How to Build a Clothes Folding Table

Its the ultimate in convenience: a 5-foot-long adjustable clothes folding table thats like Houdini: here one minute and gone the next. Mounting a folding table to a wall comes with perks: When its not doing its laundry duty, you can use the pop-up to stow dishes or casseroles. Save your back, too, once you can sort wash at a height that doesnt strain it. Finally, morph your laundry center into a childs drawing table by pulling up a tall stool and handing over the crayons, knowing your dining room furniture will be spared from Burnt Ochre scribbles. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

1

Choose a wall for the folding table that wont interfere with traffic patterns, open appliance doors, pantries and other obstacles if you havent enough space in a laundry or mudroom to install the unit. Calculate the heights of family members when you figure out how high to mount the unit so nobody can use Im too short as a reason not to pitch in when the dryer bell rings. Mark the wall to indicate the points at which the table will be attached.

2

Don safety glasses before using a table saw to cut down a section of countertop so it measures 5-feet-by-20-inches. Sand and stain or paint it to match the wall if youre using wood or fiberboard for your clothes folding table project. Alternatively, plan to reface the exposed sides of laminate countertop with strips of matching material once its mounted to the wall.

3

Tap the wall to find studs or use a stud finder if you plan to anchor your clothes folding table to the supports. Alternatively, forget the studs and use a drill to sink anchors directly into the drywall that are deep enough to support heavy-duty screws or bolts.

4

Check fold-down bracket sizes to make sure yours accurately fit your folding table dimensions before you mount them to the wall. The folding shelf brackets should be from 2 to 4 inches shorter than the countertop width so theyre long enough to support the weight but not so long they protrude from beneath the table when it's in the down position.

5

Mount brackets to the wall, leaving 32 inches between the pair. Install additional fold-down brackets if youre concerned about two being enough. Fasten the brackets to the underside of the countertop. Use a level to check uniformity. Test the fold-down mechanism to make certain the unit folds up and down smoothly. If the process causes scratches or hitches, make adjustments as necessary.

6

Glue strips of laminate to the raw sides of the clothes folding table if youve made yours of laminate material to finish off the edges. Allow the glued edging to dry before you use the table. Mount pegboard on the wall above the table so socks without a mate can be hung up until the missing sock is found.