Home Closet Shelving

Home Closet Shelving – How to Build One?

In most cases, all the unwanted clutter present inside the home is allowed to get piled up in the closet space present at the corner of the room. As a result, the entire room looks clean and tidy except the closet space, thereby appearing as a blotch on the room that was otherwise beautiful. This simple aspect sinks the overall appearance of the home. In case the closet space had been organized, the entire beauty of the room had got magnified by few notches. The best way to organize clutter piled up in the closet is to build a home closet shelving system that is properly planned, designed and constructed.

Home closet shelving can be either purchased in a prefabricated form or else one can get it custom designed. However, getting a closet shelving system custom designed can be a costly affair. Another alternative is to self-construct a closet shelving system. Quite a lot of information is available on the internet regarding various aspects that go into the building of closet shelving. Some of these aspects are briefly explained below.

Design: The first part of the construction is to make a design. Closet shelving is of use only when the design is according to the needs and requirements. While doing this, one must consider aspects such as available closet space and a list of items that one wants to store in the closet. So as to determine the available closet space, wall dimensions must be measured. Based on these measurements, one can make a rough estimate about the length, breadth and height of the shelving system. Arrangement of racks, shelves and hangers is determined based on the list of storage items. Choice of material to be used is dependant on the available budget and also on the weight of materials to be kept on each shelf. For example, materials such as wire or canvas should be used for lighter items and materials like wood and metal can be opted for heavy items.

Materials and supplies: The second part of the story is about procurement of necessary materials and other supplies required for the construction. For this, one has to first make a list of items required including details such as material description and the quantity of material required. One can make this list by referring to the design because the type and quantity of material or hardware used will be specific to the shelving. Quantity of shelving material can be determined by measuring the total length of the shelving and adding a 10 percent to the value. Apart from the shelving material, one has to also buy a number of accessories such as hangers, rods and long vertical steel channels for hanging individual shelves. These steel channels are securely fixed to the walls and the shelves are then supported on these channels using the slots present on top of them. These channels can be placed at varied lengths depending on the space that needs to be provided between shelves. One has to also buy hardware materials such as screws, bolts and drywall anchors for fixing channels, shelves and other accessories. Also required are items such as paint for sealing wooden planks or plywood, drill for making holes, hammer for driving in anchors, screwdriver, level, measuring tape, saw, wire cutter, stud finder and paint brush. In case of laminated shelving, one would require another additional material in the form of laminate board. Depending on the budget, these laminate boards are available in different qualities. More the price, better is the quality and greater is the strength.

Building a closet shelving system: Once all the materials are purchased, one can go ahead with the construction part. Building a wire closet system is a bit different from building a laminate system. For both these systems, it is always better to undergo an orientation or preliminary course so as to learn the basics about handling various tools. Also, one would require a bit of care so as to avoid any danger of the entire shelving system come crashing down. Also, one must follow the prescribed instructions in a step-by-step manner so as to avoid any confusion. Alternatively, one can even take the assistance of any expert carpenter or technical person specialized in the job of arranging closet shelving.