When planning repairs and remodeling in their apartment or house, they are sure to consider different options for saving space, rational placement of furniture. It is important that this is not only practical, but also beautiful. One of the options for solving this problem is built-in furniture. Making DIY cabinets with your own hands is not as difficult as it might seem. Consider the basic rules of such work.
Why built-in wardrobe
The main difference between the built-in furniture is its originality. Individual dimensions are calculated taking into account the particular placement of walls, windows and the ceiling. Such furniture helps to hide the shortcomings of the general layout, as well as save money on the purchase of finished cabinets.
The main advantages of a do-it-yourself built-in closet:
- Usually a non-functional zone is filled - a niche, a corner, a ledge.
- Without exception, the entire area is occupied from wall to wall, from floor to ceiling.
- The possibility of using in the design of the front part, except for chipboard, various other materials: a mirror, colored glass with film drawings, sandblasted drawings, plastic, stained glass, photo printing.
As you can see in the photo, a built-in wardrobe, made with sliding doors, performs an aesthetic function and forms a single whole in the overall image of an apartment or house. Furniture with doors that open in a classic way does not look so stylish. In addition, more space is required to install it.
Varieties of fitted wardrobes
How to make a built-in cabinet with your own hands step by step? Note that it is very important from the very beginning to have a clear idea of the ultimate goal.
You need to determine the shape and location of the future cabinet. Consider several design options:
- Along the entire length. A design feature is the front compartment doors moving along the cabinet. This design of doors supports the principle of saving space.
- In a niche. If the room has such an architectural element, then a cabinet built into a niche with its own hands will be the best interior design solution. This design consists of internal components (shelves) and the front side of the doors (other frame elements - bottom, top, side and rear walls, as a rule, are absent).
- Corner wardrobes. They have proven themselves as an excellent solution to the problem of a small room. Such designs are sufficiently universal and perfectly suited to the interior of the living room, hallway, nursery or bedroom.
- Round wardrobe. This variety has an unusual and complex facade, in most cases it is one of the options for a corner cabinet. Their installation is recommended in spacious rooms without much space deficiency.
Material selection
It is advisable to use two different types of materials for the manufacture of a built-in cabinet with one's own hands, one of which is designed for the facing part of the cabinet. It must convey all the beauty and elegance of your creation. The second material is needed for interior decoration. In this case, the selection criteria should be reliability, strength, durability.
The facade is the visible part of the cabinet when the doors are closed. Basically, these are the doors themselves. They may consist of the following materials:
- Chipboard panel. This is not entirely original material, but it allows significant savings. Chipboard can embellish with built-in fragments that are different in color. Here you can show imagination. Particleboard is perfectly combined with a mirror, colored glass, MDF, leather, acrylic and many other materials.
- Mirrored. This is one of the most popular materials for wardrobe doors. A variant of the product is the budget view of the Silver mirror. Doors can be solid or with separating inserts. The frame for the mirror in most cases consists of an aluminum profile.
- Frosted or stained glass. Such material is perfect for any interior and is characterized by a variety of options. Sandblasting drawings are the best method of decorating on a mirror or glass. The implementation of the drawing is carried out using various templates. It can be from the front or from the inside.
- Plastic Their main advantage is lightness. Such doors can be easily opened and closed. Plastic is appreciated for its durability, convenient operation (easy to clean), and economical.
Materials for shelves
It is necessary to take care of the internal materials, making a built-in closet with your own hands. Installing shelves and partitions in it is easier if you make them from particleboard, MDF or plywood. All of them are easily machined. These materials with their strength characteristics are not inferior to natural materials from wood, but much cheaper.
The main disadvantage of the most common material for interior decoration (chipboard) is the need for edging, which leads to additional costs.
Taking measurements
When creating a built-in cabinet with your own hands in the step-by-step instruction, the first item is determining the dimensions, because these cabinets are individual and have non-standard dimensions. Please note that the minimum depth dimension must be greater than 450 mm. This will allow you to freely hang clothes on the trempel inside the cabinet.
The walls between which the cabinet will be located are, as a rule, not perfectly smooth, therefore it is necessary to carry out measurements in many places, preferably every 30 cm, the height is measured in a similar way. For calculations, select the smallest sizes. If necessary, minor wall irregularities are corrected for a more snug fit between the wall and the cabinet.
Schematic drawing
What needs to be done after measurements made by a do-it-yourself built-in cabinet? The instruction suggests planning the inner frame.
It is best to use widespread Internet drawings for built-in sliding wardrobes with the indicated dimensions. The only thing that needs to be done is to choose the model you like by size and fit it to the dimensions of your apartment. You may need to increase or decrease the internal compartments or make a structural change. All sizes should be practical to use.
