Cedar Closet Construction Tips

Cedar Closet Construction Tips

An existing closet space can be converted to a cedar closet with some effort. If you are building a new home, the work can be significantly reduced. Existing closets have shelf standards in place which must be temporarily taken down. Baseboard is almost always present as is door trim. The cedar products should be installed behind all of these things. You will need to remove them for a really good looking job.

New home construction is much easier. You simply need to provide a suitable nailing surface over the wall studs. I would install 1/2 inch or 3/8 inch plywood inside the closet in lieu of drywall. In addition, I would caulk all seams between the plywood walls, and ceiling, and floor. Air infiltration is your enemy. You want to minimize air entry and exit. Don't forget to install an exterior type door! Be sure to account for the finish flooring material. If your floor is to be hardwood, set the metal threshold up 3/4 inch from the subfloor. If you plan to carpet on either side of the closet, elevate the metal threshold 1/2 inch from the subfloor.

Basement cedar closets built against foundation walls need to include high quality vapor barriers. You do not want the cedar or wood framing to come into contact with the bare concrete walls. Install a high density cross laminated polyethylene vapor barrier product on the concrete or concrete block before you nail furring strips or construct a regular partition wall.

Cost Estimates for Cedar Products

You have three choices of material for aromatic cedar closets: solid planks, cedar veneer plywood or cedar chip flakeboard. The solid planking is by far the most expensive. Here in Cincinnati I priced it out at $23.75 per bundle. A bundle contains enough 1/4 inch by 3 3/4 inch planks to cover 15 square feet. Cedar flakeboard, however, is available in 4 x 8 foot sheets at a cost of $20.95 per sheet. Aromatic cedar veneer plywood is available at a cost of $58.18 per 4 x 8 foot sheet. I have estimated the following costs to line a standard 2 foot deep by 6 foot wide closet (8 feet high.) The total labor and material costs for each of the three materials is as follows: Cedar flakeboard = $270; Cedar veneer plywood = $435; Solid cedar planking = $750.

For your benefit, here are the costs per square foot of area covered: Cedar flakeboard = $2.10; Cedar veneer plywood = $3.39; Solid cedar = $5.85.

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