DIY Network

Pantry and Bathroom From "Wasted Spaces" episode DWSP-113

(Continued from page 1)

Pre-hung Door

1. Pre-hung doors come with trim already on them. To install, you need to remove trim from one side of the door. Usually, you remove a couple staples and pry the trim apart.

2. Set the door into the new frame. Using a nail gun, fire a couple of nails into the inside trim to hold the door in place. If your new studs are plumb, the door should be plumb.

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The door unit is pre-hung so installing it should go pretty smoothly.

3. To plumb the other side of the trim, insert shims until the trim is plumb and nail it in place.

4. As you are nailing the inside of the trim in place, keep an eye on the margin between the door and the frame top to bottom. For the door to open properly, the margins should be equal.

5. Use more shims and nails to sure up the trim on the outside of the door. Stack shims together and insert them into the gap. Wedge them into place to fill the void between the door and the wall.

6. After the shims are nailed in place, score them with a utility knife and break off the excess. This will make the shims flush with the new door.

7. Attach the outer trim you removed earlier. Slot the trim pieces together and tap it flush to the wall with your hand or the end of a hammer handle. The closer it is to the wall, the better. That means a tighter joint and less caulk. Nail the trim in place.

8. The last step in any door installation is to remove one of the center screws from each hinge and replace it with a longer screw that goes all the way into the stud.

Make certain the edges are square as you put the pieces together. This will make sure the rollout pantry is level.

Rollout Pantry

1. Measure the space that the cupboard will end up in. If it's going in a closet, make the unit about a 1/2" smaller on all sides so it will clear the door.

2. Begin cutting birch plywood to size. Use a circular saw to make long rips on the plywood and also for cross-cuts (against the grain cuts).

3. Determine how many shelves you want and if you want special compartments for trash or drinks.

4. The basic box will have four sides and a back. In this project, two stationary shelves were added, one at the top and one near the bottom.

5. With all the pieces cut, use carpenter's glue and a nail gun to attach the sides.

6. Attach the bottom and top to one side then secure the other side.

7. Fill in the center shelves, making sure they are level and then nail the back. The back will bring major stability to the unit and eliminate most of the side to side wobble.

8. The last step in the cabinet shell construction is to trim the front edges of the plywood with pine trim; this will give the pantry a more finished look.

With the basic shell complete, you can think about the shelves.

Assembling Shelves

1. It's best to build the shelves out of the same material as the rest of the cabinet. That way, if you wanted to stain the shelves, they will match.

2. To prevent items from falling off the shelves, add a strip of 1x2 pine trim around the edge.

3. Cut the shelves to size and then cut the pine trim so it will frame the shelf and attach them.

4. Use glue and nails to fasten the trim to the shelf.

5. For a more finished look, router the inside and outside edges of the shelf trim.

6. Using a 1/4" roundover bit; run the router along the edge of the trim...it's that simple.

Tip: Make sure to find out how thick the hardware you are going to use is and take that into account when cutting the shelves to fit.

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