Project in progress: Master Closet Built-In

[Todd Burch]

Our master closet is a mess, and a while back, I decided to do something about it. I design a built-in in SketchUp. I knew I wanted it 53" wide, 1 inch under 9' tall, 16" deep on the bottom box and 12" deep on the top box. At 42", the top of the bottom box, is a walnut top that matches the finish right next door in the master bath.

It went through a few iterations in the design stage.


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I had originally wanted to paint it a light pastel green or yellow, but our designer and my wife determined "white was sufficient - it's just a closet". Next time, I'm not giving in. I decided on this configuration.


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Here's where I originally envisioned it sitting in the master closet (as seen from our master bath)


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However, when I was about ready to bring it into the house, Connie suggested we move to the right ~18", to get it more in the opening of the closet, as seen from the master bath. It took me about 2 seconds to see that was a better placement. I had to make some adjustments to add a 1/4" ply back, since the original design was an open frame with no back. I had test-fit a couple drawers in this picture. Box jointed drawer boxes with solid poplar fronts.


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I prefinished the top carcass (sprayed - oil based enamel) before bringing it into the house. It was pretty big. Next time, I'll leave a 2" gap at the ceiling instead of 1". 1 inch was pretty tight. I used MDF bead-board for the back.


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Above, you can see I premounted the clips for the Blum Blumotion cup hinges. They are pretty slick hinges - self closing. Since my tolerances were so tight, I actually had to mount the clips to the face frame before I attached the face frame to the box.

(continued...)

[Todd Burch]

Right now, the case is void of doors and drawers and is primed and ready for paint, as are the 6 drawer fronts and 8 doors.


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I'll start the paint later tonight on the drawer fronts and doors, then I'll tackle painting the case.

Thanks for looking. Todd

[Troy Turner]

my wife determined "white was sufficient - it's just a closet".

:D Glad I'm not the only one that's heard those words...

I wanted to do a build like yours, and wrap it around on the sides. Do this trim, this style, this color etc. As I was building the first carcass, she comes out and says, yeah, that's good. Really? It's just a carcass. "I know, that's all I want, it's just a closet".

I measured twice, but should have measured a third time. I left an inch from the ceiling, but evidently, the ceiling is only 8' at the back and about 7 3/4 towards the center. So we ended up staggering two sets of shelves vs stacking them. Metal bars all around for the clothes and we called it good.

Great looking project you have going there!

[Todd Burch]

Hi Troy. That's funny! Tragic, but funny! Here's something else tragic...

I foam-brushed 2 wet coats of P&L Accolade (Accolade = "guaranteed for life" paint) Designer White Base satin latex on the drawer fronts last night - and I CAN STILL SEE THROUGH IT!! UGG!! I got out an older quart can of Accolade blue and read the can for "how to apply", as this new-fangled plastic gallon big-screw-top sticky label doesn't say anything on how to apply.

Anyway, the quart can says "1 to 2 coats unless you are using Designer White Base, in which case MULTIPLE COATS will be required."

Just shoot me in the head!

I knew I didn't want white. I gotta figure out what I'm going to do today.

[glenn bradley]

First off, the built-in looks great and you will love it for years to come.

Second, a long and ill-spent youth attempting to shortcut painting (one of my most loathed activities) eventually taught me that a coat of good primer is always faster than multiple coats without one. I have finally learned that when I have to paint, take the time to prime; its faster in the end. You could probably still prime with something like Zinnsser B.I.N. and then lay on one coat of your paint to finish. My heart goes out to you in having to deal with any paint job. . . I'd almost rather do drywall.

[Jay Jolliffe]

I painted houses for 20+ yrs & when you start cutting corners they cause a lot more work in the end. A good primer, sand, if you sand through spot prime, sand spot prime, vacuum then start the finish paint. Don't try to lay it on in one coat. It won't have the right shine it's suppose to & most likely will look to thick. Take your time .

[Troy Turner]

I think you just answered what you're gonna do today...MULTIPLE COATS :D

I do feel your pain..good luck and hopefully you get a non-see through coat on before Christmas :)

[Todd Burch]

I did prime - see post #2. I used P&L Primer too.

I called my supplier this AM and told them my story. He asked that I bring the paint back in to check the batch number. He asked if the can was plastic or metal, and when I replied plastic, he said it might be old, as they stopped making the plastic cans about 5 years ago. Lucky me.

I also checked the P&L website, and they have a product call SUPER ONE COAT HIDE WHITE. I asked my supplier about this. I asked "what would I have had to ask for to get the good hiding paint?" He said "SUPER ONE COAT HIDE WHITE". Jerk.

He wasn't aware of the "multiple-coats-required" label from my old quart. I'm taking my old quart, the new gallon and a drawer front to him on Monday.

For an experiment last night, I used my 15+ year old Blue quart of Accolade on a scrap of plywood, with no primer. One coat. This morning, it looked wonderful.

Todd

[Todd Burch]

I went to my supplier today, with all evidence in hand. To make a long story short, I left with nothing new, except for maybe more information.

Their info was:

I should be using a nylon brush, not a foam brush.
I should spray the drawer fronts and doors, and brush the case. They said the sheen (satin) should not change from being spray or brushed. I quibbled with them on this point.
I should use 2 coats of primer, not one. Their reasoning (paraphrased) was "primer is cheaper, and it will take fewer coats to get full, even coverage of the <more expensive> paint". I questioned them on this point, saying "My understanding has always been 'primer is the glue that makes the paint stick to the wood', not the material to use to create the opaqueness of the finish". They agreed with this point, and then replied, again, with the above "primer is cheaper than paint".


