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DIY: Peg Board

DIY PEG BOARD

Since I often work from my apartment, I recently setup a mini office to properly work from home.  To optimize the not-so-spacious size of this office, I’ve installed a peg board next to my desk to help me stay organized. Continue along for the DIY.

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Materials Needed:

  • Measuring Tape
  • Framing Lumber + Peg Board(s) – fit to your dimensions (see Steps #1 + #2  below)
  • Drywall Screws + Drill or Screwdriver
  • Level
  • Optional: Drywall Anchors, Paint
  • Pegs

Directions:

frame measurements

Step #1: Before you head to the hardware store, you’ll need to measure the height and width of the wall you will be using for your peg board.  Once you have the measurements, you’ll be able to calculate how many pieces of peg board you’ll need, as well as the sizes of the lumber you will need for your frame.  Just so you know before you get to the store, most peg board is sold in 48.5″ x 24″ pieces.  Since 2 pieces of peg board were going to fit perfectly on my wall, all I had to do for those was add them to my shopping cart.  But if the sizes won’t work out for your wall, you can have them cut to size or use a saw to cut them yourself.

Step #2: You will need to create a frame for the peg board using framing lumber (i.e. 1 x 2’s, 2 x 4’s, or cleats) – this is essential, as the frame provides the necessary space needed for the pegs to hook into the board. For the measurements with the frame, I subtracted 3″ off my width and subtracted 17″ off my height.  This is a bit confusing, but the math behind it came from the fact I knew there would be (3) 1 x 2’s taking off 6″ from my height and then I wanted to leave a few inches at the top and about 8″ at the bottom, as I knew I wouldn’t be hanging anything too low near the floor and wanted the frame to stay centered with the weight. Whatever your math ends up being, just make sure your frame isn’t at the edge of your wall.  Per my measurements, in total for the framing lumber, I used 1×2’s – 4 @ 40″ (2 left + 2 right pieces) and 3 @21″ (top, middle, bottom pieces).

Step #3: Screw each frame piece to the wall. Use a level to ensure you’re installing a straight frame. [Note: Make sure to choose screws best for your specific wall material]  I had my pieces painted from a previous project, so at this point I went ahead and painted them white.  However, I wish I wouldn’t have done that as the darker pieces actually blend in better with the darkness created by the space between the board and the wall. The white pieces don’t stick out that much, but in my opinion they look better darker, so if you wish to paint the pieces, go dark!

Step #4: Mount the peg board to the frame using drywall screws. I used 26 screws to mount the board to my frame.  This is more than enough – especially since I don’t plan on hanging anything too heavy from the board, but hey, I like playing it safe!

Step #5: Since my walls are off-white, I didn’t want the peg board to clash so I decided to paint it using the same paint I used on the walls.  I painted the edge with a paint brush, and then used a roller (with just a light coat of paint) for the front of the board.  If you’re going to keep your board white, you may still want to paint the edge of the board white, as that brown peg board color is fairly noticeable.  Let your board dry before adding your pegs and hanging your tools.

Peg Board WallPeg Board DIY