How to Build an Indoor Clothes Drying Rack
The clothes dryer is one of your home appliances that uses the most electricity to function. If you're trying to save some money, or save the planet, you can do so by letting your clothes dry on their own, using an inexpensive clothesline or drying rack. There are a number commercially available, or you can make your own cheaply. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- 35 and 1/2 feet of 1 by 1/2-inch wood
- 17 3-foot lengths of 3/8-inch wooden dowel
- Pen or marker
- Tape measure
- Saw
- Knife
- Wood glue
- Drill
- 1/4-inch drill bit
Instructions
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Building the Rack
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1
Measure and cut the dowels into 3-foot lengths. You need 17 of them in all.
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2
Set two dowels aside and measure an inch on either end of the remaining 15. Using the knife carefully, shave that inch-long section from 3/8 inch to 1/4 inch.
On the two remaining dowels, measure 1/2 inch from either side and shave that from 3/8 inch to 1/4 inch.
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3
Cut the wood to length. You need four pieces at 35 inches long, four that are 28 1/2 inches long, four at 20 inches in length, and eight that are 11 inches long.
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4
Lay the wood on its 1-inch side and use your pen or marker to make marks at certain intervals. On four of the 11-inch pieces, make marks at 1 1/2 inches and 10 inches. On the remaining 11-inch lengths, make marks at 1 1/2 inches and 9 3/4 inches and set these aside as top pieces. On the 20-inch pieces, mark off 1 1/2 inches, 10 inches and 18 5/8 inches. For the 28 1/2-inch wood, measure and mark at 1 1/2 inches, 9 7/8 inches, 18 7/8 inches and 27 inches. Finally, for the 35-inch base pieces, draw marks at 7 7/8 inches, at 16 1/2 inches, at 25 inches and at 33 5/8 inches.
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5
Drill holes straight through all of the pieces at the marks.
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6
Lay one of the base pieces on the floor. Place a top piece a few inches above that along the same line. Place one of the 20-inch pieces parallel to both, about 10 inches below. Place a 28 1/2-inch piece about 10 inches below that, also parallel, then place one of the 11-inch pieces also parallel and 10 inches below.
Put wood glue in all of the holes, wipe any excess off the top surfaces.
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7
Place one of the remaining top pieces so its upper hole aligns with the upper hole on the top piece on the floor, and the bottom hole aligns with the top hole of the 20-inch piece. Place a 20-inch piece parallel to that, aligning with the bottom hole on the top piece and crossing its mate on the floor, and finally touching the second hole on the 28 1/2-inch piece. Place another base piece along the top holes of the 28 1/2-inch piece and the 11-inch piece. Place a 28 1/2-inch piece across its mate on the floor, aligning with the remaining holes on the base piece, the 20-inch piece and the 11-inch piece.
See the References section for a diagram.
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8
Push dowels through all of the holes that aligned, taking care that the glue only sticks the dowels to the lower set of wooden pieces. Push the two 1/2-inch cut dowels through the glued holes on the lower base piece.
There will be two unfilled holes on the other base piece and two remaining dowels. Put glue in those holes and push the dowels all the way through, then put some glue on the top end of those dowels.
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9
Place wooden pieces on the dowels, copying the positions of the unglued, upper set below. There should be two 1/2-inch sections of glued dowel stuck through the base piece.
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10
Put glue in the holes of the remaining pieces of wood, and place them corresponding to the lower set on the floor. Make sure the glue only attaches those pieces of wood to the dowels, as the other set should be movable.
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11
Flip the drying rack upright, wipe off any excess glue and trim any excess dowel. Test that the rack folds.
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1
Tips & Warnings
On some surfaces, you may want to find rubber feet to put on the base pieces.
The rack works best on a porch, in a basement or garage, or over a bathtub. For best results over a bath, cut C-shaped notches in the feet so that they will grip the edges of the bath.
