Closet Shelving Layout and Design

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Closet Shelving Layout and Design
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• When I started out in the building business,
  interest rates were low, money was
• easy to borrow, and custom homes were the way to
  go. But six years later, in the
• early 1980s, that all changed. Interest rates
  went over 15. No one could
• afford, let alone qualify, for a loan. Economics
  and demand dragged us into
• multi-family housingwe started installing
  finish work on apartment
• complexes, condominiums, and townhouses. The work
  was hard, the prices
• competitive, but the profits were good if you had
  your act together, if you were
• fast and didnt make mistakes.
• Five or six years later, I was glad when the
  custom home business came back
• with a roar. But I wouldnt trade what I learned
  from those 200-plus unit
• buildings, not a bit of it. Our approach to every
  high-end custom jobfrom the
• big ones to the little ones, and our profit
  marginsstill depends on the lessons
• learned from production work. And installing
  shelving is a perfect example.

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• When it comes to installing closet shelving, if
  your crew isnt following a manual
• of practicea system that simplifies repetitive
  tasks, eliminates needless steps, and
• speeds installation timethen youll never enjoy
  the profits that can be made in
• closets. Once the exterior doors are in, before
  installing any interior doors or trim,
• we like to get the closet shelving in place, if
  its paint grade. Its just easier to work
• in a closet without the doors in the way, and
  besides, that way we dont have to
• worry about banging shelving into new doors. We
  wait to install the baseboard until
• all the shelving is in, too, because the
  baseboard has to be cut around the dividers.

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• Closet Design
• Laying out and installing closet shelving used to
  be simpleyou just installed a
• single shelf and pole in every closet, about 66
  in. from the floor, so a dress
• wouldnt drag on the carpet. Maybe people didnt
  have so many clothes
• back then.
• Today, closet design is an important part of
  construction, but designing closet
• shelving doesnt have to be a brain-twister.
  Though closets seem to come in many
• different sizes and shapes, theyre actually
  limited to only two basic types walk-in
• closets, and reach-in closets.

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• Control Closet Design
• No matter how high-end a home, the closets always
  share a lot in commonat
• least the ones outside the master bedroom. After
  all, there are only so many
• possible configurations. The three most common
  types of shelving arrangements
• are Double Pole, Single Pole, and Linen Shelves.
  We try to include a little of each
• in every closet, and we use 15 1/2 in. dividers
  to separate and help support
• the shelving.
• To allow enough room for medium-length coats and
  shirttails, Double Pole should
• be spaced a minimum of 40 in. from the floor, and
  40 in. apart. That puts the top of
• the 14 cleats at 42 in. and 84 in. from the
  floor (see image, below). We angle-cut
• our dividers, leaving a 1-in. toe on the floor,
  so its easier to get a vacuum near the
• wall. Whether the customer wants wood, melamine,
  or MDF shelving, we limit the
• spananything over 34 in. will sag without a
  support.

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• Single Pole is meant for dresses and long coats.
  It must be installed at least 66 in.
• from the floor, farther for tall clients. To
  secure the pole and the rosettes, we use
• 14 cleats to support all closet poles. For linen
  shelving, we use 12 cleats.
• This shelving arrangement is a catchallits not
  meant just for bedding shirts,
• sweaters, sports clothing, and even toys will end
  up on these shelves. To keep
• closets uniform and easier to install, we keep to
  the same layout12 in. on center
• for all but the bottom two shelves.
• Blankets and boxes need more space, so we put the
  first linen shelf at 18 in. from
• the floor, and the second one 15 in. higher, for
  boots or tall toys.
• The top shelf is usually above the door header,
  which means that, in a 24-in. deep
• closet, its tough to get anything up there.

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• Even though the dividers are 15 1/2 in. deep (so
  theyll support the poles!), we install a
• 12 in. top shelf, and radius or angle-cut the
  tops of the dividers.
• These simple design rules apply to even the most
  complicated closets, from reach-ins,
• like the one in the previous illustrations, to
  elaborate walk-ins, like the one below. Just
• remember one thing whenever you turn a corner
  with shelving All closet poles require a
• minimum 24 in. clearance before the next divider,
  otherwise there wont be enough
• room to slide clothes into the corner.
• Walk-in closets, and long reach-ins, pose a
  problem when it comes to shelves sagging,
• too. The best solution is another design
  strategy eliminate mid-span supports on linen
• shelves by limiting their span to 32 in., and
  then let the closet poles run longer. After all,
• metal supports for single and double pole are
  easy to install, but installing supports for
• linen shelving isnt so easy, and there are a lot
  more shelves!

