How to Reframe a Closet

Knock out the current drywall for your closet so you can remove the frame. Use the sledge hammer to knock a hole in the wall and break off pieces of the drywall. Before you do this check for any outlets and turn the power off to the room. This will protect you from accidentally electrocuting yourself. Remove the existing frame from the walls. You can cut out the main frames with an ax or a saw, but you should remove the nails from the pieces connected to the wall you're saving. If you're putting the closet in the same spot, leave the walls to the room intact to make the project easier.

Measure the area that you want your closet to cover. Use the stud finder to locate and mark the studs, as the wall frames must be attached to the studs. You'll need two 2-by-4s the length of each closet wall. Measure the height of the ceiling from the floor and subtract 4 inches. You'll need enough pieces to place them on each end of the wall frames and 18 inches apart along the wall.

Cut the 2-by-4s for your frame. You'll need two horizontal pieces the length of each frame, and enough vertical pieces to place them 18 inches apart. Cut a piece that's the width of your door frame. The framed door will be nailed into this piece.

Build the wall frames. Lay out the bottom length piece and nail the vertical pieces to the frame, with one at each end, then 18 inches apart down the rest of the wall. The 4-inch side will lay flush with the floor. Use two nails per vertical piece to nail it into place. Nail the ceiling piece onto each of the vertical pieces at the correct height. Repeat this process for each wall frame.

Create the space for the door by sawing out the height pieces, in the space where the door frame will go. You'll need to nail an additional vertical piece on either side of the door frame so the frame will fit exactly in the space. Nail the piece for the top of the door frame in at the correct height. Cut the bottom of the frame out with a saw once you've installed the wall frames.

Install the wall frames by nailing them into the studs in the already existing walls at the top and bottom of the wall, then 12 inches apart up and down the frame. Nail the frame into the floor on either side of each vertical piece. Nail it into the ceiling at each ceiling joust, or on each side of the vertical pieces if you're running parallel.

Hang the drywall on the inside and outside walls of the closet. Drive drywall screws into each of the studs at the top and bottom of the drywall. Use the drywall compound to fill in the seams and cover the screw holes, then sand and paint.

Put in the door frame using nails at each corner, then up the frame every 12 inches. Cut out the bottom of the wall frame with a handsaw before you put in the door frame.