2+ year long closet project finally finished!

[BigguyZ]

OK, it didn't take me two years to complete this,but with a ton of work that I was doing on a house my brother and I rennovated, the project spanned two years, or maybe it was 18 months... whatever, it was a long time.

So anyways, I've attached a couple of rough sketches that I did when planning the project, and the in process pictures. There are 2 minor details I need to work out, but essentially it's all completed.

Due to the size of the doorways, I built the unit in two stages, the lower drawers and the upper cubby/ shelf. The carcasses barely fit. I tried every possible idea for building the drawers- dovetails with my PC DT jig, box joints... But either I couldn't get a good fit, or I got terrible tear-out. So, I went the easy route and went with pocket holes. The drawer fronts and back have the pockets, so you can't see them once you install the drawer fronts.

On the top portion, I installed an outlet, and xenon puck lights attached to a dimmer. I tried to mirror the partitions for the shelf section and the open/ hopefully TV section in the top with the drawers on the bottom.

There is a slight variation in color between the knobs and the pulls, but the color matches pretty well in person (I had the pulls already, and bought the knobs to match as closely as I could).

Thanks!
Travis

[BobSch]

Pretty sweet. I wish we had walls that would allow us to inset a unit like that. Good job.

[pelligrini]

That's a pretty sharp looking built-in.

What are the materials & finishes? I really like the look of the grain on the back panel.

What type of puck light did you use, and do you like them? I put a bunch under my kitchen uppers several years ago, they worked great for the first 6 months, but they have been terrible since. These were some plastic ones from HD that had a brass plated finish. Sockets are failing, the plastic is breaking, etc. I'd like to get some new all metal ones someday.

[jkristia]

Looks super. 2 years, yeah I know how it is. I started the simple cabinets for my computer room back in february and I have only completed 3 of 8, mostly because of being very busy at work (including weekend work) and other projects popping up. Maybe in another year or so I can show my finished project - and hopefully it turns out as good as yours, well not exactly since I go for the easy option and just paint it all white.

Jesper

[crokett]

That is gorgeous. I love that it is built-in and I wish I had walls that allowed for that too.

[BigguyZ]

Well, I can say that my walls definitely didn't like that to happen! I actually posted a thread a while ago in the project forum regarding what I needed to to to properly brace the wall, in case it was load-bearing. So there's 2x6 headers over the top of the built-in, and additional framing all around. Then, I had to deal with the plaster and lath. That was a pain!

I used a masonry blade in my circ saw to cut through the plaster, then, I used a sawzall to cut the lath. It was a whole, terrible, process. To prevent the lath from crumbling the plaster, I actually screwed 2x4's the the outside of the wall, where the opening was. That clamped the lath and plaster in place against the interior studs, which meant that it was supported enough to be cut. THEN, I used silicone caulk in the gaps that were between the plaster and lath and studs to glue the plaster in place so again it wouldn't crumble more. That actually worked really well- better than I expected. After all that, I filled any parts that still had broken off with Rock Hard as filler, and joint compound as the final layer, sanded smooth.

For materials, the lower carcass is a mix of whatever was around. For the upper, I used this "birch" ply that HD had. It actually did pretty well. For the drawers, I used "baltic birch" from Menards (came in 4'x8' sheets). 1/2" thickness. Finally, the drawer fronts and the face frame was made from the Select boards from Menards (Supposed to be pine, but it definitely isn't... something close though. I actually liked the wood a lot. Not wet like the cheaper stuff).

For the finish, I used Mahagony gel stain from Minwax. I was trying to match the reddish color of the original pine trim, but it's a bit too dark, and not as red. But frankly, this is in the apartment for my duplex- and my apartment will be eventually be rented out as well (once I buy a new single-family place for myself). So it's close enough for a rental unit. (yeah, I know. Not the best frame of mind- but did I mention this was in progress for 2 years??). Then, I found that brushing or wiping a poly would take the gel stain right off. So, I used a spray can lacquer, and added more with a wipe-on formula after is was sealed in.

So yeah, a bunch of compromises, but at this point I just wanted it done...

[lrogers]

VERY nice. That is a job to be proud of.