How to Make a Fold-Down Work Space & Hinge Options

Locate the studs on the wall, using a stud finder, where you would like to install the work space. Mark their locations with a pencil. This plan is designed to work with studs that are placed the standard 16 inches apart. If the studs in your home are spaced differently, you will have to adjust accordingly. Cut a 2-by-2 to a length of 66 inches. Secure the 2-by-2 with screws so that each of its ends rests against a stud. It should be placed so that its top is 36 inches off the ground. The secured 2-by-2 will act as a cleat.

Frame a box that the surface of the work space will rest on. Cut two pieces of 2-by-2 lengths of 66 inches. These pieces will be the front and the back of the box. Cut three pieces of 2-by-2 lengths of 39 inches. Two of these pieces will be the sides of the box and the other will be a brace that runs through the center, perpendicular to the wall. They are slightly shorter than the total depth of the work space so that the work space will clear the cleat when folded down. Position these pieces so that the sides and the brace of the box are sandwiched between the front and the back of the box. Make sure that the sides are flush with the edges of the front and back.

Secure the front and back pieces to the side and brace pieces with screws. Cut a piece of plywood to 66-by-42 inches. This piece will be the surface of the work space.

Secure the plywood to the box with screws. Make sure that the sides and front are flush with the box. Again, the back will hang slightly off of the box.

Attach the legs to the work space. Cut two pieces of 2-by-2 to lengths of 36 inches. These pieces will be the legs. Secure folding hinges to the sides of the legs with screws. Ensure that the half of each hinge not attached to the legs are flush with the top of the leg when folded at a 90-degree angle. The hinges will face the wall so that the legs fold in toward the wall.

Attach one end of a folding bracket to the outside of each leg. Place the legs 1 inch from the front of the work space so that they will clear the frame when folding. Place the legs far enough from the sides so that the folding brackets have room to fold. Secure the legs to the bottom of the work space by screwing the hinges to its underside.

Secure the unattached ends of the folding brackets to the inside of the work space's frame. Attach Velcro straps to the underside of the work space with screws or strong glue. These will hold the legs in place when the work space is folded. Place them where the bottoms of the legs land when they are folded.

Attach one side of the piano hinge with screws to the underside of the back of the work space. It should run flush along the full length of the work space. Attach the other side of the piano hinge to the cleat with screws.