DIY: How to Build a Walk-In Closet

Once you’ve got your materials in hand, it’s time to lay the initial groundwork for building your own closet.

You have two options when deciding where to build your own walk-in closet. If possible, you can frame off an alcove in the desired room. If the room instead has an open layout, you can frame a space along one or two existing walls.

In order to plan the size and layout of your walk-in closet, you’ll need to ask yourself a few questions:

• Will you use a swinging door or folding doors? This is important for determining how much space you need in front of the closet.
• What are you storing in it? Will it be just your clothes/shoes/accessories, or are you planning on storing other items as well?
• What type of storage options (i.e. rods, shelves, hooks, cubbies) do you plan to incorporate?
• Do you plan to include non-storage elements, like a spot to fold or iron clothes?
• Do you have mobility considerations to take into account when spacing things out?

Draw up a rough sketch of what you want your closet to look like, then begin testing mock layouts in the intended space to determine dimensions. An easy way to do this is to use string and tacks to stake out different layout options. When you find a layout you like and think will work within the space, you can then easily measure the strings to get the dimensions.

You may or may not need a permit to build a closet in an existing space. Contact your city’s building department to make sure of the laws in your area. If you will need to add lighting to your closet space, you or your electrician will almost certainly need an electrical permit.

If your room is carpeted, pull up the carpet, underlay, and tack strips in the space where you plan to build the closet. Roll the carpet back and out of the way. When you’re finished with the project, you’ll cut it to fit around the closet and tack it back down.

Pry the baseboards off of any sections of existing wall that will become part of the closet.

Measure along whatever existing wall you’ll be using and find the studs that are nearest to the dimensions where you’ll want to put each of your new walls into place. You need a stud so that you have something to anchor your new walls to.

Use a 2X4 to draw a straight line from floor to ceiling along those studs. Once they’re constructed, you’ll line your walls up with these lines.

Cut two 2x4s to the length of the first wall you need to construct. These will be your header and footer plates.

Use a tape measure and a permanent marker to mark stud spacing on both 2X4s. Remember that studs must be spaced “sixteen inches on center,” meaning that the center of each stud is 16 inches from the center of the next.

For as many studs as you will need for the wall, cut 2x4s to the height you want the wall to stand. Add an additional 2studs to your count to serve as end caps.

Nail one stud at each end of the footer plate, and nail the remainder into their slots. Nail the header plate on top.

Repeat the Prep and Construction steps for each wall you’ll build.

You will construct the wall containing your door in basically the same manner as above. On your footer plate, mark the space where the door will go, then mark for studs using the above method, simply skipping over the door space.

Nail in your studs and header as normal. Then create a “door header” by cutting a 2×4 to the width of the door and nailing it across the gap at door height.

Lift your first wall into place, lining it up with the marks you made on the existing wall. Use a level to ensure that it sits straight. Use shims where necessary to make it level.

Secure it to the existing wall by nailing through the end stud into the existing wall every 2 feet.

Anchor it to the floor and ceiling by nailing between studs liberally along both the header and the footer plates.

Repeat this process for all walls.

Wherever you feel you may need extra structural support to hang shelving and other items, cut sections of 2X4 to fit between studs, and nail them between the studs at those locations. When in doubt, go crazy. More studs just mean more options for hanging things in the future.