This simple DIY backpack hanger is constituted of a single 1×3 board and some hooks. The board mounts straight into two wall studs, making a sturdy and cheap place to prepare backpacks, lunch baggage, coats, and sports activities gear.
Putting in the rack decrease on the wall makes it simpler for kids to hold up their very own backpacks. It additionally leaves the wall house above out there for a bulletin board, calendar, paintings, images, or a household command heart.
Why a Customized Backpack Rack Is a Should-Construct DIY
Backpacks are a lot bulkier than coats, so most ready-made hook racks don’t work very properly for them. Retailer-bought racks are usually quick and loaded with hooks positioned shut collectively. As soon as backpacks are added, the luggage overlap, crowd one another, and rapidly look cluttered.
This DIY backpack rack is designed particularly for backpacks. As an alternative of becoming as many hooks as attainable onto a brief board, it permits roughly 12 inches of house for every backpack. Each bag will get its personal outlined house, making the rack simpler to make use of and far neater trying.
As a result of you’re making the rack your self, you’ll be able to customise it for the precise variety of folks in your loved ones:
- Select the precise variety of hooks you want.
- Give each backpack sufficient room to hold with out overlapping.
- Set up the hooks at a top your youngsters can attain.
- Use single hooks or double hooks for backpacks and lunchboxes.
- Add names, initials, images, a bulletin board, or a show ledge.
- Paint or stain the rack to match your own home.
That is a kind of easy tasks that’s typically higher to construct than purchase as a result of the completed rack is tailor-made to your loved ones, your backpacks, and your out there wall house.
How Lengthy Ought to a Backpack Hook Rack Be?
Enable roughly 12 inches of rack size for every backpack. The board must be at the very least 24 inches lengthy so it may span two wall studs in a usually framed wall. All the time find the studs earlier than selecting the ultimate place and size.
- Two backpacks: Use a 24-inch board.
- Three backpacks: Use a 36-inch board.
- 4 backpacks: Use a 48-inch board.
- 5 backpacks: Use a 60-inch board.
The rack proven on this tutorial is made with a 36-inch 1×3 and three hooks.
Provides
- 1×3 board, at the very least 24 inches lengthy
- Handsaw or one other noticed appropriate for reducing the board
- Backpack or coat hooks
- 3/4-inch screws for attaching the hooks
- Two 2-1/2-inch self-tapping star-drive screws for mounting the rack
- Drill and star-drive bit
- Stud finder
- Tape measure
- Degree
- Pencil
- 120-grit sandpaper
- Paint or wooden stain
- Paintbrush
- Wooden filler
- Security glasses
Essential: Verify the screws provided along with your hooks earlier than utilizing them. An precise 1×3 is roughly 3/4 inch thick, so the hook screws mustn’t lengthen by means of the again of the board.
Find out how to Make a Backpack Hanger from a 1×3 Board
Step 1: Measure and Reduce the Board
Resolve what number of backpacks you need the rack to carry and permit roughly 12 inches of board size for every backpack. Don’t make the board shorter than 24 inches, because it wants to achieve at the very least two wall studs.
Measure the board and mark the completed size with a pencil. Placed on security glasses, help the board securely, and lower on the mark with a handsaw. You may also have the board lower to size on the lumber retailer.
Step 2: Sand and Clear the Board
Frivolously sand the face, edges, ends, and corners of the board with 120-grit sandpaper. Clean any tough areas and soften sharp edges with out rounding them excessively.
Take away all sanding mud with a clear, lint-free material. In case you use a barely damp material, permit the wooden to dry fully earlier than making use of the end.
Step 3: Paint or Stain the Board
Paint or stain the entrance, edges, ends, and any seen parts of the again. Apply further coats as wanted, following the drying directions on your end.
Let the board dry fully earlier than laying out and attaching the hooks. Putting in {hardware} over delicate paint can depart marks within the end.
Step 4: Lay Out the Hooks
Place the hooks loosely on the board and resolve how far aside you need them. Roughly 12 inches between hooks works properly for most kids’s backpacks. Measure each hook from the identical reference level, ideally the middle of the hook base.
For an odd variety of hooks: Mark the precise heart of the board and place the center hook on that mark. Measure outward from the middle by your chosen spacing for the remaining hooks.
For instance, on a 36-inch board with three hooks spaced 12 inches aside, mark the hook facilities at 6 inches, 18 inches, and 30 inches.
For an excellent variety of hooks: Mark the middle of the board, then divide your required hook spacing by two. Measure that distance to either side of the middle to place the primary two hooks. Proceed measuring outward utilizing the complete spacing quantity.
For instance, if the hooks will probably be 12 inches aside, place the primary pair 6 inches to both facet of heart, then proceed outward in 12-inch increments.
