When I was a young man, my first apartment had plenty of room for all of my clothes and shoes (I only had two pairs). Over the years I got married and had a child and all of a sudden my life with two pairs of shoes in the house was over. I was inundated with shoes. Shoes in the bedroom, shoes by the door and in the closet. Shoes everywhere! Then one day while trying to find my shoes, my daughters and my wife’s, it dawned upon me that I needed a better system to store shoes. It was time for me to design and build a shoe rack.
So after a few hit and miss ideas, I came up with this design. It’s a basic and simple four foot long, two foot high wooden shoe rack. I used an eight foot long piece of 1×12 composite fiber board that happened to be on sale at my local home improvement centers indoor lumberyard. I bought an eight foot long piece of 1×4 also made from the same composite material. Lastly I bought some paint and brushes, a few one inch wood screws, wood putty and some wood glue.
Once I brought the material home from the lumber yard I set up a pair of sawhorses. I plugged in an extension cord and got out my circular saw and tool belt. I started first with the 1×12. I set the 1×12 down on the sawhorses and measured out a four foot piece and cut it off using the circular saw. Next I measured and cut two pieces at a length of two feet. These two pieces I labeled as the “sides”. Lastly I cut two pieces of the 1×4 at four foot long.
I took all of my cut pieces and brushed off all of the loose saw dust that clings to composite materials with a handheld broom. Once they were clean I got out a drop cloth and placed it under my sawhorses so I didn’t get paint everywhere. I primed my composite with a little white primer and let it dry for about four hours. Once the primer was dry, I put on a coat of acrylic latex semi gloss and let it dry for about two hours. Then I put on another coat and let all the pieces dry overnight in the garage.
The next day I was ready to assemble my new shoe rack. First I took the two pieces I labeled earlier as “sides” and set them on the workbench. I made a mark on each board at three inches up from the bottom along the edge of the 1×12. Now using a small speed square I placed on the mark I just made, I rotated the square until it read 22 ½ degrees and marked the top of the speed square. Now I had two marks at a 22 ½ degree angle up three inches from the bottom. This is where you need to attach the shelf.
First we need to build the shelf. Take one of the 1×4’s and attach it flush to one side on the face of the shelf with a few of the one inch screws. Drilling pilot holes first is always a good idea when working with composite materials as they tend to easily split. Counter sink the screws enough so you can place a little wood putty over them. Don’t forget to add some wood glue between the pieces for extra support. Now attach the other 1×4 to the other side of the shelf but place it flush opposite to the other 1×4. Now you have a sort of “z” shaped shelf.
Have a helper hold on of the side pieces steady while you attach the shelf to the 22 ½ degree angle. Flush the face of the shelf, NOT the 1×4, this way the 1×4 sticks out some so the shoes fit on the rack. Attach the shelf to each side using a few of the one inch wood screws and counter sink. Don’t forget the wood glue! Now you should have a shoe rack.
Fill any of the screw holes with some wood putty. Allow the putty to dry for a few hours before you paint over the holes. You also might want to sand down any putty that has bulged out from the surface with a little sand paper.
