Help with built ins

[Redhill Red]

Hi
I am thinking of building some wardrobes across the width of a room from floor to ceiling, the room is approx' 2.4m wide.

I was hoping someone could point me in right direction of how to start , i was thinking of building a frame out of CLS timber then attaching a finished face frame with inset doors.

Is this the preffered route or can anyone point me in the direction of a better way?

 

[matt]

A series of carcasses with face frames, on a full width pre-fitted plinth. All screwed together then finished off with a cornice.

 

[JFC]

No need for CLS , just make boxes to the sizes you want out of MDF and face frame that or lay on the doors ( No need for a face frame this way )
If you allow for a 50mm fillet each side you dont need to worry about how square the walls are . A plinth at the bottom and a fillet at the top is normal also .
Edit : you beat me to it Matt .

 

[engineer one]

boring old fart that i am i agree with doing the mdf units, but if you are doing it on your own, i suggest you restrict the units to ones which are no more than 1220mm high, since they become b***** heavy otherwise.

as jason says it is easier to build them away from the site, and then assemble there certainly makes squaring them up easier.

reason i mention weight is that over the weekend i modified an old mfi unit in white melamine, cut it in half basically and made it a single storage unit for tools etc for the workshop. had the stuff lying around so it seemed sensible not to waste. the unit is about 1520mm high, by 500 wide and deep. after putting it back to gether it was pretty heavy and difficult to move on my own of the workbench.

they are not only quite heavy, but also pretty unwieldy.

other wise as everybody has said.
just think like this. you only need a relatively small area for long clothes like raincoats and ladies long dresses. otherwise trousers, normal types of skirts and shirts will only need a drop of about 900mm, and about 600 depth.

think about drawers for underwear etc, and about making a trouser rack of dowelling that pulls out to hold many pairs in the smallest space.
what are you doing about shoes, and sweaters etc??

paul :wink:

 

[johnnyb]

fine woodworking.com has a superb article called built in basics.

 

[jasonB]

Carcases for me as well but consider MFC (melamine faced Chipboard) in either white/cream or woodgrain, preferably not the 15mm Conti board but a decent 18mm board.

I'd make it 5 doors wide in 3 sections, 2 @ about 900mm and a central one @ 450mm, leaving space for a fillet at the sides. Make a plinth out of CLS either set back or flush and dressed with skirting. Faceframe fixed to carcase if you want that look and a cornice moulding on top.

The carcases can be assembled face down in the room, back fitted and then just stand them upright and walk into position, a one man job.

All the wardrobes in this album are built with variations of the same method.

Jason

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Jason

Thank you for this idea.

I know exactly where I can make use of it.

Thanks
Neil

 

[jasonB]

No problem, at least you will have somewhere for your long dresses now :wink:

Jason

 

[chippy1970]

DITO

I make lots of fitted units for people and I nearly always build the plinth first then make mdf boxes then slide them all together and infill any gaps around the perimeter. You could also buy kitchen legs from say Howdens then you just clip the plinth on but this makes the plinth quiet high.

You can just butt the units together or sometimes I put 2x1 in between to make the carcases seem thicker then cover all front face with 6mm mdf.

Really there are lots of ways its all down to choice i think the box idea works well as all units have very neat interior with backs I cant stand it when i look at other peoples work and you look inside the cupboards and you can see the naff wall and battens holding the sides up etc.

 

[engineer one]

i agree with chip, backs always look better, and it is also a safeguard against things getting lost down the back. and of course they make the boxes stronger and ensure they stay square.

actually the important thing is not to fill the space just because you can, but rather try to make it look attractive too, and proper spacing and interesting thicknesses help there too.

paul :wink:

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Jason

No problem, at least you will have somewhere for your long dresses now :wink:

Jason

Has that Steve Maskerry been talking out of turn again?

Cheers
Neil