Repeat this same process for the bottom slat too. Screw it in place from under the floor panel.
Note: those with kreg jig can build a right angle support and fix it to the side and bottom panel.
The door and back panel: It is not necessary to cover the back panel. Covering it is of course optional. As the wood panel I had for the door was large. It was more than enough to cut the back panel too. Therefore I traced the shape into the plank and cut it. Then I replaced the back right angle slat support with the plank right angle.
For the door, measure about 2″ excess from the opening space on the 3 sides. Transfer the measurement to board and cut. Sand and keep aside till later.
The slider: Now that basically everything is almost done we need to add the pull out guide else the storage might move around quite a bit when pulling out the storage.
Cut a 1×2 slat about the length of storage. Mark the width plus about 1/4″ across the side panel. Remove side panel and cut the mark off. Now reassemble the side panel to the angle supports and floor panel.
Position the guide slat in proper place under the stairs and hammer it in. How to do this? Well I slid onto the storage. Got someone to push me in. Placed the slat in between the opening on the wall and hammered it in. BTW, the door wasn’t fixed yet just in case you were wondering ;-).
Someone commented about using a long telescopic drawer slide. This would be great idea if you have a level floor.
When I pulled out my storage I found out the floor area under the stairs was not level too. The storage guide slat was rubbing and getting stuck on certain areas in the upper side panel. So I removed the upper side panel and sanded it down so it didn’t get stuck while pulling.
Now as a guide and lock for the slider I fixed a small 1/4″ thick slat on to the slide. I screwed it in the center so that when you turn it, it would be within the guide slat width.
To remove the storage totally out; you need to turn the guide lock parallel and push the storage to the side. Thereby providing the space to pull the storage over the lock. I hope you can understand what I mean! It sounds confusing, but the picture should help clarify it.
Fix door and shelf support: Now take the front door panel, place spacer at the bottom and fix the door to the front right angle support. Make sure to fix all 3 slats of the angle support to the door. Now the angle support and the door would become one piece. When dismantling to paint, just unscrew from side panels and bottom panels.
As there was enough space I wanted to add a shelf. So I fixed 2 slats as shelf support on the front and back panels at equal height. Measure length and width and cut shelf to size.
I did not add a handle for the door as I felt the gap at the bottom was more than enough for me to slide my hand under and pull. Adding the handle is of course up to you :-)
Dismantle and beautify: Now that all is done it’s time to dismantle and beautify :-)
Paint all the sections. In my case, my floor panel and shelf were chipboard. So as painting wouldn’t achieve a smooth finish I used a vinyl sticker sheet. Very easy maintenance!
Once all parts are painted, dried and fixed, place shelf on supports and secure by drilling and screwing to side panel.
I was really surprised at the amount of space. My kids were using it as a play area while I was doing up the shelf!
I reall liked how it turned out! I hope you find it useful to improve your house space too :-)
Thanks to shazni for this great project!
Want more under stairs storage ideas? You can get heaps from our Under the Staircase gallery!
Here’s a quick video…
