How to Build a Clothes Folding Table

Choose a wall for the folding table that won’t interfere with traffic patterns, open appliance doors, pantries and other obstacles if you haven’t enough space in a laundry or mudroom to install the unit. Calculate the heights of family members when you figure out how high to mount the unit so nobody can use “I’m too short” as a reason not to pitch in when the dryer bell rings. Mark the wall to indicate the points at which the table will be attached.

Don safety glasses before using a table saw to cut down a section of countertop so it measures 5-feet-by-20-inches. Sand and stain or paint it to match the wall if you’re using wood or fiberboard for your clothes folding table project. Alternatively, plan to reface the exposed sides of laminate countertop with strips of matching material once it’s mounted to the wall.

Tap the wall to find studs or use a stud finder if you plan to anchor your clothes folding table to the supports. Alternatively, forget the studs and use a drill to sink anchors directly into the drywall that are deep enough to support heavy-duty screws or bolts.

Check fold-down bracket sizes to make sure yours accurately fit your folding table dimensions before you mount them to the wall. The folding shelf brackets should be from 2 to 4 inches shorter than the countertop width so they’re long enough to support the weight but not so long they protrude from beneath the table when it's in the down position.

Mount brackets to the wall, leaving 32 inches between the pair. Install additional fold-down brackets if you’re concerned about two being enough. Fasten the brackets to the underside of the countertop. Use a level to check uniformity. Test the fold-down mechanism to make certain the unit folds up and down smoothly. If the process causes scratches or hitches, make adjustments as necessary.

Glue strips of laminate to the raw sides of the clothes folding table if you’ve made yours of laminate material to finish off the edges. Allow the glued edging to dry before you use the table. Mount pegboard on the wall above the table so socks without a mate can be hung up until the missing sock is found.