The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
Built In Cabinets And Storage Walls
If you have an unfinished area in your house that you are completing, the inclusion of this built-in will provide a wall, a closet and furniture with a minimum of effort and with the most satisfactory result.
The sides, partitions, top, shelf and bottom of the carcase can be made either of solid stock or plywood. The two base members and the strip that covers the sliding-door hardware should be made of solid stock. All of the joints are simple butt joints with the exception of the rabbets that join the sides with the top. The uprights that support the adjustable shelf brackets should be recessed in grooves as shown in the detail drawing.
All of the parts that make up the carcase are simple rectangles with the exception of the sides, which have 2" x 4" notches cut into their front lower corners. The lengths of the sides and the partitions in the upper compartment are variable. There is no back to this built-in, as in most cases the existing wall automatically provides this.
Remove the existing baseboards in the corner where the built-in is to be. Nail in place the
side that goes in the corner. Use tenpenny nails for this and be sure that they go into studs. Then nail the two base members in position. The front one is toenailed to the floor from the inside. The back one is nailed to the wall. Nail the bottom and the shelf to the two partitions, spacing them 30" apart to make three equal spaces for each compartment. Fasten this assembly in place by nailing down into the base members and toenailing the shelf and bottom to the side.
Next nail the top to the partitions in the upper storage space and then fasten this group in position. Get at least six nails into the ceiling and toenail the partitions to the shelf. Nail the remaining side to the top, shelf, bottom and floor, and finish the carcase assembly by fastening on the strip that covers the sliding-door hardware.
The sliding doors are made of 3/4" thick plywood and hung on Stanley 2681-D hardware, which can be purchased complete, ready for installation, requiring only that the track be cut to length. Other hardware can also be used, but in this case make sure the doors are cut to the proper length.
The sliding panels that cover the upper storage space slide in metal channels. All doors, both upper and lower, have handles made of 3/4" x 3/4" x 4" blocks of wood.
Make drawers of varying heights to accommodate different articles. Each drawer will need two drawer runners screwed fast to two adjustable shelf brackets. The brackets do not come with holes in them, so these will have to be drilled. Notice that the drawer front extends 3/4" above the sides. This covers the drawer runners. The shelves are made of plywood.
