Whether you are living on your own or with your family, a mudroom locker can add a lot of convenience to your life. The mudroom locker can help you keep things organized and store items like your coat, hat, shoes and backpack or purse, so that you can pick them when you are heading out.
Building a locker for the mudroom isn’t difficult if you are already good with DIY projects. Even if you are a beginner, a mudroom locker project can be completed with relative ease. It can give you a good learning experience to take on more complex projects later.
In this blog, we look at some of the steps of how to build lockers for a mudroom.
Table of Contents
What You Will Need
The items you will need to build your mudroom locker depend on the type of locker you are trying to build. At the bare minimum, you will need plywood sheets for the frame and doors, weld wood glue, hinges, hooks, screws, nails, paint and sandpaper.
You will also need DIY tools such as a miter saw, drill, hammer, screwdriver, measuring tape and a nail gun.
Here is a list of items that you can buy online.
Plywood Sheets
- STRONG, DURABLE, HEAVY-DUTY - These craft wood pieces of multi-coated Baltic Birch plywood offer exceptional durability, rigidity, and stability for all your woodworking needs. The surfaces provide excellent holding power for glue and screws and the birch edges create cleaner joinery.
- BEAUTIFUL WOOD, BEAUTIFUL PROJECT- Russian-grown Baltic Birch plywood is prized by woodworkers everywhere. Manufactured using the latest methods in wood production, this hardwood from the snowy forests of the north is extremely durable and creep resistant. It has a beautiful lengthwise grain and takes stain well. TRUE SIZE: 11-7/8” x 23-7/8”.
- CHOOSE LASER CUTTER WOOD - The layers of the Baltic Birch sheets of thick plywood are designed to smoothly glide through laser cutters and scroll saws, making it the ideal thin wood sheets for efficient woodcutting. Are you looking for wood for wood burning projects? Woodpeckers has the perfect wood boards for crafts.
- GRADE B/BB - Graded according to the Russian Baltic plywood standard as B/BB, this hardwood has a single piece face and a back veneer. The face veneer has a smooth surface with a light uniform color while the back surface typically has 1-2 small color-matched patches. The thick face veneer provides a smoother surface for CNC routers or engraving machines to glide on the birch wood.
- SERVICE & SELECTION - We are dedicated to partnering with business owners, home crafters, and woodwork artisans. Our customer care agents are thoroughly familiar with our products, and we will be happy to assist you with any concerns and inquiries. Looking for plywood boards in different sizes? Visit the Woodpeckers storefront for a large selection of plywood squares in both 1/4 and 1/8 thickness.
Weld Wood Glue
- Gorilla Wood Glue Ultimate formula is 100% waterproof and incredibly strong, but still easily cleans up with water.
- It is great for outdoor applications where temperatures or moisture might be a concern, as well as interior projects that could benefit from the extended working time and high strength.
- WATERPROOF: Passes the ANSI/HPVA Type 1 water-resistance.
- EXTENDED WORKING/OPEN ASSEMBLY TIME: Up to 15 minutes.
- REQUIRES ONLY 20-30 MINUTES OF CLAMP TIME: Fully cured in 24 hou
Hinges
- Matte black finish
- Durable steel construction
- Pack includes 18 total hinges
- Mounting hardware included
- Detailed installation instructions inclu
Hooks
- Packaging Includes:This package included 40pcs coat hooks and 80pcs screws. Each hook with two screws. And we provide extra several screws for spare, enough to meet your installation needs.
- Sturdy & Durable Wall Hooks:These heavy duty wall mounted hooks are made of high quality zinc die cast material. Sturdy and durable,and it can hold up to 40 lbs of weight easily.
- Widely Uses:Our hooks design with double hooks, hanging jackets, coat, hats, scarf, towel, keys, umbrella, bags, Christmas socks and Christmas wreath, to keep your home organized and neat. Perfect to use in bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, closet, foyer, entryway and more. Recommended to mount to solid wood or wooden surface. Just choose a place you want to install. Drill a hole and screw the wall hook in place, easy for installation.
- Size:The size of this wall hooks are 1.2 x 1.7 inch, screws are 0.6inch in length. They will help you to save space and keep your home organized. Stylish hooks will add some classic minimalist flair to decor your room.
