My weekend didn’t fairly go as deliberate, as thus far, this week hasn’t, both. A part of that is because of poor planning on my half, and a part of it is because of circumstances past my management. I’m not going to emphasize about it, although. The construct for my walk-in closet can be began very quickly, and till then, stressing about it isn’t going to perform something besides put me in a really unhealthy temper. And no person needs that. 😀 So all I can do is giggle at this comedy of errors and wait patiently.
Listed here are the errors on my half. First, I’ve been working off of closet mockups that I did some time again utilizing IKEA’s PAX wardrobe designer. With that design device, you’ll be able to actually get a good suggestion of what the completed closet will appear like, however clearly, you’re caught utilizing the merchandise they carry. So you’ll be able to’t do any fine-tuning of the main points. It wasn’t an issue on the time as a result of I used to be simply attempting to get a normal thought of the format of the closet, and that is what I got here up with. In case you’ve been following for some time, you’ve already seen these.
The proper wall of the room will look one thing like this…
After which the left facet of the closet will look one thing like this…
After which the wall with the doorway on it’ll look one thing like this…
Put all of that collectively, and it creates a flooring plan that appears like this…
So final Friday, utilizing these pictures, I figured how a lot plywood I’d must construct all the pieces. To be fairly trustworthy, the sheer quantity of plywood this mission will take shocked the heck out of me. I wasn’t anticipating that quantity in any respect. And figuring out the value of sanded cabinet-grade plywood nowadays, I had some critical sticker shock. I checked out the entire plywood choices on-line at each Lowe’s and House Depot and determined that Lowe’s had extra choices.
Saturday, I headed to Lowe’s considering that I’d load up all of my provides, lease the Lowe’s truck, deliver them residence, unload them, and get began constructing. However there have been 4 points.
First, in all, I had figured that I wanted about 25 sheets of plywood. However on my record, I had failed to find out how a lot I wanted of every thickness. Not all the pieces would have to be constructed out of three/4-inch plywood. Some issues would require 1/2-inch plywood, and nonetheless different issues would require 1/4-inch plywood. In my pleasure to get began, I had fully failed in my planning.
Second, after I was there, I discovered two different sorts of plywood that have been significantly cheaper. They have been each labeled for inside/exterior use. One was simply over $35 per sheet, and the opposite was slightly below $50 per sheet. That may save me a substantial amount of cash if I may use a type of as a substitute of the beautiful sanded cabinet-grade plywood that ran from $65 per sheet to $89 per sheet. So at that time, I started affected by indecision, as I typically do.
And third, it was whereas I used to be standing in Lowe’s trying on the plywood choices that I noticed I actually wanted to make some tweaks to my plan since I used to be going off of the designs that I had swiftly put collectively utilizing Ikea’s PAX wardrobe planner utilizing their restricted choices with none customizations. And I undoubtedly wanted so as to add some customizations.
For instance, this room goes to be a closet and laundry room mixture. Someplace within the room, I want to create space for a laundry hamper. The place would that go within the room? Additionally, I’m solely 5 toes tall, so I want an area within the room the place I can retailer no less than a step stool, if not an simply accessible step ladder that may keep on this room. The place will that go? And do I really want drawers on the bottoms of the sections the place the hanging garments will go? I’ll have a 72-inch island in the midst of the room with a number of drawers. Do I really want extra on the facet of the room, particularly if these drawers would require the hanging bars to be moved up, making them tougher for me to succeed in?
And fourth, as I stood there taking a look at these stacks of plywood, I counted out 21 sheets of three/4-inch plywood to see precisely what that appears like. I noticed then and there that there’s no approach I needed to lease the Lowe’s truck piled with 21 sheets of plywood after which get residence and must unload all of that myself after they have supply obtainable. But when I used to be going to pay $79 for supply, I needed to buy each single factor I wanted in a single buy and have all of it delivered at one time, together with the entire trim boards, molding, all the pieces. So I wanted to do much more detailed planning. Plus, I wanted to decide on sort of plywood I needed to make use of. I don’t must spend an additional $20-40 per sheet on stain-grade plywood since my total closet can be painted. (Spoiler alert: I ended up going with this plywood. I noticed it in particular person, and it appears to be like very nice with a sanded end that can look good as soon as painted. It’s simply shy of three/4 inch thick.)
So I spent the remainder of my Saturday and Sunday afternoon finalizing each single element I may consider for this closet. First, I chosen laundry hampers. I ended up buying two of these half moon woven hampers (affiliate hyperlink). I bought the sunshine colour, which oddly, isn’t obtainable anymore. So that you’ll must think about these within the mild pure colour. I purchased two as a result of I wish to separate my bleachable whites from all the pieces else.
