Before You Begin
Before you clean out a closet and remove old shelving or rods, measure
the existing shelves and the length of the closet rods. Determine how many
feet of closet rods are occupied by short and long clothing.
Take an inventory as you remove everything from the closet (and think
about giving any items you no longer use to charity). Make a rough
sketch of your closet, indicating key dimensions such as height, width and depth. Use this sketch to determine the best design plan.
Remove existing shelves, rods, brackets and cleats. If that leaves exposed holes, plan to make the necessary repairs to the drywall or
plaster. (Add joint compound, a taping knife, paint and related supplies
to your shopping list if repairs are planned.) If the walls need a coat
of paint, take advantage of the closet being empty and give it a fresh
coat of paint before installing the new shelving system.
Don't want to get involved doing this job yourself? Click
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Step 1 : Lay out the job
Starting at the floor, measure up and mark the wall about 1/2 inch above the shelf heights indicated on the design plan. Using a carpenter's level,
lightly pencil a level line the full length of the shelf at each shelf
position. This line will act as a guide for installing the wall-clips that
hold the shelving.
Step 2 : Cut the shelving
For a wall-to-wall installation, cut the shelf in 1-inch
increments about 1/2 to 1 1/4 inch less than the distance from wall to wall.
Use a hacksaw or a bolt cutter to cut the wire shelving. Center your cut
between the wires or vertical spacers. Install the plastic end caps
on the exposed ends of the shelving.
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