I decided to keep my wood unfinished, however, if you want a finish on your boards, I would suggest finishing them before cutting.
After I cut my boards, I knocked off the splinters and edges with a piece of fine grit sandpaper.
Here are my cuts all laid out before assembling them.
STEP 2: Assemble shell of storage unit
First, I measured every 18″ on my 6′ boards to mark where my shelves would sit. Rob suggested I do this before assembling anything.
Then, I applied wood glue to the edges of one of my 16″ 1×6 pieces and positioned it between the top edges of my 6′ pieces.
I nailed the outside of the 6′ pieces to the inside edge of the 16″ 1×6 piece.
In order to easily mount my storage unit, I glued and nailed a 16″ 1×2 piece directly under the 16″ 1×6 piece.
Once the end was glued and nailed, I attached a clamp to hold everything together until the glued cured.
Repeat these steps for both ends of the storage unit.
Here is the unit all clamped up…now it’s time for shelves.
STEP 3: Assemble shelves of storage unit
Much like STEP 2, I assembled my shelves by gluing and nailing the remaining 16″ 1×6 pieces of board. Once I put glue on the ends of my 16″ pieces, and starting at one end, I placed the top edge of my board on my pencil marks from the first part of STEP 2. Then, I wiped any glue that bled and stapled the end shelves.
STEP 4: Assemble rails of storage unitFor the double rails of each shelf, I knocked in two pieces of 16″ 1×2 boards, one at a time. I used two scrap pieces of 16″ 1×2 boards for spacers. I didn’t use wood glue for this step, because the rails were so tight. I simply used a hammer to gently knock them in place and stapled the ends from the outside of the 6′ boards.
STEP 5: Mount storage unit
Finally, I used a counter sink attachment for my drill to pre-drill three holes on the top of my storage unit and three holes on the bottom. Then, I screwed in my screws to make the unit nice and secure.
I’m really happy with how this built-in storage unit came out for my closet door. I still have a few stragglers sitting on the floor but I feel my closet looks so much more organized, given how small it is.
Step by step tutorial: Here