Some things they said made sense, others did not.

So, after that somewhat lacking-in-satisfaction trip to my supplier, I went ahead and sanded the 2 coats of paint off the 6 drawer fronts, and then re-primed the 6 drawer fronts, and then put a second coat of primer on the case.

Next steps,

lightly sand the drawer fronts and case,
spray the drawer fronts and doors,
and brush the case.


I have 2 airless spray guns. A Titan 440 where the pickup tube goes into a 5 gallon bucket and it has a 50' hose, and then also a hand held, electric, screw-on cup spray gun I picked up at Sherwin Williams earlier this year. The latter works OK, but you really need to be about 2.5' - 3' away from what you are spraying (with its 311 tip - the smallest it supports) to not get the paint too heavy. Plus, the design of the thing (pick-up tube and cup) isn't supper efficient, so every couple minutes, literally, you are refilling the cup, and if you aren't spraying horizontally, you can lose the prime in the pump, which really means about 90 seconds of good spray time per cup-full.. (But, cleanup is faster than the 50' hose setup).

I hate painting.

Todd

[Todd Burch]

Well, screw it.

I lightly sanded the drawer fronts and case, and then decided to brush the case.

I'm man enough to admit this ain't working for me. I'm calling the painter in the morning. He likes painting my woodwork - let's see if he likes repainting my attempt at painting. ;)

The satin ain't working either - this thing need to be semi-gloss.

Todd

[Steve Kohn]

I'll make you a deal. You do my sanding and I'll do your painting. I absolutely hate sanding.

[Todd Burch]

Sold! I used to hate sanding too, but I have learned how to better approach sanding, and now it's something I don't fight. I still would rather not do it, but it's a necessary evil.

My painter came out today to get an idea for the size of the effort. And, since the painter was here... I gave the wife a free ticket to have the master bedroom painted too. (Project Snowball.) He'll call tomorrow with a price. He can't get to it until around 1/15, so the drawers went back into it today. He'll paint (brush) oil based paint, semi-gloss. I think it will look great.

[Todd Burch]

Well, I stalled on this project some, but the painters just left, and I can't wait to see the finished product tomorrow morning.

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Here's a tease.

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[Todd Burch]

Well, it's pretty much done... finally. Here are some pics. I've already started to load it up. Painters did pretty good. They achieved the look I wanted. (Although... a color other than white would have been my preference!)

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Thanks for looking.

Todd

[frank shic]

that finish looks absolutely smooth... i think i'm going to give spraying another shot after seeing this inspiration! btw how long did it take you to fit those inset doors/drawer fronts?

[Todd Burch]

Thank you Frank.

The finish is very nice. I may wax it later, but for now, I'm just enjoying it!

The painter used an airless rig and a 411 tip. To me, that's impressive - to be able to use that size tip and have the control he did. When I spray enamel, I use a 209.

I would have to say it took at least 1/2 a day to fit the drawer fronts and doors. And even so, they are still too tight. Nothing rubs, but it just "doesn't rub".

I'm a huge fan of inset, but I'm doing 1/2" overlay drawer fronts and doors for my dad's house, and I'm looking forward to the time savings that style offers.

Todd

[frank shic]

a 411?!? wow! thought that was more for spraying walls but what do i know? i managed to utterly muck up a perfectly good plantation shutter spraying it awhile back with oil based alkyl paint to complicate matters further - should've cleaned the pump a little bit more thoroughly in the past! inset cabinetry commands respect because anyone who's a cabinetmaker knows it's way more exacting. i have a few to fit in a few more days for our master bathroom vanity. hope i can get it done before the summer! hey todd, i spent a long time learning how to build frameless cabinetry which is probably the quickest way to build cabinets if you have the right tools only to discover i liked beaded inset better lol

[Jeff Monson]

Very nice Todd, nice design, nice finished product. The wife must be very happy.

[Pat Barry]

Todd - thats a very nicely done cabinet. The fit of everything looks perfect and the white color is an excellent finish IMO. What did you use for hinges on your doors?

[Todd Burch]

Thanks Jeff and Pat.

The door hinges are clip-on Blum Blumotion (pronounced "blue-motion"). The micro-hinge assembly allows the door to be self and slowing closing. Very quiet. With the flick of a little slide switch on the cup, the "brake" is turned off, and the hinge is more of "snap" close. That's a nice feature because with two hinges, and both of them having the brake on, they close really slow. So, if one of the hinges is "turned off" (so to speak), the door closes at a good rate, but still softly.

Todd

[Jeff Monson]

Thanks Jeff and Pat.

The door hinges are clip-on Blum Blumotion (pronounced "blue-motion"). The micro-hinge assembly allows the door to be self and slowing closing. Very quiet. With the flick of a little slide switch on the cup, the "brake" is turned off, and the hinge is more of "snap" close. That's a nice feature because with two hinges, and both of them having the brake on, they close really slow. So, if one of the hinges is "turned off" (so to speak), the door closes at a good rate, but still softly.

Todd

I just finished up a kitchen job with the same hinges. They are a really great product. I found for smaller doors I had to shut one off to get a proper close rate....but its great to have the option. I dont skimp on hardware and these will be a standard on my euro hinge doors.

[Jim Becker]

Really a lovely piece, Todd. Congrats on a very nice project!

[Van Huskey]

Very nice job!