I think we can do better than that.
The first thing I have to do is get rid of all this clutter and non clutter things alike.
I'm non discriminatory here at simply easy diy.
Normally before beginning a project I sit down at my computer and sketch things out
so I know what to cut. I'm not doing that in this instance because I've chosen to use
the walls of the house as the carcass of my pantry.
But how does that change things you ask? Well one thing I learned over the years is
that house walls are never plumb and corners are never square. So if I make my cuts as
though they were plumb and square. I'm going to run into problems that will only serve
to frustrate me down the road. So as I cross a bridge I'll burn it at that
time. Or however that saying goes. These wall anchors generally have a nail that
needs to be removed before I pull the anchor out. If you don't do that then it's probably
going to yank about three inches of the surrounding drywall out with it.
Looks like there are a few layers of paint I'm dealing with here so I'll flush that as
best I can with a scraper.
Before I fill these holes I'll press the edges
in with a flat head screwdriver.
Because I'll eventually be closing this space
in with cabinet doors I'm going to take the walls back to a basic white. If I don't this
tan color will just serve to make everything darker and harder to see in the pantry. I
don't want that so a fresh coat, paint and primer in one, does the trick.
Time to gather some shelf ledges. I've picked through my scrap bin and found several pieces
of lumber that will do me. Anything more I need I'll just rip and cut from regular 1x4s
that I already have in my shop. For the most part these pieces are not going to be seen
so its ok if they have blemishes that may make them undesirable in other applications.
However, I am going to spend the time to make them all a uniform size. So I'll send them
though my planer a couple times. Then rip them to a one inch widths on the table saw.
Then cut them to length on the miter saw.
Take them over to my work table. Line them up. Drill some pilot holes.
I'm measuring about twenty four inches up from the floor to start my shelves. This is
the only measurement I'll be making while installing the shelves. Everything else will
feed off that one mark. Level it across and predrill a hole for a
wall anchor using the ledge piece itself. Drive a wall anchor. These I'm using just
happen to be 50 pound anchors.
Relevel that and because there is a stud in
that back corner I'll predrill a pilot hole and drive a 3 inch screw at an angle instead
of using another anchor in the back. Our house is concrete block construction so
the studs where I am working are not 16 inches on center they are 24. So I only have studs
at each of the corners of this space. Not everybody has to deal with that so if you
can find studs to anchor the ledges to I would always recommend that over the drywall anchors.
Just follow that procedure all the way around.
For the second shelf and every one there after
I'm going to use a spacer set on top of the first ledge to mark for the next.
Rinse and repeat.
For the shelves I've gone to my local home
improvement store. Picked up a full sheet of ply and rolled it right over to their board
cutting area. I know the depth of my shelves is to be 20 inches. So I had them cross cut
the sheet at every 21 inches. That makes things easier on me at home cause now I dont have
to cut a full size sheet goods. I only have to trim the pieces to final size.
So first I'll cut the width using a circular saw.
Then I'll take that over to my table saw and
trim the depth from the 21 inches I had the store cut to the 20 inches that I need. I
never have them cut to an exact measurement because their equipment may not be accurate.
I know one of my stores their panel saw is not squared up and if I have them cross cut
a sheet it will come out a full quarter inch off from one end to the other.
Pro tip. Check your eye level for a project like this. I'm painting the top of all the
shelves for a cleaner look. However the top two shelves are actually above eye level.
Which means we'll be able to see the underside of the shelves. So after these have dried
I'll pick two pieces, flip them over and paint the other side as well. Then those two pieces
are going to become the top two shelves in my new pantry.
Tacking these in place isn't really necessary. It's not like they're going anywhere.
Time to work on the face frame. I've picked up some 1x2 pieces of red oak to match the
cabinets I already have in my room.
So after trimming this up a little bit on
my miter saw I'll go ahead and see if this fits.
Alright pretty good. I want the face frame cross pieces to match up with the shelves
so to do that all I have to do is mark a line while I have the vertical piece in place.
I'll do that for both sides.
The face frame will be assembled using pocket
holes so I'll take care of that right now.
Pretty self explanatory. What you see is what
you get. Just make sure those cross pieces line up with the marks and I should be good to go.
Now before I attach the face frame lets address
those naked edges of the shelves. Some oak edge banding is pretty cheap. I usually
keep a couple rolls of it in my shop at all times. And I used to steal my wife's iron
until she threatened bodily harm. Then I just went out and bought a 5 dollar one for myself.
One of those things you don't think of keeping in a shop but actually comes in handy in more
than one way. Alright that is looking a lot better, now
lets take this and see if it fits.
23 gauge pins leave the slightest of marks
that really can't be seen unless you're looking for them.
That is looking a lot better than it did for sure. I will eventually close this in behind
some pantry cabinet doors but I'm having some difficulty finding enough of the materials
I need locally and I'm for sure not driving an hour just to go get them so that will be
a project for another time and video. Subscribe if you haven't and never miss a
new video project. Until then.