Walk-In Wardrobe Build

[Leon1984]

Hi all,

New to the site so thanks for having me :mrgreen:

Am going to be embarking on a build of a walk in wardrobe build in about 7 weeks time once I get into my new house. Was contemplating using IKEA PAX and buying it but the cost was £500+, and this way both me and the Mrs can build each side to suit each other. When I say "sides", I mean her 75% and my 25% obviously!

I am currently in the process of buying a Mitre saw (total newbie question but most seem to refer to these as Chop saws?) and a table saw. These will be low end ish, as other than some picture frames and odd bits the wardrobes likely the biggest things I will do. Have a total budget of around £500 for both, unsure on which to sink most money into - where is best invested IF you had to choose?

I am trying to find little things to practice on to get used to the way the tools work before letting loose on the wardrobes. So in the next few weeks I will be doing;

- Small box to hold a sky box inside a downstairs cupboard (TV will be on the wall the other side) out of old bed slats. This will likely be more elaborate than it needs to be just to get used to working with the chop saw.
- Some sort of large rustic mirror for our lounge. Simple design but quite big, again to practice using the table saw

- Table saw table. I can build this in my current garage so that when I move I can set up my little workshop ready for the wardrobe build.


Look forward to sharing and drawing on your vast experience when I get stuck of f*** up Thanks in advance! I used to be a painter and decorator so I am good at "making good" at that stage, just hoping to learn some skills so I don't have to haha.

 

[Leon1984]

Attached is a screenshot of the wardrobes, they are 4.4m wide X 1.43m deep. It will come with a 50cm stud wall in the middle for the two rails to attach too. I am unsure as yet whether to rip the stud wall out and start with a massive space or just design and build it in two halves. One is more restrictive in design but gives me an already sturdy halfway point to attach too which given my ability will likely lead to a better result :wink:

 

[AJB Temple]

Not sure that a mitre saw is your best bet here. Even big ones have limited cutting width and wardrobes suggest a lot of shelving. Would you not be better off with some means of handling sheet goods, such as a track saw?

Given the wasted space in your drawing, would you not be better off with a rotary clothes rail system?

 

[Leon1984]

Not sure that a mitre saw is your best bet here. Even big ones have limited cutting width and wardrobes suggest a lot of shelving. Would you not be better off with some means of handling sheet goods, such as a track saw?

Given the wasted space in your drawing, would you not be better off with a rotary clothes rail system?

Hi. Thats why I was planning on the table saw for big bits of shelving etc?

With RE the design, am planning on using pull down wardrobe rails for two reasons. Firstly, we don't have a huge amount of clothes to hang up. The ceilings are also a bit higher than standard so want to make use of the height to give plenty of room below for some nice drawers with organisers etc.

One big question, is the best type of draw runners to instal AKA the easiest to get right. I really like the idea of push to open systems but don't look the easiest install!

 

[custard]

You can buy a good track saw for your budget, or a pretty poor table saw and mitre saw. You're a tradesman, you understand how it works.

Smart to do some smaller projects first before writing-off Ikea.

 

[Mark A]

I agree with Custard - a track saw is what you need. As nice as they are, you don't need to spend £400+ on Festool; there are cheaper saws out there which do a similar job for half the cost.

Combine a track saw with a MFT-style worktop (I bought mine from CNC Designs in Wrexham) and you're laughing!

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

 

[Leon1984]

I agree with Custard - a track saw is what you need. As nice as they are, you don't need to spend £400+ on Festool; there are cheaper saws out there which do a similar job for half the cost.

Combine a track saw with a MFT-style worktop (I bought mine from CNC Designs in Wrexham) and you're laughing!

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

I want the angled cuts that the table saw can offer for the framing work etc. Would be a better but purely for the wardrobe though I see that. I have a double garage in the new place which will mainly be a workshop etc so want to make 1 big table I can use with a table was in it.

 

[Woodmonkey]

Love it when people come on asking for advice, get unanimous advice and then completely ignore it!

 

[sunnybob]

Listen to Custard.
In the words of tonto.... White man speak with straight tongue.

 

[Bm101]

That's Wizards for you Woodmonkey.
Famously bad at taking unanimous advice.
Look at Harry Potter. 6 something books and films where everyone's going all the way through, don't do it Harry. You're just a wee lad and that and the other fella is a right wrongun. Ignores them every single time. And yet against all the odds he ends up ironing out the bad fella every time. It's mad. Mind you maybe there's a lesson in there somewhere. Maybe.
Of course, there might not be.
Then of course there's that fella in the Lord of the rings. No one ever remembers him cos it's right after that weird bit with the singing fella near the start of the books that everyone 'skips a bit' so they generally miss him and lets face it he was never gonna make the films.
Not Gandalf...
Ahhhh Yeh. Bumbo the Magnificent.
The orc army is advancing...
The hobbits are all going Bumbo, mate, you're a magician not a wizard. Leave it.
Bumbo runs headlong at the orcs wildly yelling pick a card! Never seen again.

Hope I'm not heading off topic. But looking at that floor plan Leon must be a wizard. Who else has that many robes?

 

[Setch]

I agree with Custard - a track saw is what you need. As nice as they are, you don't need to spend £400+ on Festool; there are cheaper saws out there which do a similar job for half the cost.

