Building shelves into walls? Have you done this?

[KungFuPanda]

I “think” I have some unclaimed usable space. There is a closet in an upstairs bedroom. It seems there should be a trianglular space up for grabs behind the wall next to it.

Have you ever busted into this space and made something of it? Do you have advice? I’m thinking step one is bust a hole in the closet to get a good look.  That triangle is about three feet deep and six feet wide at the ceiling. 

[KungFuPanda]

8 minutes ago, WendyAndMilo said:

The only thing you need to account for is that you will likely have studs every 16-20" in that wall, so it would work if you were OK with shorter shelves. It would certainly be easier.  If you wanted long shelves and that wall is NOT load-bearing, you could take the studs out.  If the wall IS load-bearing (most likely is not but I don't know your house), don't bother with longer shelves.

Would there be studs behind that wall and the outer wall that I can span for horizontal supports? I could leave the studs in place and just treat them like cubby dividers? I’m on a build-things-with-wood kick and my brain is spinning out unnecessary projects. ?

I secretly purchased a rotary hammer and plan to install a fireplace mantle next. First I need to figure out why the box tells me the drilling and driving functions are different because I thought that was the same thing as far as the drill is concerned.  

[KungFuPanda]

4 minutes ago, WendyAndMilo said:

Also, are there any outlets along that section?  Does it butt up against a bathroom or a laundry room?

There is one outlet on that wall. The space beyond it is stairwell clearance than exterior wall. I’d be able to see the electrical work from the closet wall and avoid it. I’m thinking it would be like when people put bookshelves between studs, but deeper. 

[KungFuPanda]

Just now, WendyAndMilo said:

The electrical is no problem as long as you don't want to extend the shelves further down, beyond the top of the outlet.  Do you?

No. There’s a desk on that wall so I thought the space above seems nice for DH’s 20 blinking server box thingies. 

[KungFuPanda]

2 minutes ago, WendyAndMilo said:

Drilling = putting a hole into a wall using a long bit

Driving = "driving" something like a screw into said hole (requires a bit more power/torque, thus the different settings).

Did NOT know about the power difference. I assumed a drill just spun and got everything done. Thanks. ?

[KungFuPanda]

17 minutes ago, WendyAndMilo said:

Ok, so you can totally open up a hole in your closet to peek in, if you'd like.  I would just knock on the wall like I would a door because then I can tell what's behind it from the sound.  Either way, this is how I would proceed:

Cut a decent sized opening in the drywall about 6" away from the closet molding.  From there, I would stick my measure tape in and measure how far away the next stud was.  Then I would cut so that the drywall meets flush with the INSIDE edge of the next stud (not in the middle, not on the outer edge, but the inside of the shelf area).  Then cut away your cubby box hole completely.

NOW, you need to make your cubbies/shelves.  You'll have to do that with plywood, 1x3s or 1x2s, and 2x4s.  Get some L-brackets and span the width of the cubby (top and bottom) with your new studs.  Again, make sure that the drywall meets the INSIDE edges of the studs. Cut your plywood sides, tops and back to the dimensions that you want, plus the width of the 1x3.  Take the 1x3s and screw them to the top, bottom and sides at the back and now you can take the back plywood and screw it into the 1x3s.  You shouldn't be able to see the 1x3s from the inside of the box.

NOW you can screw your box into the existing studs and the new horizontal ones.  

Because of where we cut the drywall, you can now finish off your cubby nicely with a little piece of molding and not have to worry about mudding and taping around the corner of the drywall, which is best left to the experts (just ask my garage).

If you are putting something heavier into your shelf, there is a small, intermediate step to support the weight, but it's not hard at all.

I had to read this a couple times, but I think I’m seeing it now. I also have a Kreg Jig, so that might shortcut some on the connections. I can hide the pocket holes inside the walls. Thank you for spelling this all out. 

You should know that there can be ages between my idea phase and my implementation phase, but I’ll be sure to brag on the chat board with photos if I ever follow through. 

[Halftime Hope]

Are we looking at the side of the stairway in your diagram?  And is the triangular space behind the closet or next to it?

