Project:
For over 3 years I've been wanting to get rid of my old dressers and build me a new wardrobe so I won't have to shove all my clothes into small drawers but instead fold them up neatly and put them on shelves. I guess it's a European thing, but I just find that I can see my clothes better and keep them nicer organized on shelves than in drawers.
Finally, now that Eliana was a bit over 3 months old I decided to tackle this project. I knew it was going to be a long one and between the feeds, naps and other family obligations I knew I'd only get a couple of hours per day in if I'm lucky.
The plan was to build 3 independent units, 36" wide by 7 feet tall, 21" deep with lots of shelves, a place for our TV in the middle unit and building in our little electric fire place we bought a few years ago for some extra ambiance.
Process:
Step 1: Plan the wardrobe
Step 2: Get the materials
Step 3: Cut all the parts to their proper size
Step 4: Fill all the holes with wood filler and prep for painting
Step 5: Paint the wood
Step 6: Put it all together
Step 7: Final touch-ups
Pictures:
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| Old dresser my parents bought me in 1992! |
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| Second dresser. This sucker went through about 4 moves and was still as solid (and heavy!) as when it was new |
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| The plan |
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| Some of the wooden shelves cut up |
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| The sides to the wardrobes |
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| The tops and bottoms |
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| The 9 drawer fronts |
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| A jig I used to space the dowels perfectly |
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| Putting it together to make sure it fits. I ended up inadvertently opening the garage door which squished the unit and damaged one shelf. I was actually quite impressed with how strong it was and that there was not more damage |
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| Close-up of bottom of shelf |
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| I had to create a temporary spray booth for painting the doors because it was raining outside |
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| My temporary paint booth worked perfectly |
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| The doors after they were primed |
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| The sides after they were painted |
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| Most of the parts after they were painted |
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| 14 shelves, 9 drawer fronts, 6 side walls, 3 tops and 3 bottoms |
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| 1/2" melamine for the drawers. This is for the last 5 drawers; I had already built 4 at that time |
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| One unit once I've emptied the old dressers and my wife's walk-in closet of all my clothes |
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| Ta-daa... |
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| Just for size comparison. The 3 units are 9 feet wide, 7.5 feet high and 21" deep. They must weigh 500 lbs! |
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| Final shot of the 3 assembled wardrobe units |
Tools:
Table saw, Drill, welder for making the jig, measuring tape, square, air nailer, router, planer, iron for iron-on edging, compressor, paint gun, hammer, pencil, dremel
Materials:
MDF, dowels, 2x4s for corners, wood filler, screws, primer, paint, nails,
Cost (approximate):
5/8" MDF (7 sheets): $310
1/8" MDF for backs (3 sheets): $40
1/2" Melamine for drawers (3 sheets): $75
2x4s for corners: $30
2 gal primer: $40
2 gal paint: $80
3 packs of dowels for shelves: $15
8 sets of hinges: $50
24 door/drawer handles: $45
9 sets of drawer slides: $100
TOTAL: $785.90
Time:
Approximately 50hr
Savings:
Not sure what 3 custom-built units like these would cost but my guess is at least $750 per unit. So the total savings are about $1,750
Conclusion:
Love them! It was a LOT of work but definitely worth it now that they're done. They are so solid that I know we'll still have them in 20 years (if we still want them then)
