How to Build Home Office Cabinets

Design the Cabinets

• 1

  Pencil in on grid paper the location, type and size of cabinets you want in your home office. Roughly sketch and outline cabinet plans on walls with a tape measure and a level. Mark the layout on carpet with masking tape.

• 2

  Calculate the size of the cabinets, and choose the material for your top (countertop material or furniture-grade birch hardwood).

• 3

  List on paper the name of each part of the cabinet, its dimensions, the number you will need to cut and the material needed to create each piece.

• 4

  Cut plywood panels with a table or circular saw for the sides, top, bottom, back and any interior shelves.

• 5

  Add 3/4-by-3/4-inch dado joints for shelving. Add 1/2-by-3/4-inch rabbet joints to each piece.

Assemble Cabinets

• 6

  Dry fit the box to make sure everything fits. Add a thin layer of glue to the dado joints. Slip in shelving, and tap it into place with a mallet.

• 7

  Attach the back. Add mounting strips to the upper back edge of boxes. Glue and nail the back to the box. Clamp and let set overnight.

• 8

  Build the face frame for the box. Build a solid hardwood face frame to cover the edge of the plywood box, and glue and nail it onto the box.

• 9

  Assemble doors with solid hardwood and drawers with pine.

• 10

  Apply the finish. Nail set all nail heads, and fill with nail filler or wood putty. Cover nail holes with filler. Sand before finishing with 100-grit, then with 120-grit paper. Stain or paint cabinetry.