Combine a track saw with a MFT-style worktop (I bought mine from CNC Designs in Wrexham) and you're laughing!

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

I want the angled cuts that the table saw can offer for the framing work etc. Would be a better but purely for the wardrobe though I see that. I have a double garage in the new place which will mainly be a workshop etc so want to make 1 big table I can use with a table was in it.

A track saw will make angled cuts note then we'll enough for this job, and certainly better than a cheap table saw. If you want a table saw a the backbone of a workshop, then get one, but for this job, and with your specified budget, a tak se is a better buy.

 

[Leon1984]

Love it when people come on asking for advice, get unanimous advice and then completely ignore it!

Great isn't it :mrgreen: I have used both types of saw's previously, and just have a preference. There is also the element of understanding how something works better before tackling a task and I have used a table saw more plus I have a mental thing of liking being able to see the cut happen in front of me. Just the way I am wired.

PS. I didn't ask which would be the best saw for the job, it was additional advice :lol:

 

[Leon1984]

I agree with Custard - a track saw is what you need. As nice as they are, you don't need to spend £400+ on Festool; there are cheaper saws out there which do a similar job for half the cost.

Combine a track saw with a MFT-style worktop (I bought mine from CNC Designs in Wrexham) and you're laughing!

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

I want the angled cuts that the table saw can offer for the framing work etc. Would be a better but purely for the wardrobe though I see that. I have a double garage in the new place which will mainly be a workshop etc so want to make 1 big table I can use with a table was in it.

A track saw will make angled cuts note then we'll enough for this job, and certainly better than a cheap table saw. If you want a table saw a the backbone of a workshop, then get one, but for this job, and with your specified budget, a tak se is a better buy.

I am looking at a better table saw (£500-600) and borrowing a mitre saw until such times I can get a decent one myself. As taking the comments on here on board and after research a £300 table saw will likely frustrate me and get replaced anyway.

Thanks for your input!

 

[Adam9453]

Having both I would strongly urge you to get a tracksaw for building wardrobes. It's the ideal job for achieving long straight cuts in sheet materials. It's much trickier to achieve the same quality of cut unless you spend a lot of money on a decent dimension saw.
If you still want a tablesaw then just sell the tracksaw on once you've finished the wardrobes.
I'd buy the festool ts55 as it will retain most of its value when you resell it, plus the warranty is transferable which makes it even more appealing.
Anyway good luck

 

[Leon1984]

So putting aside what is used to cut the wood for a minute

This is the initial design using Ikea's handy software. There is a couple of adaptions that I will make purely as I can't change much. First big question, is I would like the bottom 3 drawers to go right across. I have the following measurements;

215cm wall to central wall.
50cm wide bookshelf.

So taking into account the 18mm MDF for each side panel, plus the inside bookshelf panel (3x18mm) + 2 drawer runners (13mm x 2) I believe this would give me a wide drawer width of roughly 157cm.

The plan is to build a MDF drawer box on side runners. I had considered ply for the base but am concerned that is quite a big a big drawer and worried about the bottom bowing or not supporting much weight. So question, is a 157cm x 55cm mdf draw box ok? And if so, what is the best base material to use?

 

[Karl]

You'll have to take certain precautions if you're going to build a drawer box that size, but it is do-able. Primarily, the base should be screwed from the underside to the front and back rails. and I would put solid fronts on them to support the whole assembly and prevent any sagging. I've done drawers upto 1200mm wide this way without issue.

There is no way I would consider building that lot using just a track saw. I built plenty of good furniture using a portable saw - Metabo ts250, iirc (not the site saw). Outfeed supports are key, together with a cheap & cheerful crosscut jig and a cheap circular saw for the initial breaking down of sheet goods.

Cheers

Karl

 

[Leon1984]

You'll have to take certain precautions if you're going to build a drawer box that size, but it is do-able. Primarily, the base should be screwed from the underside to the front and back rails. and I would put solid fronts on them to support the whole assembly and prevent any sagging. I've done drawers upto 1200mm wide this way without issue.

There is no way I would consider building that lot using just a track saw. I built plenty of good furniture using a portable saw - Metabo ts250, iirc (not the site saw). Outfeed supports are key, together with a cheap & cheerful crosscut jig and a cheap circular saw for the initial breaking down of sheet goods.

Cheers

Karl

Thanks for the reply. Would making them narrower help? What is your thoughts on the base material/thickness? The plan was to make a complete 18mm MDF box, with the base inset into a cut out etc and then put a front facia on the draw for aesthetics.

 

[Karl]

Yes, you're taking a risk building the that wide. Don't recall seeing any that wide anywhere else, although that isn't to say it can't be done.

Drawer side need to be 15mm to work with undermount runners (I use Blum Movento), or if you use 18mm you'll have to rebate on the underside. Don't put a groove in the fronts and backs - just cut them narrower (the width of the side minus the thickness of the base minus the recess of the base). That way you can screw from under the base into the front and backs and will give a stronger finished box.

Cheers

Karl

 

[Leon1984]

I'm thinking ply might be better material. If I am understanding your post correctly, I think you mean this attachment technique (I know he cut a groove on 3 sides) so I think you mean copy the technique he used on the back also on the front. I am comfortable I can make sturdy drawers this way.

 

[Karl]

Can't see the "this technique", but sounds like you have it. Ply would be stronger than mdf.

Karl