Sliding Clothes Racks

[Tumbleweed]

Make an odd sized closet functional.

If your closet is deep on either side of the entry door then this is the solution for you! And I'm sure you could adapt this to many other uses.

Here is a rough drawing of what my particular closet looks like with the sliding clothes racks and if you have x-ray vision to see through walls. 




Another rough drawing looking down and with two sliding clothes racks.



Here are some photos to help you visualize.

This is the right side of my closet.


This is the left side of the closet. It isn't as deep as the right side but deep enough for both clothes racks to slide far enough past the door so I can easily get to the shelves on the other side.


This is the railing you will put on your ceiling:



This is how two clothes racks look hung from the rails.



Another view of the two clothes racks on the railing.



Here are the two clothes racks pushed into their position on the right side of the closet. The one in front has two hanging areas for blouses/shirts - one on top and one lower down. The one directly behind it is for longer clothes - like dresses. Both can be slid across the doorway to the other side of the closet for access to the shelves behind them.



Here I am sliding one rack from the right, across the doorway to be put on the left side of the closet.



This is what you'll need:

• Two steel sliding door racks (rails) (typically used for closet doors)
  Note: They come in several lengths. I used 72" length. See Step One for determining the length
  
• 1x2 inch pine boards (Number of feet depends on what options you want to add and how wide your closet is. See Step One)
  
• 1x4 inch pine boards (Number of feet depends on what options you want to add. See Step One)
  
• About 14 - 1 1/4" wood screws (they don't have to be wood screws)
  
• I suggest you buy a half a dozen longer screws for putting up the rack if you think you may have difficulty reaching a stud. It is imperative you secure the railing into at least 2 studs for each railing.

Note: I used pine because it is lighter weight, cheap and you can usually find some good smooth & paintable wood. I wanted a lighter weight wood because there would be 2 sliders with possibly 4 racks of clothes hanging from them plus a shoe rack at the bottom and overloading the rails was a concern.

The tools you may need:
Power drill and bits
Level
Ruler or tape measure
Pencil
Stud finder (or use your knocking skills if you are a pro at this, LOL)
Saw - you can easily do this with a hand saw if you don't have power tools because pine is soft wood.

Step one
Measure the deep end of your closet. Determine how many sliders you want, keeping in mind for each slider you need about 20 inches minimum for the clothes to hang properly. If you don't mind a tighter fit you can go a lower number. Measure where you want your rack to go and mark on both sides.

Find where your studs are located and mark them.

Things to consider before you start building your project:

Are the screw holes going to line up to where the studs are located. If not do you have the tools so you can pre-drill another hole in the rack or could you reposition your rack?

Are you going to paint the wood? If so, consider doing a test run by assembling all the pieces and then removing them for painting. (I did paint mine hanging)

You will need something to stop your sliding clothes racks from going off the end. I'm sure you can come up with something better but on one end I secured a small block of wood. I also considered pre-drilling a hole where the gliders are going to need to stop and putting in a nut & bolt. I didn't need to secure the other end as a shelf support stopped the sliding clothes racks from going off the end of the rail.

Do you want a shoe rack at the bottom of each slider? If so you will need to purchase 1x6, 8, or 10. Depending on what you want. How many feet is determined by how many clothes racks with shoe attachment you want and how wide your closet is.

Please keep in mind these racks were originally meant for sliding doors so you must consider the weight you will be putting on them so adapting this slider to have boxes instead of clothes racks to store your car battery and bricks is not recommended at all!! LOL Check your packaging. Each steel rail I used has a max weight of 120 lbs.

Step by Step Instructions coming next

[barb]

That is so cool Tumbleweed! I was visualizing racks that slid out individially and couldn't picture how it wouldn't hit the hanging clothes. The pics explained it so nicely.

Did you come up with this idea by yourself? If you did, you should patent it.

[Tumbleweed]

Yep, one of my cells in my brain perked up for a moment.

[barb]

You should get a patent on it and sell it to a large company.

You could really make big money off it since so many older homes have closets like yours. I know that I have had rooms where putting in doors that would make the whole closet accessible would have gotten rid of much needed wall space.

I do believe you are sitting on a gold mine.

[Tumbleweed]

I thought about it. I know someone who does patents so I'll run it by him. Sometimes things are just too simplistic to get a patent. There is a lot of red tape. For example. I need a proto-type that isn't using someone elses product - which I am. And that takes money which I don't have.

[smcartor]

I love the way you made everything work without tearing down walls. I have tried getting a patent before...I was told it wasn't unique enough for the process. I did a search for Nebraska patent and the person you are thinking of came up. It certainly wouldn't hurt to ask about it.

[barb]

It can still be done. You may have to share with the person who's product you are using but I still think its a unique use of it, so it has a lot of potential.

[cactuspatch]

Totally cool! How very clever. You could make some money helping people to get their closets functional and organized. I'd hire you. In fact, you should come for a visit.

[Tumbleweed]

Thanks Cactuspatch. I'm packing my bags. I'd love to get away from this ice.

I'm glad I checked this thread because I need to get those step-by-step instructions done!