Step 5: Connect the Hooks
Heart every hook over its format mark and ensure it’s straight. Connect the hooks with the three/4-inch screws.
If the screws are tough to start out, drill small pilot holes first. Don’t overtighten the screws, since this could strip the wooden or harm the hook end.
Step 6: Discover and Mark Two Wall Studs
Use a stud finder to find two studs the place you wish to set up the backpack rack. Mark the middle of every stud with a pencil.
Wall studs are sometimes spaced 16 inches on heart, however spacing can range. Confirm each stud areas as a substitute of counting on measurements alone. Additionally examine for attainable electrical wiring or plumbing earlier than driving screws into the wall.
Step 7: Mark the Backpack Rack Top
A very good start line for youthful youngsters is to position the heart of the board roughly 42 inches above the completed ground. For older youngsters, roughly 48 inches could also be extra snug.
Earlier than putting in the rack, have your youngster attain towards the proposed hook top. The hooks must be simple to achieve whereas leaving sufficient clearance for backpacks to hold with out touching the ground. Maintain the rack in opposition to the wall and mark the specified place.
Step 8: Drive the First Wall Screw
Maintain the rack in opposition to the wall, aligning the board with the peak mark and the primary stud-center mark. Select an open spot on the board that won’t intrude with a hook.
Utilizing a star-drive bit, drive one 2-1/2-inch self-tapping screw by means of the 1×3, by means of the drywall, and straight into the middle of the wall stud. Cease when the screw head is barely recessed into the wooden. Don’t drive it deeply sufficient to crush or cut up the board.
Step 9: Degree the Rack and Add the Second Screw
The primary screw will permit the board to pivot barely. Place a degree alongside the highest fringe of the rack and modify the unsecured finish till the bubble is centered.
Maintain the rack degree whereas driving the second 2-1/2-inch self-tapping screw by means of the board and into the middle of the second stud. Verify the rack with the extent once more earlier than totally tightening the screws.
Step 10: Fill the Screw Holes and Contact Up the Paint
Apply wooden filler over the 2 recessed mounting-screw heads. Enable the filler to dry in line with the producer’s directions.
Frivolously sand the filler till it’s easy and flush with the face of the board. Take away the sanding mud, then apply matching touch-up paint. Enable the paint to dry earlier than hanging backpacks.
Backpack Rack Customization Concepts
The most effective causes to construct this undertaking your self is that you may customise the size, variety of hooks, end, and added options for your loved ones.
Make a Longer Stained Backpack Rack
For a bigger household, use an extended board and proceed permitting roughly 12 inches for each backpack. This five-backpack model makes use of a 60-inch board with 5 evenly spaced hooks.
A stained wooden end provides heat and makes the easy 1×3 look extra like a completed piece of furnishings.
Use a Wider Backboard with a Show Ledge
An alternative choice is to make use of a wider board for the again of the rack and add a small ledge alongside the highest. The ledge can help a light-weight bulletin board, framed paintings, household images, or small ornamental gadgets.
This model provides the rack extra visible weight and can assist it operate as half of a bigger household command heart.
Add a Slender Ledge with a Second 1×3
To maintain the undertaking made totally from 1×3 boards, add a second 1×3 flat alongside the highest fringe of the backpack rail. This creates a slender 2-1/2-inch-deep ledge with out making the rack cumbersome.
The ledge is simply deep sufficient to carry a light-weight bulletin board, small frames, or youngsters’s paintings. The vertical 1×3 stays the hook rail, whereas the second 1×3 kinds the highest shelf.
Add Initials or a Picture Above Every Hook
Give each youngster a delegated spot by including a reputation, preliminary, monogram, or small framed photograph above every hook. That is particularly useful for bigger households as a result of youngsters can instantly establish which backpack house belongs to them.
You may also add a small preliminary tag straight to every backpack for an additional personalised element.
Use Double Hooks for Backpacks and Lunchboxes
In case your youngsters carry lunchboxes, select double hooks as a substitute of single hooks. Dangle the backpack from the taller rear hook and the lunchbox from the shorter entrance hook.
This retains every youngster’s faculty gadgets collectively with out including extra carefully spaced hooks to the board. Ensure the lunchbox has a sturdy prime deal with that matches securely over the hook.
Extra Methods to Customise the Rack
- Paint the board the identical colour because the wall for a built-in look.
- Use black, brass, nickel, or colourful hooks to coordinate with the room.
- Add names or vinyl lettering straight above the hooks.
- Use a separate paint colour for every youngster’s part.
- Set up a bulletin board, calendar, or household schedule above the rack.
- Add additional size for coats, sports activities baggage, or reusable procuring baggage.
This straightforward wall-mounted backpack rack retains cumbersome baggage off the ground with out crowding them collectively. As a result of the size and hook rely are designed particularly for your loved ones, it really works higher for backpacks than most ready-made hook rails.
