Construction Specifications

Board Material

All vertical surfaces in our closets are constructed of top quality, industrial grade, thermally fused melamine laminated board (TFL). The laminate is applied under intense heat and pressure and is guaranteed for life to never delaminate. The board is ¾” thick (not 5/8”) providing the utmost in durability, long wear and cleanability. Our board meets or exceeds specifications of the American Laminators Association and American National Standard ANSI A208.0-1989, Grade 1-M-3. There is no better melamine laminated particleboard available anywhere.

Horizontal surfaces are constructed of either TFL, HPL (high pressure laminate), manmade substances such as Corian, or natural materials such as marble, quartz, granite or butcher block.

Edge Banding

Edgebanding is permanently applied to normally visible exposed edges under heat and pressure by state-of-the-art automatic edgebanding machines. Our edge provides exceptional durability and is far superior to the thinner edgebanding material supplied by most manufacturers.

Machining

All of our wood products are made-to-order in our modern manufacturing facility in Montgomeryville, PA. All cutting of raw board is done on a Holzma horizontal-beam panel saw, assuring perfectly square cuts for level and plumb closet systems.

All edgebanding is applied on either a Homag or Brandt automatic edgebander with dual radius and scraper units as well as automatic buffing stations, assuring a perfectly finished edge.

All drilling for both shelf adjustment holes and construction holes as well as notching, grooving and routing is done on one of our Weeke computer-controlled, automatic machining centers, resulting in precision parts for the best possible alignment.

Assembly Hardware

Closet systems and furniture produced by The Closet Works, Inc. are not simply screwed together, but rather are assembled with the latest in European 32 millimeter hardware. The fittings which hold the cabinets together are cam type “ready to assemble” furniture fittings. These fittings consist of both a male and female component which lock together assuring the tightest joints possible. An additional advantage of this construction method is that the units can be disassembled, if desired, at some future time and then reassembled without a loss of structural integrity.

Shelf pins are plated steel, and our standard chrome-plated steel oval hanging rod has a one millimeter wall thickness. This structural shape provides greater strength so that the weight of clothing will not cause bending. Standard hanging rod supports are also made of chrome-plated steel for superior strength. And, like most of our hardware components, they are fully adjustable.

Drawers & Rollouts

Standard drawer boxes are constructed of ½” birch, pre-finished plywood and utilize dovetail construction assuring the greatest possible strength and beauty. Plywood, dovetailed drawer boxes are an expensive upcharge with most companies, but are standard on all of our products.

Standard drawer slides are steel, full-extension, ball bearing, rated for 100 lb. load capacity. Soft-close slides are available when requested, at an additional cost. Rollouts are constructed of ¾” TFL board to match the rest of the project, and are built with the inset “ears” to hide the ends of the slides when rollouts are in the “closed” position. Rollouts are available with either straight or scooped fronts.

Construction

Standard closet systems produced by The Closet Works, Inc. are typically floor-mounted units, as opposed to wall hung units. Our systems stand on the floor and the weight of the system (3 lbs. per square foot) and the clothing placed in it are borne by the floor, not the wall, as is frequently the case with many other systems. This assures years of safe, trouble-free use with no fear of a heavy system coming loose or falling and causing damage or injury. This is an especially important consideration when the construction of the home is with steel studs or is an older home with plaster over lath wall construction. Our floor-standing systems are attached to the wall with plated “L” brackets to assure that the units can’t be pulled forward. Some vertical panels in the system may be cut above the baseboard when they rest against a closet wall and they are securely attached to the side wall. This results in no loss of structural integrity and is done to avoid having to cut baseboards. The system can be fully floor-mounted if preferred, but a filler strip has must be used to move the panel away from the wall, causing a loss of useable space. Wall-mounted units are available when required for specific construction considerations or if they are preferred by the customer. In order to ensure that the cabinetry is level, we pre-drill each vertical panel to accept adjustable leg levelers. This is important because in most homes, the floors are not level. The adjustable levelers we utilize are preferable to furniture wedges, which can become dislodged over time.