DIY Pull Down Drying Rack
| June 13, 2012 | Posted by Jessie under Build it Yourself, Laundry, Wood |
It’s laundry room tutorial time! I’m starting off with one of my favorite projects in the room: the drying rack. We wanted a simple look that would fit the color scheme and feel of the rest of the room.
Supplies needed:
- sisal rope
- 2″ strips of wood {we used MDF} to the size you want
- plastic dowels {wood would work too}
- trim
- nail gun
- level
- drill
- screws
- miter saw
- hinges
Mike started this project while I ran to the store for more supplies so I don’t have a picture of the first step, but we first measured the wall and decided on our size {27″ x 27″}. Mike cut 4 pieces of the MDF {leftover from our built-in bookcases} to size, angled the corners on the miter saw at 45 degrees:
so the angles would meet up…
and nailed it together.
After he had the outside box built, we laid out the plastic dowels to make sure they would fit. They needed to be a little bit smaller than the box we just built so they would fit into the inside box. It’ll all make sense soon:)
Then we made the inside box {where the dowels will attach to} only a little smaller than the outside box {about 25 1/2″ x 25 1/2″}. Once we had all the wood cut and built into boxes, Mike had to make the holes for the dowels to fit into. He measured across the side bars and spaced out where the bars will sit. He traced the dowels to make sure they would fit.
All traced, the bars looked like this.
Then Mike took his drill and notched out holes where he drew circles for the dowels to sit in.
Both bars need to line up across from each other to fit the dowels straight into.
We sat the bars into their notches and nailed the inner box together just as we did the outer box. Then I painted everything with leftover Elephant Skin paint from the cabinets. Then we took them both inside. Mike marked the studs on the wall, held up the outer box to make sure it was level and then screwed it into the studs in the walls.
Once the outer box was attached, we added the hinges. Mike pre-drilled the hinge holes on the bottom of the outer box and also on the bottom of the inner box where the hinges would attach.
And attached the hinge to both pieces.
At this point, the inside box will pull down and will stay up on its own. However, when it comes down, the hinges would allow it to go all the way down against the wall, which would do us no good to dry clothes. So we had bought some sisal rope to keep it out straight when it was in use. Mike drilled 2 holes in the top of the outer box.
And then did the same thing on the top of the inner box and brought the rope through and tied a knot in both holes.
The last step was to add some trim to the top. We used some scrap trim we had in our wood pile in the garage and Mike nailed it in place with the nail gun.
This project took a couple of hours and cost about $4 for trim and sisal rope {everything else we had on hand}. You could add some bead board or back board to the wall to add a little more interest or use chain instead of rope. Lots of options here!
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This is great! I may try it, but using high test fishing line instead of rope or maybe a retractable line if I’m feeling really ambitious.
Thats’s a great idea! Let me know if it works out!
Such a good idea, I always need more drying space.
Thanks, Maggie:)
Thank you for such an incredibly detailed tutorial! This has been on my to-do list (I recently revamped my laundry room) but I’m still a novice at building things and your pics are a great help! Pinning so I can work up the courage to try and make this!
Thanks, Melissa! I’ll have to hip over and check out your laundry room!
Great idea. I’m always running out of hangers or having clothes hanging in doorways!
Thanks, Jen!
I’m SOOOOO glad I found this!! My husband has been nagging at me to do something about all of my clothes that are hung all over our house while they dry… looks like I have my weekend project!!
Thanks, Jessica! Good luck corralling all those clothes:)
Great idea! I so want one of these for my laundry room! Thanks for sharing.
CAS
Thanks:)
PERFECT! Crossing my fingers you’ll share at my party! Saturdays at Seven!
XO, Aimee
Thanks, Aimee!
I need a big one of this!
Well it can easily be made bigger:)
Love this idea, but how do I “pin” it?
Thanks, Rita! There is a “Pin it” button near the bottom of the post, under the pictures of the other posts you may like. Let me know if I can help!
That’s a great looking rack and awesome tutorial, thanks! I’ve got this linked to my drying racks post too today, well done!
Aw, thanks, Heather!
This is FABULOUS! Featuring you today! XO, Aimee
Aw, thanks so much, Aimee!
How do you get it to stay closed? Sorry for the silly question, but going to make this today and I am such a novice DIY! Love it though, hope mine turns out just as good.
Because it is nice and snug, when you push it up, it stays closed. Just make sure you take good measurements so that it fits in there tightly!