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Walk-in closet

How much to build a walk in closet-notext

How much to build a walk in closet

How much to build a walk in closet

Have you every wanted to build a walk in closet, but dont know the cost of it? 
Its your lucky day, because here is a breakdown of all of our expenses from the walk in closet we built. You can see the full build by reading the article: Building a walk in closet in basement – step by step
Building a walk in closet in basement

The Budget

We already had all important tools for both preparation, building and painting
Prices are given in both Danish (dkk) and US dollars ($)
Paint
Floor paint: 2 x 2,5 liters for 160,- each = 320 ,- (49$)
Wall and ceiling paint:  5 liters for 500,- (76$)
Paint for closet: 800,- (122$)
Base layer for closet: 300,- (46$)
1920,- (293$)
Furniture
4 x Ivar Drawers for 600,- each = 2400,- (366$)
6 x wooden shelves from Bauhaus (Paulownia Limtræ Bauhaus) 2200 x 500 x 18mm for 240,- each = 1440,- (220$)
3840,- (586$)
Building material 
Round log for hangers – 4 meters = 300,- (46$)
3 pieces of 12 mm MDF-plate 2440 x 1220 mm  for 270,- each = 810,- (124$)
15 meters of Woods Squar Dowel Rod  – 15,- kr pr meter = 225,- (35$)
1335,- (205$)
IKEA light system – Skydrag LED light
5 x 40 cm long for 80,- each = 200,- (30$)
5 x 80 cm long for 150,- each = 750,- (115$)
2 x Wireless driver for 119,- each = 238,- (36$)
1 x wireless switch = 99,- (15$)
Package with 2 led spots = 99,- (15$)
Plastic trays to hide wires from light system = 99,- (15$)
1485,- (226$)
Extras
Screws, wall plugs and iron angles: 300,- (46$)
Multi filler: 60,- (7$)
360,- (53$)

 

Total Price: 8940,-  (1363$)
Building a walk in closet in basement

Building a walk in closet in basement – step by step

Building a walk in closet in basement – step by step

Have you always wanted to be building a walk in closet in a basement, but never really dared to do it? Well here is the truth: Everyone can do it, and it is not as difficult as you might think. With common sense, basic tools, a few Ikea drawers combined with some ekstra wood, and this step by step guide, you are ready to start building a walk in closet in a basement in no time! 
Basements closet build progress
0 $
Total price
Estimated time
150 working hours
Difficulty
4/5

Design-phase

If you are interested in seeing all our different design ideas, you can read the article: DIY Small Walk In Closet Designs

Step 1: Empty out the basement

Get rid of everything not necessary in the basement. The tabel we had on the wall was taken down. 
Empty basement

Step 2: Be smart - use the hight to create more floor-space

We decided to stack the tumble-dryer and washing machine on top of each other, to create way more floor-space. This required the already built “stand” to be lowered otherwise the 2 machines wouldn’t fit on top of each other. Using a Multi Cutter Tool the wooden sides where cut down, and the top was put back on. 
Now the 2 machines could be stacked, and whola, a lot of space saved. 
basement-all-empty

Step 3: Paint EVERYTHING

Both walls, ceiling and floor was painted. Always remember to spartle small holes in the walls and ceiling. The floor needs a serious sanding and cleaning before painting it. We used a white floor paint, and we gave it 3 layers of paint on total.
Paint-everything-in-basement

Step 4: Put together drawers

Now that the room was newly painted, the actual build of the closet could start. We put together the Ikea IVAR Drawers to figure of where everything should be positioned in the room. 

Step 5: Positioning everything and start building first shelf

With the right distance set for the IVAR Drawers from the wall (see picture below), the the first part of the closet could be build. 
First attaching a pole to one of the beams in the ceiling and to the floor gave us support to create the floating look of the bottom shelf.  The self is resting of the floor-panels all the way around, and then the pole is giving it the proper support to not break or tip over. The pole is attached to the floor by using an iron angle and very small screws, that later is painted to cover it up.
First part og building the walk in closet in basement

Step 6: Build the second floating shelf

We wanted to add another shelf to separate pants from shirts in the closet. To create the floating look aging, we attached small narrow pieces of wood to the wall, together with a iron angle to find support at the pole. 
Shelf for basement