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• A Not-so-simple story pole
• Obviously, the trick to making money in closet
  organizers is being organized
• yourself, and that starts with the design. Once
  youve controlled and simplified the
• design, control and simplify the layout and
  installation, tooteach your crew how
• to make and use a story pole for every job.
• Its a fact of life the more times your
  carpenters pull out a tape measure, the more
• mistakes theyll make, the slower theyll work,
  and the less profit theyll produce.
• Theres hardly a carpentry layout task that
  doesnt benefit from the use of a story
• pole.
• Make closet story poles from a piece of durable
  14, and dont just pencil the marks
• cut notches so the pole can be used from job to
  job.

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• Make all the notches at the top of the support
  cleats, except the top cleat! Instead,
• cut the story pole 3 1/2 in. short, so the mark
  for the top shelfmade by striking a
• pencil across the top of the story polewill be
  at the bottom of the cleat that way,
• your carpenter wont have to climb a ladder to
  see the top shelf mark.
• With good design control and a story pole, a
  single carpenter can lay out all the
• closets in a typical home in less than one hour,
  and even make a cut list, too.
• Whenever possible, we try to keep linen shelves
  the same width, so they can be cut
• in packages. The same with Double Pole
  arrangements, especially if there are
• several closets of roughly the same size. That
  way, only one special measurement
• needs to be made in each closet. But Ill save
  that subject for another day.

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• Important Closet Requirements
• Single Shelf-and-Pole To accommodate long coats
  and dresses, a section of Single Shelf-
• and-Pole should be installed in every closet
  (closets for children are often an exception). To
  
• keep dresses and coats from dragging on the
  floor, install Single Shelf-and-Pole at least 66
• in from the floortake the measurement from the
  bottom of the shelf (that puts the pole at
• about 64 in. from the floor). For exceptionally
  tall people, increase the height to keep long
• clothes off the floor.
• Double Pole If pants are folded over a hanger,
  they only need half the hanging height as a
• long dressabout 34 in. from the bottom of the
  shelf to the floor. Shirts are longer and
• require 40 in. from the bottom of the shelf.
  Because most of the clothes in our closets today
• are pants and shirts, Double Shelf-and-Pole
  should predominate in every closet, which
• doubles the storage space. To make the job of
  installing shelves easier and to allow
• homeowners the choice of changing the arrangement
  of their clothes, I separate all Double
• Poles by 42 in., which makes the top shelf 84 in.
  from the floor.

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• The Top Shelf The top shelf should run
  completely across the closet, and around
• all three walls in a u-shaped closet, so the same
  84-in. height determines the second
• or top shelf over a Single Shelf-and-Pole, too
  (see diagram, above). In most 8-ft.
• closets, 12 in. of space remains between the top
  shelf and the ceiling, which is
• enough room for shoe boxes, hat boxes and other
  storage.
• Sweater Shelves A typical bank of sweater
  shelves should begin 16 in. from the
• floor, which allows room for tall boots on the
  floor. Succeeding shelves should be
• spaced about 12 in. apart. If the top shelf is
  installed at 84 in. from the floor, this
• sweater shelf arrangement should result in a
  somewhat even spacing.

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• Shoe Shelves Shoes only require about 7 in. of
  height (that includes high-tops
• and pumps). To get the most from your closet
  space, design shelving
• specifically for shoes and dont rely on
  12-in.-spaced shelves for shoe storage.
• An 84-in. tall bank of shelves, with the first
  shelf 16 in. from the floor, can
• include 4 shoe shelves and 3 sweater shelves (see
  diagram). Of course, if
• theres room, and youre expecting a lot of
  shoes, build an entire bank of shoe
• shelves.
• The only shelf in a closet that wont align
  horizontally with other shelves is the
• Single Shelf-and-Pole, because its set at 68 in.
  from the floor. The 16-in. space
• between the Single Shelf-and-Pole and the top
  shelf can be divided again by an
• additional shelf, which creates a perfect
  location for a few pairs of shoes.