Project Information
This has been more than a 15-year project: the first 15 years were used trying to convince my husband to let me do it. It has taken the last 9 months for me to actually build it. I wanted to take a diversion and attempt to carve a shoe with Jordan's help, but my husband encouraged me (threatened me - LOL) to continue with the closet.
The bedroom is somewhat smaller than a walk-in closet in today's mega-homes (thus the problem getting all three cabinets top-to-bottom in the photo). There was no closet in the bedroom, only a 48" Sauder wardrobe. To install these cabinets necessitated the relocation of the door, which meant relocating an electrical switch; thus, the 15-year "convincement" period.
The cabinets were made in three 35-inch-wide vertical units without the top enclosure. The cabinets sit beneath ductwork so the top enclosure was added after we moved them into place. I designed the center cabinet to set behind the face frames of the side cabinets.
Because all the oak was dead wood milled off our property, the cost of these units was quite reasonable. It is not select-and-better quality of oak but the Lord provided amply. Since we paid for a sawyer to bring in his bandsaw mill, I used about $50 of oak for the cabinets.
I spent an additional $313.43 to complete the cabinets:
$101.01 - ¾" birch plywood for the sides of the cabinets and ¼" lauan plywood for the drawer bottoms. (The cabinet backs, tops, and bottoms were recycled paneling.)
$75.95 - Finishing supplies (stain and varnish).
$136.47 - Hardware. We had all of the handles from a previous kitchen and only had to purchase 8 additional hinges (at $.25 each). Drawer slides were the largest portion of hardware expense.
The drawers are oak (some ash mixed in), machine dove-tailed, with full-extension drawer slides. I still want to make dividers for some of the drawers.
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I also have two long mirrors to frame and install in the right hand cabinet.
I would be very interested to know what any one of you professionals would charge for something similar. How much did I save by building them myself? I need to know how much money I can justify spending on new equipment! ;-)
Thanks for taking a look, and for your comments and critiques.
L/W
The bedroom is somewhat smaller than a walk-in closet in today's mega-homes (thus the problem getting all three cabinets top-to-bottom in the photo). There was no closet in the bedroom, only a 48" Sauder wardrobe. To install these cabinets necessitated the relocation of the door, which meant relocating an electrical switch; thus, the 15-year "convincement" period.
The cabinets were made in three 35-inch-wide vertical units without the top enclosure. The cabinets sit beneath ductwork so the top enclosure was added after we moved them into place. I designed the center cabinet to set behind the face frames of the side cabinets.
Because all the oak was dead wood milled off our property, the cost of these units was quite reasonable. It is not select-and-better quality of oak but the Lord provided amply. Since we paid for a sawyer to bring in his bandsaw mill, I used about $50 of oak for the cabinets.
I spent an additional $313.43 to complete the cabinets:
$101.01 - ¾" birch plywood for the sides of the cabinets and ¼" lauan plywood for the drawer bottoms. (The cabinet backs, tops, and bottoms were recycled paneling.)
$75.95 - Finishing supplies (stain and varnish).
$136.47 - Hardware. We had all of the handles from a previous kitchen and only had to purchase 8 additional hinges (at $.25 each). Drawer slides were the largest portion of hardware expense.
The drawers are oak (some ash mixed in), machine dove-tailed, with full-extension drawer slides. I still want to make dividers for some of the drawers.
.
.
I also have two long mirrors to frame and install in the right hand cabinet.
I would be very interested to know what any one of you professionals would charge for something similar. How much did I save by building them myself? I need to know how much money I can justify spending on new equipment! ;-)
Thanks for taking a look, and for your comments and critiques.
L/W
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