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Do-it-Yourself: Line a Closet with Aromatic Cedar Panels
By Jessica Stockton
Aromatic cedar is a natural freshener that has been used for decades to protect sweaters, woolens and blankets from damaging moths and their larvae. If you have a closet that is used to store off-season woolens and clothing, why not line it with cedar to keep the contents naturally fresh and damage free? Installing cedar panels in a closet is not difficult and can be easily completed in a weekend. Best of all, a cedar closet is a great selling point when it's time to put your house on the market.
Safety Precautions, Supplies and Prep Goggles or safety glasses and a dust mask are recommended for any woodworking project to protect the eyes and lungs. Take care to provide adequate ventilation when working with adhesives, following all label instructions and precautions to the letter. You will need to gather the following supplies before beginning: A pry bar for removing existing molding and trim
Battery or electric powered stud finder
Construction adhesive and a tube of pliable latex caulk
Two-inch finishing nails, a level and a hammer
A pencil, wood putty, and small putty knife
Scrap wood, one-quarter inch thick, to use as spacers
One-quarter inch cedar planks
Cedar Planks: How to Measure and Determine Quantity Needed Purchase cedar planks in tongue-in-groove planking or in four-by-four foot panels. Carefully measure and record the dimensions of your closet and take this information with you so that personnel at the home improvement store can cut the panels for you according to your specifications. If you cut the panels yourself, you will need a workbench or sawhorses and a circular saw. When making measurements, keep in mind that a two millimeter gap must be maintained between to panels to accommodate expansion and contraction. Also, special accommodations must be made to fit the last panel on the side wall of the closet: Cut this panel one-quarter inch narrower so that it will fit next to the adjoining panel on the back wall. This panel must also be cut one-quarter inch shorter on the top and bottom so that it can be slid into place. When four-by-four foot panels are used they are installed one above the other throughout the closet, so both pieces making up the last panel will have to be cut by one-quarter of an inch in length and width. Wood molding, baseboards and pliable latex caulk can be used to fill the gap along the floor and ceiling.
Step-by-Step Installation Remove everything from the closets, including shelving, hanging rods and any items stored on the floor. Remove baseboards and molding with a pry bar.
Use the stud finder to find studs behind the walls and mark the center of each stud as accurately as possible with a pencil. Measure the locations of each mark and carefully note those on a sheet of paper so that you will be able to find the studs again after the cedar panels have been attached with adhesive.
Start with a bottom side panel. Position a one-quarter inch thick piece of scrap wood on the floor as a spacer to help you maintain the proper gap from the floor. Apply adhesive to the back of the first cedar plank. Align the panel on the bottom, using the scrap piece for support, and press the cedar plank against the wall. Hold it in place and use a finishing nail to attach it to a stud, noting that the nail should not be driven all the way in at this point. Use the level to assist in accurate alignment of the plank then finishing driving the nail all the way into the wall. Space additional nails approximately six inches apart along the stud.
Attach the remaining cedar panels in the same fashion, using the spacer as a guide. Remember to leave about two millimeters of space between each panel. Finish lining the entire bottom half of the closet with cedar planks before beginning the top section. Pay special attention to the last plank, making it one-quarter inch narrower and shorter, as directed above. Attach the upper planks using the lower planks as a guide, using adhesive and nails as you did on the lower half, with proper spacing between planks and adjustments made as directed for the final plank. Use molding or caulk to cover the gap near the ceiling. Baseboards can be used to cover the gap at the floor. Let the adhesive dry thoroughly before reinstalling closet rods and shelves. Note that the closet space will be approximately one-half inch smaller than it was before.
Keeping the closet closed when not in use will help maintain the aromatic cedar scent, but if it begins to fade as time passes, lightly sand the panels with fine grit sandpaper to restore its cedar fragrance. Photo from Flickr - "Cedar closet" courtesy of this_could_be_my_house.
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I love the smell of cedar. When I was a kid and we went on vacation, we usually stopped at trading posts or tourist type stores. I'd go around and open the little cedar boxes on display and smell the inside. In between Fredericksburg and Stonewall, Texas, there's the Wildseed Farm. It includes a nice gift shop. The bathroom walls are made of cedar and it smelled wonderful when you walked in. It's been several years since I've been there. I hope they have sanded the walls to keep the smell fresh.
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February, 2012
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