How to Design a Double Closet Rod

No matter what, more closet space is close to the top of everyone's renovation list. You can, however, use existing closet space more effectively by installing a double closet rod. In a child's clothing closet, small-sized garments do not need full-length space. Installing a double rod may even let a single closet serve two children. A teen's love of clothes and rapid shifts in taste make a double rod practically a necessity. Adults find also that doubling the rod capacity in a closet lets clothes hang without the wrinkles caused by crowding.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Measuring tape
• Pencil
• 2 full-length wood or metal closet rods and holders or 1 full-length rod, 1 half-length rod
• 2 lengths of chain and 4 large S-hooks
• Screwdriver and screws
• Long clothes rod bracket designed to support rod from the back, optional
• 1 plastic or rubber end-cap for half-rod

Installing 2 Full-Length Rods

1. Measure both the length and depth of your closet. You will need length measurements to get closet rods cut to the right length. Depth measurements will determine placement of your rods.
   Test the functional depth of your closet by putting a hanger on the existing rod. The amount of room left to move your hanger forward or backward from the rod-mounting will tell you whether your rods must be placed straight up and down from each other or can be located at different depths on the closet wall, making it easier to reach items in the closet.

2. Mark the height of the brackets. The top rod should be installed at a height that permits you to remove both items hung and their hangers; otherwise, putting freshly ironed clothes back in the closet becomes an unpleasant balancing act. The lower rod should be placed so that clothes on the top rod do not drag across the bottom rod, and clothes on the bottom rod do not drag the floor.

3. Mark the depth of brackets. Decide whether the top or bottom rod should be more forward in the closet, if you have enough depth to choose. Although we all tend to think of shirts on top and pants on the bottom, decide which works best for you. Install brackets with screwdriver and mount poles. You have just doubled your closet capacity.

Installing 1 Full-Length and 1 Half-Length Rod

4. Choose this solution if you have dresses or other long garments to hang as well as separates. This puts more weight on the top full-length rod, so one side of the half-length rod needs a bracket for security.

5. Install full-length rod at the top. Install one bracket for the half-length rod. This can be done at either end of the closet, depending on which kind of clothes you need to reach for most often. If, for example, you wear dresses to work and jeans and tops only on the weekend, put the half-rod bracket at the harder-to-reach end of the closet, assuming your door does not permit full access to the closet. If dresses are party wear only, reverse the location. If you have sliding or full-access doors, do what suits you best.

6. Place half-length rod in its bracket. To hold up the side that has no support, loop an S hook over the top rod, and thread the chain through it. Use the second S hook to attach the chain to the unsupported end of the half-length rod. Adjust the chain links until your half-rod is parallel with the top rod. Put on the end-cap to prevent the S hook from sliding off the rod. If the closet is wide, or your top rod is groaning with the weight of clothes, support the end of the half-rod by mounting an additional long clothes-pole bracket on the back closet wall instead of the chain-hanger. Then put the end-cap on the half-pole to keep hangers from sliding off the end.

Tips & Warnings

• In a small child's closet, consider making this process easier by using rubber-tipped tension poles. The weight of clothing is unlikely to pull them down easily. The rubber or plastic caps used on chair legs or the tip of a cane are big enough to keep clothes hangers from sliding off your half-pole. They come in several sizes, so know the diameter of your pole.
• If this strategy does not seem to address the crammed-full problem in your closet, it is time to review your wardrobe. There is only so much you can expect from a closet.

References

• Closet Design Ideas