"emaalyon" wrote in message
ups.com...

Hi we just bought a new home and don't like the organization in our
master closet. I am trying to remove the shelves so I lower them and
then add another shelving system up above. I have already removed the
brackets and clothes hanging bar. The shelf is nailed down to a support
piece of wood. I am trying to get this done before my husband gets home
so he doesn't get after me for starting it. How do I remove the
shelf without messing it or the closet walls up??? Thanks!

The simplest solution is to loosen the nails
-- best done by hammering upwards on a strut.
The strut is a strong piece of scrap wood (say
2" each way) long enough that, fitted under the
shelf at one end, you can see the lower end
well enough to hammer it upwards. When the
nails loosen by 1/4 inch, you can probably lever
underneath with a table knife or claw end of
a hammerhead, until you can remove the shelf.

This should leave the supports exposed without
damage. Then you can decide whether you want
to keep vertical or horizontal supports or both.
If you want to remove them, the support system
is probably either:
(a) if free-standing, screwed into plastic anchors
in the wallboard. I.e. you remove the support by
unscrewing the screws.
(b) otherwise the support system is probably
three sides of a box, that fits tightly enough in
the cupboard to stand up by itself. Detect
whether nails or screws hold it together and
remove them as best you can.

If the results leave ugly holes from screw plugs
or something similar, these can easily be patched
by "drywall compound," sold in tubs (large or
small) at hardware stores. You fill the hole, let
it dry, then sand the lump smooth. Sand very
gently because wallboard is covered by paper
and you do not want to tear the paper.

For final finish, the patched holes will be invisible
if you either paint the interior or cover it with
wallpaper.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)