48" Wide Closet Units

Notch the bottom of both side panels to allow for the toekick. Mark the location of the shelf-pin holes on both sides and drill them carefully — if you're off even slightly, your adjustable shelves will wobble, and this is not something you can correct after the holes are drilled.

Attach the top and bottom panels to the sides with 3/4" pocket holes and 1-1/4" pocket-hole screws.

Attach the underneath support and toekick to the base. Drill pocket holes on the insides, facing upward, to attach to the bottom shelf — with prefinished material every screw hole needs to be hidden this way. If you're painting, you can simply nail or screw from the top instead.

Attach the dividers to the top and bottom panels.

Nail or staple the back to all the dividers, fixed shelves, and outside edges.

Cut the fixed and adjustable shelves to size, and drill shelf-pin holes in the dividers if you haven't already. Install the fixed shelves and set the adjustable ones on their pins.

To join multiple towers side by side, attach hardwood cleats to the wall underneath each shelf — use a species matching your prefinished plywood if it's staying natural, or pine, whitewood, MDF, or poplar if you're painting. Add 1x2 support pieces under the shelf fronts as well. Set the shelves on top of the cleats and screw down.

Do this fitting in place rather than on the bench, since walls are rarely perfectly square and the cleats need to match your actual wall.