Mud Room Lockers

What better time to embark on a home improvement project then the few weeks over the Holidays when work and school slows down? Well, that's what we did back in December. While certain members of a certain family have been on yours truly to finish the basement, I just can't get myself to commit to the money and time that is going to take. Instead, I thought I'd take on a much "smaller" project in the mud room and get the lockers I said I'd build a month after we moved in done - only 4 short years later!

With four family members (not including pets), we knew we were looking at four lockers with enough space for all our coats, hats, gloves, scarves, etc. as well as some space for a few pairs of shoes (each), a place to sit our butts, and a little extra cabinet space. Since we have stained oak doors throughout the house, it was to be stained oak lockers. Off to Menard's to get the oak...

With lumber, screws, and glue acquired, I started construction. No matter how many times I've worked with oak, I always forget how hard the stuff is! I think this particular project left me with about 6 busted screws and 3 busted drill bits stuck inside it. The good news is said broken pieces are acting in their intended purpose anyway and holding the thing together! Here's a shot of the project about half-way through. Of course, construction is only half the battle when building something that is going to be stained. Fortunately, my partner in crime, while not a fan of painting and staining, is pretty darn good at it. I got a bit of a reprieve after 2 weekends worth of construction as she prepped the wood for stain and polyurethane. A few more days of that, and the lockers really started coming together, as you can see below.
Oh, a couple important safety tips: 1) when gluing wood that will be stained, do not, I repeat, do not, wipe up excess glue with a wet rag as most glue bottles will suggest. This opens the pores of the wood and allows glue to seep further into it making it all but impossible to get the glue-soaked wood to stain like the rest of the piece. Let it dry completely, then use a chisel or putty knife to strip the dried glue off the wood. Trust me on this... 2) make sure the piece you are building can fit through the door to the room it will reside in if you're not building it there already. This second tip is very important. I don't know this from experience, but I've heard from friends...