How to build closet shelves to fit perfectly

As many of you DIYers are aware, rarely - if ever - are wall corners perfectly square. And that can present a challenge when building shelves and also when cutting decorative molding. Fortunately, there's a trick for building shelves to fit perfectly without any gaps between the shelves and the walls.

[prosperity.]

Susan this video is 12 years old.. Still the best one on YouTube.. 💯Your Dad's a great teacher❤

[paulstradley]

Your Dad should do a whole series of teaching techniques! Very good!

[occhiblu]

Your Dad is a great teacher and seems so sweet! Please pass on my gratitude for his clear explanation.

[wohcrag]

Ms Penning please thank your father for sharing his knowledge with us who appreciate the skills he has acquired over the years. truly the best scribing video I've seen.

[MooseCaboose]

Most helpful video I have found on how to scribe with simple tools and actually gets to the point! Thank you!!!

[sinfinfin]

A video that is exactly 💯 what I was looking for 👌 mint explanation from your dad 👌 nice job

[DavidHust]

This is brilliant. I've been brainstorming for months on how to do this. It got to the point to where I bought poster board and was cutting small pieces and taping them against the larger poster board... well, it doesn't matter anymore. Thank the Lord I found this. My wife will be thankful too.

[catie]

This is so cool! I was having trouble understanding other videos, but your dad is a born teacher. Tell him thanks for saving my closet! 💜

[stopdrinkingleftskoolaid]

FINALLY! I watched a bunch of videos (made by professionals) on how to scribe a shelf. They all showed a close up of the process but they did not show or explain how they put the board against the wall to make the mark. In fact, all the videos showed the board appeared to lay FLAT between the two walls BEFORE the scribe. Which means that the board would have to be short AFTER the cut. Thanks for a showing the complete process.

[kymbo]

this was easily the best tutorial I found on youtube for this - thanks so much, worked perfectly!

[derekastle]

Easiest video of how to do this that I've seen. Kudos

[ifollowjesus]

This is the best explaining on how to scribe to fit a shelf between 2 walls. In every video I have seen no one has explained how the shelf needs to be larger and tilted, though it should be common sense it is not and I was having a hard time figuring it out until I saw this video. Subscribed!

[chillinrodzilla]

this is excellent, I started off thinking this is unnecessary then quickly came to realization that this is very important to anyone that shows good craftsmanship, if you're going to do it do it right no rigs! thank you so much!

[robynmacneil]

Thank you! I'm installing the closet shelves at work tomorrow. I'm starting with the same start that you started with here. I felt they should be scribbed but no one is mentioning it. They are keeping it very simple. I appreciate this so much! Now where the heck did I put that compass lol?

[Aerobob]

This is a great tip. I've 'fitted' closet shelves that don't fit properly in the past and my daughter now tells me she wants shelves
in the other closet too. With this tip I should be able to do a better job. Thank you very much

[mnkylvr]

Superb tutorial, Ive struggled to get the concept but this explained it perfectly thanks.

[reyes]

Thank you 
I was looking for a way to cut shelves to fit without any gapes. Thank you. You save the Day.

[wb]

Thank you for sharing! In process of remodeling after 15 years in house realized existing closets aren't designed for current needs. I combined 2 - 6ft California closets into a 12 ft walk-in closet for my daughter who has a lot of great storage but needed the ability to see everything and give everything room to breathe. She is able to stay organized and on time even with her busy schedule so it was worth it. Now I am finishing the remodel for the 2 closets I took apart to build the 12-ft walk-in. Project 1 is in a 5th bedroom that serves as den and craft room. There is a secretary and upper cabinet in there from my original kitchen remodel so I took extra oak plywood from a custom wall unit that is getting replaced with a beautiful new wall unit upgrade and used 4 side panels to create the peg board sides to hold the custom shelving to compensate for removing the reach in closet organization system where I am removing the wall to add a double center door to help remove the feeling of claustrophobia and open it to the family room for more unified feel. I am cutting 20 shelves and the walls are not plumb (likely due age related settling (25 yo home or to drywall/mud etc) so this will help tremendously.


My second project is in the 4 th bedroom where there are 2 large reach ins. I am converting one of the reach ins into a large linen closet with 6 - 5 1/2 ft X 2' & 2 - 5 1/2 ft X 1' shelves held in by furring strips. Again the walls aren't plumb and since I have other pantry closets that were done with rough cuts and caulk, I do not want the same sloppy work for these projects. Over the years the caulk method looks terrible and the supports are not fully supporting the weight so I will be added support and fixing what needs it.


To anyone reading this post, I agree the time constraints to cut wood for a perfect fit will test your patience, but using this method requires much less time than trying to cut quick, caulk, paint or having to get more wood to finish your project.


Thank you Susan and your dad for your time and posting this method to help our projects along. I will be looking into your channel. W

[daltonyoungblood]

I’ve watched probably 10 videos on how to scribe an alcove shelf. Each 20 minute video consisted of people yapping about nothing and building an entire template. This was the exact kind of method I was looking for and my brain just couldn’t figure it out on its own. Not to mention, it’s was only 6 minutes with a yap rate of 0. I’ve commented on maybe 3 videos in the past 15 years, but tell OUR dad that I said thank you! 🙏

[paulelder]

Thank you so much. This is an upcoming project, and I value finish above time! I was planning to make templates first, but this method is so much easier.