Step 7: Poles for hangers

We attached wooden sticks right under the sealing and right under the highest shelf, to crate to “rooms” where shirts and pants could be hung. 
basement-walk-in-closet-hangers

Step 8: Add small wall

A small wall was added to the already built shelfs. This added some extra support to the top shelf, and since the wall is resting on the floor, it is also used to support the next IVAR Drawers to continue the “floating look”. Iron angles where used to hold the IVAR Drawers to the wall. During the build phase small wooden pieces is holding up the drawers until all support poles where created.  
Small-wall-between-shelf

Step 9: Support pole

Another support pole was added on the left side of the IVAR Drawer. The pole is attached to the beam on the sealing using small iron angles, and the same applies to the floor end of the pole. 
basement-walk-in-closet14

Step 10: Repeat process

Same process continued until all 3 drawers was on a line. 
3-drawers

Step 11: Drawers on top of each other

On the left drawer we wanted to have 2 on top of each other. We added a wall on the left side that is resting on the floor, to add support for the weight of both drawers. 

Step 12: Add middle wall on top of IVAR Drawer

Another wall was added in the middel of the first IVAR Drawer. Iron angles where again perfect for this. 
Ivar-drawer-wall-middle

Step 13: Add small shelves

Between the two walls several shelves where added. Screws form the outside of each wall where screwed in through the wall, and into each shelf. 
Small-shelves

Step 14: Hide washing machine

We wanted to hide the washing machine, and therefor we started covering it up with a wall on the left, and later doors in front of it.
Support for the wall was found by attaching wooden sticks to the existing walls and ceiling.
Wall-creation

Step 15: Cover up with MDF Plates

Afterwards the whole thing was covered up with MDF plates, the two front ones attached with hinges to create doors. 
MDF-plates

Step 16: Create shelves in the corner for optimal space usage

In the corner we created triangle formed shelfs for storgage. 
Corner-shelves

Step 17: Raw build done - now time to spartle

Wuhhuuu, all the raw build was now done! 
Raw-build-done
Now it was time to spartle and sand-paper everything down! 
Spartle-sandpaper

Step 18: Get ready to paint

Add a base layer to all areas thats gonna be painted, and tape everything up!
Base-layer-and-tape
Remember, preparation makes the painting process way easier! 

Step 19: Paint everything twice!

Add paint 2 times to all the surfaces. 
Paint-walk-in-closet
After everything was dry we added pieces of wood on top of the different drawers to match the wood we used to created the shelves. 

Step 20: Add Ikea closet lights.

After the paint was dry, we added Ikea Closet lights to all the different areas. This gives the whole room a super super cool vibe! 
Basement-walk-in-closet-lights
And there we go, all done! 

Final result

Building a walk in closet in basement
Walk-in-clost-basement-result
Walk-in-clost-basement-result-3
Final-design-diy-small-walk-in-closet

DIY Small Walk In Closet

9 DIY Small Walk In Closet Designs

During the design process of our DIY Small Walk In Closet, we had many different design ideas. Here is 9 of them! In the bottom you can see how the final result turned out in real life!

The original room

Original-version
This is a 3D model of our basement, created with the software RoomSketcher (read our full article on RoomSketcher here: Best Home Redesign App

Design 1

basement-design2
First we thought we could move the washing machine and tumble-dryer wherever we wanted in the room. But pipes for the water made it a big project, and therefor this design was skipped.  

Design 2

basement-design4
Another design before we figured we could’nt move the washing machine and tumble dryer. This time we add a little chair in the middle to have a spot to sit down and change shoes etc. 

Design 3

basement-design3
With this design we wanted to build a closet around the washing machine and tumble dyer. That is the brown box you see on the left side. 

Design 4

Similar to design 3, but different colors on the shelves and drawers. 

Design 5

This was a very different ideas, with more cupboards and closets instead of drawers. We felt like it looked a bit massive with all of those high closets. 

Design 6

Pretty close to the design we ended up with, but with very different wood that we used in the final project. 

Design 7

Complete change in wood-color. After inspecting the light in the room we wanted lighter colors of wood. 

Design 8

Similar do design 7, but with different drawer setup. 

Design 9 - The final design

Final-design-diy-small-walk-in-closet
And the final design! We figured that we have pipes running along the right wall, and therefor it would be very tricky to have drawers against that wall. 
Watch the video from the final design

And here is how our DIY Small Walk In Closet turned out in real life

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