Refinishing Entry / Mud-Room Closet with Butcher Block Seat and Ship Lap
We decided to redo our entry room closet to increase the versatility by mainly adding a bench and removing the doors to increase the ease of access. The floor was also redone but I am not an expert tiler so I will not be describing that process.
Supplies:
- Butcher Block Slab (96 inches x 36 inches x 1.2 inches) – $200
- Butcher Block Support wood (96 inches x 12 inches x 1.2 inch) – $10
- Ship-Lap / Carsiding: $80
- Oak shelf (48 inches x 36 inches x 5/8 inches) – $30?
- Door Trim/Jambs: $25
- Various other wood: $50
- Hooks x 12: $36
- Baskets x 4: $48
- Stain/Paint: $20
- Total Cost: $499
Step 1: Demo out closet completely, you can also remove all drywall if you are doing a backing such as the ship lap. In my pictures we actually left the dry wall originally because we were planning on keeping it, but changed our minds later. If you are keeping the drywall proceed with pictures 2, 3, and 4 to remove the drywall in order to fit the width of the butcher block support piece.
Step 2: Secure butcher block support wood into the studs. For this step I choose to use 4 inch nails to supply ample support. Placed support woods all around the edges and until flush with the doorway frame. At this time I also placed some of our shoes to outline the desired width of the shelves beneath the butcher block.
Step 3a: Now we frame out the shelving, because we wanted these shelves to be slightly raised from the floor, we placed some plywood on the bottom to elevate the base. Then add a front facing piece to cover the plywood and place your finished wood pieces on top of the plywood as well. To add the vertical pieces you then can screw these in at the base onto the horizontal base pieces. As you can see in picture 3, there is a notched cut in the wood to allow it to slide back to the wall.
Step 3b: Still finishing up the shelving base, we added some thin 1/4 plywood to cover the drywall in the back, to get a more uniform wood look. Lastly we add the middle tier shelf in the middle by screwing directly horizontal into the shelf from the vertical slats. Since we may only have 20-30lbs on this shelf, I felt this was sufficient, if you are worried about more weight or kids using it as a step, feel free to reinforce with an additional ledger board or more secure fastening system.
Step 4: Cut and dry fit butcher block to ensure dimensions are correct. Since the butcher block we have is so thick, it made it hard to maneuver into place so I actually had to remove some drywall to get it to slide into place (back right corner). Once you are happy with the fit, prep and finish to your choice. I used a dark stain (Miniwax Ebony) and a polycrylic finish with 4 coats to handle a lot of abuse.
Step 5: Paint and finish base shelves at this stage as it is easier now before the butcher block is on top.
Step 6: (We were tilling the floor at the same time, so hence the floor change) Place finished butcher block in place (hopefully the last time you have to lift the heavy thing). Now place the door frame trim, which consists of door-jambs and simple trim around the door frame. This was necessary before the ship lap in order to know the dimension on the inside.
Step 7: If you are choosing to cover the drywall, now you may do so. We went with a ship lap style wood. Due to its unique tongue and groove style and the fact that no walls in my house are perfectly straight, I decide to dry fit as much of the cuts as possible. After that, paint all pieces and install. I attached a craftsman style header which you can read about here: making craftsman headers.
Step 8: For the top shelf I made use of the existing ledger board from the previous shelf. If you need to make your own, simply follow the same steps as making the one for the butcher block. Since this was a large span and we did not want any middle supports, I used a 5/8″ thick oak board to support the weight without sagging. Additionally I added a quarter-arc trim piece to give it just a little bit more style.
Finally we rounded it off with some baskets and hooks!
