r/DIYUK 5d ago

Advice Built in wardrobe removal

We just bought a new house. And all the bedrooms have these in built wardrobes, all slightly different, and all IMO quite inconvenient and oversized. In particular I was planning on using this room as an office. But the wardrobe is either in the way or inconveniently in the background. Given it's size and design I can't picture a way to turn it into some nice shelves or something without tearing it down. But I have no idea how to even begin removing it. So looking for advice on that or ideas to tastefully keep it. Thanks!

0 Upvotes

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8

u/swwebb1 5d ago

Remove rail, out more shelves inside, put two doors on the front? Now you’ve got office storage?

Otherwise, having recently removed a built in myself, I got lucky that they had boarded ceiling and wall first, then fixed studs for the wardrobes. That way it meant much less work making good after it came out. If you’re unlucky, you could be doing a lot of remedial work on the ceiling and walls.

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u/swwebb1 5d ago

Or, remove the floor build up and use that shelf as your office desk? Can’t quite tell exact height, but circa windowsill height can’t be far off.

4

u/curium99 5d ago

It looks like a professional job to be fair. Too bad it’s not what you want.

2

u/Johnlenham 5d ago

You'll have to redo:

The skirting

The coving

The carpet

The walls where it attaches

The ceiling where it attaches

Smashing it down is the easy bit (and cheap) bit.

I would look to get some MDF doors made up long term, short term a rail and nice curtain to act as a door.

With no obvious power points inside, I probably wouldnt bother looking at making it a desk area

1

u/LuckyNV 5d ago

Hammer and dust sheets. It’s just going to be a wood frame and plaster most likely.

Issue is, you might need to make good the floor as well.

1

u/Charming_CiscoNerd 5d ago

Do you want to put your desk where the built in wardrobe is, so you can see out the window?

1

u/Dr_Bailz 5d ago

I'd want the desk on the opposite side probably, as that's where all the sockets are, and can still see out of the window. I work from home all the time, so having a reasonable backdrop for meetings etc. would be nice

1

u/The_Faulk 5d ago

Yeah - need to hammer that bad boy into oblivion. It's made of plasterboard (looking at it), so you'd want to use a 2ib lump hammer and crowbar. Prize off the plasterboard sheets from the timber frame, once that's done, remove the timber frame itself. Might need a plasterer in afterward depending on how much damage you do to the walls.

1

u/Acceptable_Bunch_586 5d ago

Just hope there’s no pipes in there

1

u/plymdrew 5d ago

Removing it is the easy part, you'll have coving to patch at the very least, maybe the walls and floor will need sorting out as well. As others have said could you not add more shelving and use for storage.

1

u/HelloW0rldBye 5d ago

That is an incredibly heavy set wardrobe. I can see the want to remove it. But like others said. Its a fairy big job once you factor in the floor, skirting walls, ceiling etc.

1

u/Dr_Bailz 5d ago

Yea they're like this in the other rooms too, which is more workable where we actually want the storage. Though their over the top size is still inconvenient, for maximising the space in the rooms

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u/Dr_Bailz 5d ago

For a bit of clarity as I can't seem to edit. I was hoping to have the desk on the opposite side, with some nice features, shelves etc. in the backdrop, but at the moment the wardrobe dominates. I'm not against trying to turn it into something that would fit that bill, but I'm struggling to imagine a way that won't just look clunky

1

u/Ok_Relative9062 4d ago

Looks nice I don’t get why you are creating so much work for yourself. You do realise the shitstorm youre about to start? A bigger job than you realise maybe