Underbed Storage Boxes

jalex

Materials:
1/2 inch plywood or other wood of choice [if you have old chest of drawers or wood boxes hanging around, they will work perfectly for this and eliminate the need to build your own]
Saw to cut plywood
Drill
Screws or nails
Hammer
Measuring tape
Wood glue
Drawer Pull of choice
4 Casters, suitable for box size
Paint [colour of choice]
Vinyl [I used vinyl tablecloths]
Velcro [Self adhesive or use Velcro glue to adhere]
Sewing machine [optional]
Brass thumb tacks
Shelf liner or wallpaper scraps
Sand paper





Instructions:
I have rated this project intermediate, only because the instructions for building the box are not extremely detailed. If you are confident that you can build a box or have an already built one on hand, this project is very easy.

Begin by measuring the space available under your bed. Measure the width, length and most important the clearance that is available from the floor to the bed frame or box spring.

My boxes were made for a double bed and measure 18 inches wide by 24 inches long and 5 inches high. I have a clearance of 7 inches in height under my bed and to allow for the height of the casters and a bit of clearance for the vinyl lid, I made my boxes a 5 inch height.

You'll need to determine all of these measurements before you begin. From your plywood you will need to cut 4 sides and a base that will suit your measurements. It's a good idea to prepare a little drawing of all the wood pieces required and what size is needed before you cut. An old rule is "Measure twice, cut once". This is a rule that should be followed ALWAYS!

All of your side panels will be attached to the base top, using glue and nails or screws inserted from the bottom of the box, up through the sides of the panels. It's a good idea to pre-drill all nail or screw holes first. This will help in preventing the wood from splitting and I suggest that you do not skip this step. You also need to drill the holes in the front centre of your box panel to hold the handle. This will vary depending on the handle you choose. I used a 3 inch centre handle. This means that the centre of the hole on each side of the handle is exactly 3 inches apart. I measured the 3 inches and drilled the holes with the drill bit suitable to the handles I chose.

Once you have your box assembled, sand the boxes and clean away any dust. Paint the entire box with a paint of choice. I used a good quality primer and then varnished over the primer. These boxes will hold craft supplies and will not only be used regularly, but will need to stand up to a lot of abuse. Allow the paint to dry and then measure the inside bottom of the box to fit either a strip of wallpaper or shelf liner. Attach the liner according to the manufacturer instructions.

Attaching your casters, though not complicated requires that you measure. Simply attaching your casters randomly may result in the box not rolling smoothly as they will not be lined up evenly. Measure a distance from each side [at each corner] equally for all four casters [see diagram 1]. Pre-drill the holes required to attach them and attach with screws that are suitable to the casters.

To make the covers, measure your box top, add 1 inch to each side [1/2 inch seam allowance and 1/2 inch allowance for velcro strip] and approximately 2 inches to the length [this will be secured at the back of the box with tacks. I used two different colour pieces for the lid and sewed them [right sides together] along the front and 2 sides. Turned them right side out then stitched a 1/4 inch seam along the side edges for a little more security when pulling the velcro sides.

I made a total of 4 boxes and used both self adhesive velcro and velcro that required sewing. Both worked just fine. If you use self adhesive, simply attach a full velcro strip to the top side of the box. Be sure to attach the velcro the full length of the box. Then, attach the matching strip to the side of your vinyl cloth [the photo above shows the velcro strip along the edge of the lid]. If you choose to sew the velcro [much less expensive], sew the velcro along the edges as shown in the photo above and using velcro glue or a glue similar to E6000, attach the matching strip to the box side top.

Line up the front top and sides of the lid and pull the vinyl taught toward the back of the box, secure the vinyl using regular thumb tacks as shown in diagram 2.

You can use a single piece for the lid, but I wanted the colour contrast for mine. You can also use a piece of rope for the handle and skip the casters, using foam pads or some other kind of floor protector on the bottom [though the casters make these much easier to move around].

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