- 100% Guarantee:If you experience any issue with our products,get in touch with our POZEAN customer service team for a repair or replacement. We are grateful to get your advice and experience, to improve it and make it bett
Sandpaper
- MEETS ALL YOUR NEED - Including 3 sheets of each grit: 120/220/320/400/600/800/1000/1200/1500/2000/2500/3000, total 36 sheets.
- PREMIUM QUALITY - Made of waterproof silicon carbide, electro coated ensures the grit distributed homogeneously, good for wet and dry sanding.
- MULTIFUNCTIONAL - Suitable for use in art and craft, wood work, automotive, metal, and plastic applications for buffing and polishing.
- EASY TO IDENTIFY - The grits of the sandpaper are printed on the back for easy identification.
- Product size: 9 x 3.6 inches, also can be cut into any smaller size you need easi
How to Build Lockers for a Mudroom in 10 Steps
Step 1 – Select A Design
Before you start cutting and hammering boards together, you need to come up with a design for your mudroom locker project. People build mudroom lockers in millions of different ways, based on their requirement.
Some need space for shoes, some don’t. Some prefer a shelf on the top to place backpacks and hats. Some people prefer to put dividers between each locker, while others are ok with one large locker without dividers.
You can find thousands of locker design ideas on Pinterest. Keep in mind that your goal should be to make your locker look like a customer built-in piece of furniture and not stand out as too odd.
Step 2 – Prepare the Work Area
The space you have designated for your mudroom locker project must be clear of carpet, baseboard trims and other furniture or fixtures that can interfere with the locker. Measure the area two or three times to be sure that your selected design will fit in the area.
Step 3 – Cut Plywood Sheets to Size
Use a measuring tape to mark the sheets so that you cut them with accuracy. Remember, that cutting accuracy separate great DIY home projects from good projects. You will also prevent wasting boards when you have everything measured down to accurate size.
Start by cutting the outer frame pieces first. You can cut the doors and dividers later, after you have installed the main frame of the locker.
Step 4 – Sand the Plywood Sheets
Use an orbital sander or sanding paper to smooth out the edge of your plywood sheets. Smooth edges are easier to attach and stick with other board pieces.
Step 5 – Build the Base
The base needs to be solid and connected to the ground. It will have to support not just the weight of the upper cabinets, but also the weight of all the items you will put inside. Use a 3/4 inch cabinet-grade plywood for the supports and make sure that they have a flat surface for attaching plywood on the top.
The distance between the vertical support boards at the bottom should not be very large. If you are building a locker that is 80 inches wide, then place five to six boards at the bottom that are 15 to 20 inches apart.
Step 6 – Build the Cabinets
Determine how deep and tall you need the cabinets to be. Attach the frames at the side first. You should use a combination of wood glue, screws and nails to ensure that you build a sturdy frame.
We recommend pre-drilling any and all screw holes when working with plywood. It is made up of layers that may come apart if your try to hit a nail hard on its head or sink the screws in.
Keep the width and heights of your locker doors in mind as you build the frame. You will also need to test out how the doors will open to determine how much space they need.
Step 7 – Add the Back to the Lockers
Once you are done with the frame, add plywood back panels to the backside of the cabinets against the wall. You can use glue to fix them in place and then nail them in. If using screws, pre-drill your holes on the sheets.
Step 8 – Caulk the Corners
Once the frame is finished, you will need to fill all the holes with wood putty or caulking mixture to get a smooth finish. Apply the caulk to all corners and edges. This gives you a nice, finished look and helps clean out any of the gaps between the joints.
Step 9 – Attach the Doors
Screw the hinges on to the doors and drill holes into the frames where you want to fix the doors. This can be tricky and you may need support to hold the door in place as you screw them in.
Step 10 – Paint and Prime
You have multiple options to choose for painting, including by hand or by spray. Make sure to use appropriate safety gear like gloves and goggles to protect your hand and eyes.
Our Final Thoughts
In this blog, we provided a breakdown of how to build lockers for a mudroom. Families with children will particularly find mudroom lockers useful. You can tell your kids to store their shoes in the locker when they get home. This helps keep dirt out of your rooms and makes it easier to keep your home clean and tidy.
The locker also comes in handy for storing coats and umbrellas for bad weather or your backpack to ensure you don’t forget it when you are heading out. It is a relatively simpler DIY job and your mudroom locker project can be a good way to learn useful building skills.
