It was slow going here this week as I was working on another big project at a friend’s house at the same time. I did manage to cut and dry fit baseboards and make the frames for the floating shelves. As usual, the only thing you can really plan for is that the plan never goes according to plan.
I was dry fitting the very last piece of baseboard when I realized that I bought the same height baseboard, but they were different widths. This wouldn’t be a big deal if it didn’t connect to the thicker baseboards that are throughout the rest of the house.
Instead of wasting the baseboards I just bought and all the time I spent cutting them, I think I’m going to try and make it work. I may just be able to trim the edge of the thicker board so they meet up perfectly, then wood fill, paint and caulk to disguise it as best I can. I’m also not going to nail them in until I’m done painting and installing the wallpaper.
Once I got over the baseboard situation, I started on the floating shelves. My goal was to finish making the floating shelves but I ran into an issue there as well and had to pivot. Luckily making the frames weren’t problematic. I made them out of 1×2’s and glued and screwed them together with pocket holes.
If you don’t have a Kreg Jig pocket hole jig, I highly recommend getting one! It’s a really easy way to connect pieces of wood that don’t need a high end finish. These frames will be completely hidden by the shelves so it’s not a big deal that the pocket holes are visible.
My plan for the shelves was to try a new method than what I’ve previously used for floating shelves. My goal was to miter the edges of the shelves but that proved to be extremely difficult with the 1/2″ plywood I was working with. Because it was so flimsy, I couldn’t run it through the table saw perfectly. We tried several times and it just wasn’t coming out very well. The thing with mitered edges is if they’re not perfect, they don’t look good. So I abandoned that idea and came up with another plan. I trimmed off the mitered edge and did a straight cut. I couldn’t cut off the mitered edge completely but I’ll put it in the back of the shelf where it won’t be visible. Then I cut the other pieces the same way.
The only issue with the straight cuts is you need a straight piece on the front and it would expose the not so nice edge of the plywood. I could have solved this problem by using edge banding, but since these shelves are used daily and bins are constantly sliding over them, I wasn’t confident that the edge banding would hold up over time. So back to Home Depot I went to get some Select Pine 1×3’s. These will look nicer than the plywood anyway, so maybe it was a good thing! Plus all three faces of the wood will look nice, no edge banding necessary.
I attached the frames to the walls into the studs where possible and drywall anchors where there was no stud. To do that, I pre-drilled a hole through the frame into the drywall, then moved the frame to put in the anchor. Then I was able to screw through the frame right into the anchor.
There were plenty of studs to screw into the back wall, but I had to use one drywall anchor on either side. The frames are very secure now! Also, if you’re thinking they don’t look level, I thought the same thing. I can assure you the frames are perfectly level. It’s the ceiling that is sloped drastically! There is almost a 2″ difference in height from the left side to the right side of the closet!
Because of all of that transpired, my goal to finish the floating shelves was foiled. I at least wanted to be able to put them together and slide them in so we have a useful space again. But, that will have to wait another week. After they’re assembled, I’ll sand them down and stain/paint them. I think I’m going to do a paint wash over a stain. So look forward to seeing that next week!
Until then, happy DIY-ing!
-Selene Builds Things