Assuming you've checked all the exposed surfaces of that space for vents (air coming out), for air returns (air going in), for lights, and any other evidence of electrical connections, and you've got just the one outlet, nothing else.  If you have a return going into the space, you won't be able to block the space, even though there's no duct, because plenty of unrestricted in-going air flow is essential to the function of an A/C unit.  Any light in the ceiling of the stairway?

If all clear from the above concerns and you go in above the outlet, you'll almost certainly have to reposition the outlet or rewire it, because there would have been no reason to leave extra romex (sheathed wiring). They'd have cut it to the length to go to the outlet box, and called it good.  If you want an outlet in the same spot, you'd have to splice additional wiring and run it around your the built-ins and back to the middle under the opening.   (Not hard.)

 

[KungFuPanda]

25 minutes ago, Halftime Hope said:

Are we looking at the side of the stairway in your diagram?  And is the triangular space behind the closet or next to it?

Assuming you've checked all the exposed surfaces of that space for vents (air coming out), for air returns (air going in), for lights, and any other evidence of electrical connections, and you've got just the one outlet, nothing else.  If you have a return going into the space, you won't be able to block the space, even though there's no duct, because plenty of unrestricted in-going air flow is essential to the function of an A/C unit.  Any light in the ceiling of the stairway?

If all clear from the above concerns and you go in above the outlet, you'll almost certainly have to reposition the outlet or rewire it, because there would have been no reason to leave extra romex (sheathed wiring). They'd have cut it to the length to go to the outlet box, and called it good.  If you want an outlet in the same spot, you'd have to splice additional wiring and run it around your the built-ins and back to the middle under the opening.   (Not hard.)

 

You’re looking at a closet on the left and a wall on the right. The stairwell is behind the wall and I’m wondering why they didn’t slope the inside of the closet for extra space.  I haven’t peeked in yet, but I can do that from inside the closet without the need to fix it immediately. There’s one outlet on that wall about a foot from the floor. The stairwell has no light on that sloped ceiling. The air duct intake is across the hall from all this. I can look at the outside of the house for any sort of vents to that space. I didn’t think of that. 

[school17777]

6 hours ago, WendyAndMilo said:

Wiring on the second floor of a home rarely goes up into the attic, unless you've got a ceiling fan or something.  But an outlet shouldn't do that. It's an easy check by pulling the outlet box out, after turning the power off, and peeking with a flashlight.

 

All of our wiring on the second floor is dropped from the attic.

[Halftime Hope]

20 hours ago, WendyAndMilo said:

Wiring on the second floor of a home rarely goes up into the attic, unless you've got a ceiling fan or something.  But an outlet shouldn't do that. It's an easy check by pulling the outlet box out, after turning the power off, and peeking with a flashlight.

A substantial amount of our wiring is dropped from the attic as well, which is surprising, because the neighborhood has underground wiring. 

[Halftime Hope]

21 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

You’re looking at a closet on the left and a wall on the right. The stairwell is behind the wall and I’m wondering why they didn’t slope the inside of the closet for extra space.  I haven’t peeked in yet, but I can do that from inside the closet without the need to fix it immediately. There’s one outlet on that wall about a foot from the floor. The stairwell has no light on that sloped ceiling. The air duct intake is across the hall from all this. I can look at the outside of the house for any sort of vents to that space. I didn’t think of that. 

Ooh, la, la!  You have the perfect spot for a hidden enclosure.  Seriously.  Thieves look for similar compartments at the back of closets, but something at the end of the closet is less obvious!

We've built a couple of hidey-hole compartments into prior houses, and my FIL had a spot in his custom house.  They're very nice for when you have a few valuables you don't want to take with you on vacation.  ?  Or when you have something you don't want kids to have access to.

Funny story:  when we bought this house, we moved in and noticed screw holes in one lower kitchen cabinet framing.  Hubby said instantly, "That's where they kept their liquor."  Fast forward 11 years:  two weekends ago, the former owners popped by wanting to dig up a start of a family keepsake plant.   They were talking wistfully about the house and memories they had of the decade they spent in the house, and we compared notes a bit. I said, "We found the liquor cabinet pretty quickly." They both laughed and said that had lasted about 24 hours, because their teens just removed the drawer above the locked door, and helped themselves.  LOL!