How to Mount Hardware for a Clothes Rod
- 1). Remove everything from the closet. If this closet has been used by someone else in the past it is likely to need a good scrub down and repainting. By painting the closet you seal out old odors such as smoking, grease or sweaty clothes. Place plastic sheeting on the floor and tape the edges with painter's tape. Fill any holes in the wall with wood filler.
- 2). Paint the closet with a roller and 2-inch angled paintbrush. Use a paint that will not release odors such as a low or no VOC paint. Allow six hours for the paint to dry.
- 3). Plan your closet. Often the space in a closet can be doubled with double rods. While you will be paying for extra rods and hardware, you will thank yourself from the moment you start using the closet. Use a pencil and lightly mark the height of each closet rod.
- 4). Move a stud finder along the back and side walls of the closet marking the location of all studs. It is important to screw the closet rod and shelf bracket into a wall stud for rod support.
- 5). Install your top closet rod bracket first. Screw two long 2-inch screws through the bracket into the wall stud. Make sure the bracket is level. Position the second bracket level with the first no more than 4 feet from the first bracket. Make sure a shelf placed across the top of the brackets will be level and screw this bracket into the wall stud.
- 6). Measure from wall to wall or the length of the closet rod. From wall to wall subtract 1/2 inch for hardware dimensions. Cut your closet rod with a table saw. Place your closet rod on the closet rod hanger. Position the enclosed end cap hardware on one end and mark your screw holes. Move the rod aside and screw the cap to the wall.
- 7). Position the rod inside the cap and across the rod hangers. Slide the open end cap over the end of the rod. Move the rod and mark the screw holes. Screw the cap to the wall with the open side up. Screw the rod to the rod hangers up through the bottom of the rod hanger into the wood. You may need to pre-drill pilot holes if the wood is very hard.
- 8). Measure and cut the wood for the shelf. Sand along the edges if necessary. Screw the shelf to the bracket by screwing through the bracket from the underside into the wood. Be careful to use screws that will not come through the top of the wood. You may need to pre-drill pilot holes if the shelf wood is very hard. Repeat these steps for each closet rod and shelf.
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