Drawing methods
The work of creating a drawing for a do-it-yourself built-in cabinet can be done with a pencil and a ruler. A more progressive method of creating drawings is to use various programs on the computer (“Basis-Furniture”, “Astra Furniture Designer”). These programs are simple, do not require deep knowledge, have an acceptable interface, which will allow even beginners to use them.
When developing the drawing, it is necessary to take into account the thickness of the partitions and shelves. As a rule, chipboard is used for them, the thickness of which can be in the range of 10-16 mm. The back wall is traditionally made of fiberboard.
Detailing and cutting of the inner frame
Talking about how to make a built-in cabinet with your own hands, we note that the preparation of absolutely all components and their drawings will be an important step. It is advisable to make a pattern of these elements by the size of the chipboard sheet (the most common is 2750 x 1830 mm, but there are other options - 3500 x 1750 mm, 3030 x 1830 mm). The thickness and dimensions of the sheet must be immediately clarified by the sales assistant before the development of the drawing.
It is necessary to place the individual elements on the cutting sheet given the width of the saw cut, which is usually 4 mm. This cutting will help you save money, because in the workshop where they will cut out accessories for the internal design of the cabinet, a separate fee is charged for this.
If you cut parts not at home, but in the workshop, we recommend taking the remaining trim with you. They can come in handy for replacing accidentally damaged elements or for finalizing the design by installing additional elements that were not previously provided.
Edge sticker
All the necessary details are cut out. Now you need to edge the ends. This procedure is necessary for the following reasons:
- Protection of the raw end surface from moisture and odors that the particleboard absorbs like a sponge, which negatively affects the service life.
- The protected surface prevents the evaporation of formaldehyde resins, which are part of the particleboard glue, harmful to health.
- To hide a slice that is different in color from the rest of the surface.
- An additional design approach to improve the look.
Selection of material for edging
The most common materials for these works are:
- A melamine edge with an adhesive base is the most economical edging option. The disadvantage is exposure to moisture. Over time, it peels off itself, becomes covered with cracks and erases in the corners.
- PVC is a fairly strong and most stable edging tape. Its only drawback is the possibility of gluing exclusively in production or in furniture workshops on a good edge-processing machine.
- ABS plastic is the most environmentally friendly material for gluing edges on chipboard. It has significant shock resistance and can withstand short-term heating up to 100 degrees. The disadvantages include the ability to crack or break. The most common way of sticking is with dichloroethane. This material melts ABS plastic, forming a reliable monolithic compound.
- T-profile - a plastic or aluminum T-shaped strip is mounted in a milled groove at the end of the chipboard plate. The positive properties include the ability to easily repair if damaged.
Fittings selection
The main factor in the quality and suitability of the cabinet is the process of movement of the door in the process of opening and closing it. In the modern market, there are dozens of different models of propulsion devices that differ in the features of work, components and price. When deciding how to make a built-in cabinet with your own hands, you must definitely choose your preferred option for door fasteners from the following options:
- Monorail system. It differs in the suspension of each door leaf along an individual guide. For better stability, the carriages are equipped with twin rollers. The main disadvantages are the difficulty of installation and adjustment, as well as the high cost.
- Top rail construction. Built-in cabinets, as a rule, have the height of the doors to the ceiling, which consists of a concrete slab and does not bend. The doors suspended to this surface move smoothly and easily. The disadvantages include the shakiness of the doors due to the lack of a lower guide, which can lead to a displacement into the cabinet during a sharp movement.
- Design with support on the lower rail. The simplicity of the system, reliability and its low cost make this method of fastening the most common. The only thing that you must pay attention to when choosing is the quality of the rollers, since it is they that bear the entire load of the doors.
Frame assembly
As an example, consider the procedure for installing a built-in closet in the hallway with your own hands. We adhere to the following sequence of work:
- Initially, we mark up under the shelves, be sure to use the level. Using a hammer drill or hammer drill, drill holes in the wall and fix the corners with dowels.
- We install and fasten to the corners of the shelves, which, if necessary, we adjust under the uneven wall (files must be carried out on the shelves from the side of the wall).
- We attach a vertical inner panel to these shelves with the help of confirm screws or self-tapping screws. It is advisable to attach it with additional dowels to the wall for greater stability.
- On top of the vertical panel, we set the horizontal one, which we also attach to the panel and the walls from all adjacent sides, using the corners screwed with dowels.
- We attach external panels. Initially, we fix the side, and then the upper and lower. It is necessary to raise the doors above the floor.
- We attach guides for mounting doors to the upper and lower panels.
- We set the doors to the tracks, fix them and carry out the adjustment.
Furniture for the corridor
A built-in closet made in the entrance hall can look very nice. Photo clearly demonstrates this. Such furniture will decorate your home, give it a feeling of home coziness and comfort. If you are confident in your abilities, proceed. Creating interior items is not only cheaper than buying them ready-made, but also much more interesting!