Get Your Closet Ready to Go

If your closet is anything like ours, the biggest part of this project will be clearing it out. When that’s done, remove the rod, shelf and everything except the baseboard from the walls. Place a scrap of wood under your hammer or pry bar to avoid crushing the drywall or plaster when you pry off the shelf support boards. Patch the holes with a lightweight surfacing compound. Then sand and repaint the walls and you’re ready to hang shelves.

Once your design is complete and the closet walls are patched and painted, it’s all downhill. The storage unit systems are so well engineered that even if you can’t pound a nail, you’ll feel like a master cabinetmaker when you’re done. Consult the instruction sheet provided with your system for exact procedures and placement of connecting bolts and other hardware.

Here are a few assembly tips and things to watch out for:

- Check the end walls of your closet with a level to see if they’re plumb. If they slant inward on the bottom, you’ll have to mount the first cleat farther from the wall to allow the storage unit to hang plumb.

- Extend the level line only as far as necessary to line up the cleats. Find the studs and mark them above the line, where the marks will be hidden by the cleats. Double-check the stud locations by probing with a nail to be certain the hanging screws will hit solid wood.

- Get help setting the units in place. Avoid racking or twisting the assembled storage units; the thin area of particleboard near the connectors might break.

- Don’t tighten the mounting screws until you’ve joined the units with the special two-part connectors. You’ll need the “slack” to align the holes properly. If the closet walls are wavy or crooked, slide shims behind the units to get them lined up.

- Install all of the full-size units. Then cut the filler shelves to complete the system. Tilt the top filler shelf in from below, and then install the shelf clips under it. A snug-fitting shelf is hard to install from the top.

- Some systems have adjustable drawer fronts. Loosen the screws just enough to move the fronts into alignment, with even spacing between the drawers. Then tighten the screws and drill for the knobs.