't have to be very precise and scribe the exact profile as this part will be hard to see.

Step 2

Install the 2 Fixed Shelves. The fronts of the shelves should be edgebanded before finishing. These shelves help give the organizer strength. They are installed on top of the 2 thin nailers that were installed in the previous step. Use pocket holes and screws to secure the Fixed Shelves to the organizer Side piece.

Step 3

Now attach the other Side piece securing it to the Nailers and Fixed Shelves using pocket holes and screws.

Step 4

With the main cabinet frame of the closet organizer assembled you can begin to start installing your closet organizer. 

Position the organizer in your closet where you'd like it depending on how much double and single rod area you prefer. This organizer doesn't work that well with sliding closet doors because most people will want to install this close to the center which will be blocked by the doors. Installing bi-fold closet doors will give you more access into your closet but you might also be able to get away with installing the organizer more towards one side if you don't need a lot of long hanging area for example.

Once you have the organizer positioned where you'd like make sure it's level and secure it to the wall by driving 3-1/2" wood screws through the nailers into the wall studs. 

Step 5

The side brackets help support the shelves and provide a secure surface to attach the closet rods.

Attach the Side Brackets that support the closet rods and shelves to the side walls. The plan calls for these brackets to be 15" long. Before you cut them out check the stud locations on your walls to see if you might need to make them a little longer to be able to screw them securely into 2 studs.

All the supports except one should be edge banded on the front and bottom. One of the supports which gets installed on the lower rod area of the double rod section (left in picture) should be edgebanded on three sides, top, bottom and front before finishing.

The back of the supports should be up against the back wall of the closet. On the double rod side two supports are installed at 42" and 84" above the floor. On the single rod side three nailers are installed. One for the closet rod at 84" above the floor and two at 7" and 14-3/4" above the floor for the shoe rack.

Make sure the supports are level and secure them into the studs using 3-1/2" wood screws.

Step 6

The Top Shelf Supports only need to be edgebanded along the bottom edge.

You should have cut these out a few inches longer than your plan had called for. Measure and trim them to size and screw them into the studs on the back wall using 3-1/2" wood screws making sure they're level.

Step 7

Cut the closet rod into three pieces of appropriate length for your installation. You'll need a hacksaw for metal rods.

I chose to design this closet organizer using chrome oval closet rods because I think the oval rods have a nicer appearance. The ClosetMaid organizer comes with adjustable closet rods which are convenient but because there are two pieces the rod is not smooth and hangers get hung up in the center. Custom cutting a rod to the exact size will eliminate that annoyance.

Drill holes for the pins on the closet rod flanges onto the appropriate spots on the side supports and organizer sides and secure them with screws. On the side supports the flange should be installed so the top-center of the rod should be 1-1/2" below the top of the side support and 12" from the back wall (not the back support).

On the cabinet side the flange should be installed so the top-center of the rod is 12" away from the back wall and 82-1/2" above the floor for the top rods and 40-1/2" above the floor for the lower rod. If everything else was installed accurately and level the rod should also be level but double check for level before screwing into the cabinet.

Once your closet rods are installed your organizer should look like this.

Step 8

Using a jig like the KREG Shelf Pin Drilling Jig drill holes for the adjustable shelf pins. Position the pins where you'd like and install the adjustable shelves. The shelves should be edgebanded on the front prior to finishing.

With the adjustable shelves installed trim the top shelf to length and place it on top of the organizer. Secure the top shelf in place with 1-1/2" wood screws into the top of the organizer sides and the supports around the edge. This will help stabilize the organizer cabinet and prevent the shelf from moving. Pre-drill and countersink the screws to prevent them from snagging any items placed on the shelf. A combination pilot hole and counter-sink bit set like the DEWALT DW2535 3 Piece #6, #8, and #10 Countersink Assortment comes in handy.

Attach the shelves for the shoe rack as shown, screwing from the top down into the side supports and using pocket hole screws to attach to the side of the cabinet. If you'd like to add more strength to these shelves if you anticipate people might try to stand on them to reach the top shelf for example, you can add additional bracing by installing a side bracket on the cabinet side.

Step 9

Drawers add convenience and a nicer appearance to the closet organizer but you can save a significant amount of money by omitting them and just installing more shelves. The cut plan accounts for extra shelves. One of the things I didn't like about the ClosetMaid Selectives closet organizer kit I purchased was that it didn't have a lot of shelves and necessitated purchasing either more shelves or drawers to make up for it which added to the cost.

If you choose to omit the drawers you'll save money by not having to buy the additional 1/2" and 1/4" plywood for the drawer box construction as well as the drawer slides and drawer pulls.  Instead you can add shelf pin holes and 2 adjustable shelves for added shoe storage.

One of the biggest cost benefits however comes from building your own drawers. For what it costs to buy just one of ClosetMaid's drawer kits you can build all three drawers for our DIY closet organizer.

There are 3 drawers in the plan. One 5-1/4" and two 10" drawers that get installed in the lower section of the closet organizer. You can choose any drawer pulls you'd like.

The drawer fronts should be edgebanded on all 4 sides.

Three drawer boxes are needed based on the design and drawer slides selected:

• (1) 4" H x 1' 10-3/4" W x 12-3/4" D
• (2) 8-3/4" H x 1' 10-3/4" W x 12-3/4" D

For instructions on construction please see my article on how to build drawer boxes.

Once the drawers are installed this is what your finished organizer should look like.

Reader Closets

Eric Bahor used my closet organizer plans to convert his home office into a walk in closet. He built it with his dad and it came out looking great! What do you think?