With these gadgets bought, and with the measurements in hand, I wanted to discover a place to retailer them. So I spent a while transforming the hanging garments facet of the room. In order that facet went from trying like this, with a bunch of drawers I actually didn’t want…
…to trying like this, with an area for laundry hampers tall sufficient in order that the lids will open, a devoted slot for the step ladder, and the hanging bars for the garments I put on commonly introduced down decrease in order that they’re simply reachable for me. The hanging bar on the far left part remains to be excessive, however that’s the place I’ll hold issues I don’t must entry regularly.
The proper facet of the closet stayed just about the identical besides that I added two 14-inch-deep drawers proper subsequent to the washer the place I can retailer the large containers of laundry detergent, bleach, and so forth., for straightforward entry. My washer holds a pretty big reservoir of laundry detergent, sufficient for about 15 a great deal of laundry, so I gained’t must entry these for every load. However once more, with me being so brief, I’d reasonably have these issues saved low for straightforward entry reasonably than in a excessive cupboard that can require me to make use of a ladder to entry them. I additionally tweaked the drawers within the heart part to incorporate two rows of shallow drawers and two rows of taller drawers reasonably than having all of them the identical peak.
So with my finalized plan in hand, I meticulously figured the entire provides I’d must construct all the pieces, together with the drawers, and positioned my order. I ended up shopping for 21 sheets of three/4-inch plywood, 6 sheets of 1/2-inch plywood for the drawers, and 9 sheets of 1/4-inch plywood for the drawers and backing for the cupboard sections. Plus, I ordered the entire trim boards and molding to complete it out fully.
And since I used to be buying a lot, the person on the Lowe’s Professional Desk who was serving to me place my order had me arrange a Professional account, which gave me a reduction of $257.43. I additionally utilized for a Lowe’s bank card, which gave me a further 5% off of my buy.
The grand whole for all of my provides, together with tax and supply, got here to $2235.14.
The price of constructing a closet from scratch vs. the price of an IKEA Pax wardrobe closet
I used to be curious how that in comparison with an IKEA Pax wardrobe with an identical setup, so final night time, I redesigned the PAX wardrobe with the modifications. In fact, I nonetheless couldn’t get the entire particulars that I needed, just like the 14-inch-deep drawers or the part for my step ladder. However I acquired fairly shut.
The whole for the PAX wardrobes got here to $2410. However after all, that doesn’t embody any of the customizations, like including crown molding, baseboards, trim boards on the entrance edges of the wardrobe packing containers, including the cubby for my step ladder, and so forth. It additionally didn’t embody doorways for the 2 cupboards flanking the closet doorway because the PAX doorways wouldn’t work with my configuration. So I must construct these myself anyway.
As soon as all of these prices are added, a PAX wardrobe with an identical configuration plus customizations and trim/molding would price a grand whole of $3200.75, together with tax and supply.
I can undoubtedly see the attraction in utilizing a PAX wardrobe system, however there’s no price financial savings there for people who find themselves capable of construct from scratch. Plus, with a PAX system, the backs of the wardrobe sections are mainly thick cardboard, and I’m fairly positive the packing containers are fabricated from MDF coated with melamine. I don’t personally have an issue with that, however I do know that portray melamine is much more tough than portray plywood.
Additionally, with the PAX system, you could have restricted selections relating to the sizing. They solely supply three widths, so if these don’t match the measurements of your room, you simply must make it work. In my worth comparability, I used to be evaluating the 39-inch-wide PAX wardrobes to those I’ll construct at 46 inches vast, which is able to match the dimensions of my room significantly better.
Anyway, if you happen to’ve been contemplating a PAX wardrobe, however you could have the power to construct from scratch, that will provide you with an thought of the price comparability between the 2. In fact, there are professionals and cons to every. One profit (in all probability the principle profit) of utilizing PAX is the time financial savings. It’s a lot sooner and simpler to place these collectively than it’s to construct from scratch. However if you happen to’re planning on doing quite a lot of customizations with trim and molding to make it look custom-built when it’s completed, it may be value it to only construct the entire thing from scratch to economize.
So I’m on the supply schedule for Thursday. I’m hoping will probably be early within the day in order that I’ll truly be capable to begin constructing on Thursday. But when not, no less than I’ll be capable to get began on Friday. However irrespective of the timing, I’m not going to emphasize about it. That is imagined to be enjoyable, proper? 😀
Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I transform and adorn the 1948 fixer higher that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do bodily work, so I do the vast majority of the work on the home on my own. You can learn more about me here.
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