DIY Built In Wardrobe Part 1 - Demolition

Hello 2011! To end 2010 and begin the new year we're kicking things off with a little project that will finally allow us to store our own clothes in our own master bedroom. For 5-1/2 years we've been unable to use these two closets due to them having been 'Gened Up' and in shabby 50+ year old shape. Beyond the luxurious bronze trimmed mirrored doors, the inside finish of the closets has always been lacking, enough for us to not feel comfortable to store our clothes in here.

 
We've been dreaming of a built in wardrobe since moving in, Ikea's Pax system is right up our alley and with Ikea about 10 miles up the road, it's a go. First we had to determine if the wall with sliding doors can come down. A couple of test holes in the ceiling confirmed it wasn't a load bearing wall, which means we don't need no frickin wall. Up goes the protective plastic, demolition commences.

You might ask yourself as I did before beginning, how much demolition can there be in a little closet? After about 2 hours of gratifying sledge swinging and crow bar pulling, here's the mess I made. I'm not a huge fan of copious amounts of dust. I should have just hung out at one of the big box home remodel stores and waited for one of those DIY crasher guys from tv to choose me to make over our bedroom.

Here's the completed demo revealing the new wardrobe recess. The intent is to go floor to ceiling and wall to wall with the new built-in wardrobe with full height sliding doors. We're looking to maxmize every square foot of possible storage space because, let's face it, we need as much storage as we can get. Up next we'll look at the wardrobe design and layout and the rough framing & insulation to prep for the wardrobe install.