book suggestions for inbuilt wardrobes and storage cabinet

[micks]

hello all after watching a program on sky called conversion where a house was being converted into flats,

the carpenter constructed some wall units out of plain mdf with hinged doors running nearly the full height of floor to ceiling, and virtually the full width of the room,

although i would be conferdant in cutting mdf panels to size to make the carcus, and cut doors, i am less sure on the methode of construction wether one uses dado,s screws , to join all the revelant pieces together

shelving fixture methode??

so if someone can recomend a book i could hire from libery on construction methodes it would be helpfull.

i want to have a try at building a modest inbuilt wardrobe.

thank you

 

[philpolish]

Hi there i have bought a few books of amazon just search for built ins. Although I will say if you ask a few questions on here you will find out all you need to know. If it is in an alcove you dont even need a carcase just scribe two bits of timber to the wall then make a frame to screw to that and just hang your doors from there.

I bought Tauntons
Trim carpentry and Bulit ins by Clayton Dekorne
Tauntons
Finish Carpentry, Fine Homebuilding.

Very nice christmas presents.
But as i said if you want to save a few quid ask away its pretty straight foward.
Regards Phil.

 

[Scrit]

although i would be conferdant in cutting mdf panels to size to make the carcus, and cut doors, i am less sure on the methode of construction wether one uses dado,s screws , to join all the revelant pieces together

Hi Micks

Forget rebates (i.e. a dado at the edge - dado is an Americanism :twisted: ) with 18mm MDF. Just examine a flat pack wardrobe or a kitchen cabinet to see how it is constructed. They are basically boxes: top, bottom and two sides with a back. The back sits in a rebate or a groove and adds rigidity (especially if you make it out of carcase material). To join the carcasses the simplest and cheapest way is the humble black carcass screw with a bit of PVA along the joint. To make wider units just make up several boxes and screw together using #8 x 1in screws. For shelves get hold of the basic kitchen shelf supports sold by firms like Woodfit. A look through their catalogue will give you lots of idaes about how to joint timber using components available in the UK (which may well be different from those available in the USA, such as face frame hinges which are almost unheard of here)

Scrit

 

[Alpinist]

I use 6x1.5 screws for mine for the carcass and blum hinges for the doors. MDf takes alot of painting 3 or 4 coats. I have experimented with various ways of fitting them into alcoves, which are usually out of plum and an iregular shape. The last ones I made I fitted a face frame of timber which overshot the edge of the alcove so that I could scribe back a panel to lose the edge. I have never rebated the backs, but it sounds like a good idea.

 

[engineer one]

as scrit says, go to your local shed, and spend some time looking at their
kitchen and bedroom units. they are a good starting point, and indeed you could always adapt them, often what is inside them, is cheaper than buying the raw materials

one point though, if you are going to do it yourself, then think about the weight, and your ability to lift and carry. it is better to produce boxes no bigger than 1220x1220x600, since except for a very small place for the longer clothes of swmbo almost everything will fit, and it is easier to put drawers and shelves in smaller units. also they are more rigid.

however, the simplest way is to just put some 2x1's around the alcove/wall, and then hang a kind of face frame, however i am a believer in having proper boxes, biscuited, glued and screwed together with a decently fixed back. i am just a pessimist in that having stripped out a number of wardrobes recently i have found numerous things other than spiders down the back. without a back generally, if you drop things they can be lost until future generations.

hope this helps
paul :wink: