Many new DIYers use wooden closet rods without realizing there’s a nearly identical metal product that’s far superior! (They’re often kept in a separate section at lumberyards.) Give them a try-you’ll thank yourself for it later! 🙂
I really didn't want a center support for my heavily loaded 6' spans. I got the stiffest chrome closet rod I could find, then inserted a piece of metal conduit that would barely fit, then put a piece of galvanized pipe inside that, also with tight clearance. It worked great, with very little flex/sag. My friend commented that I had made a "tube-ducken" (named after the turducken).
As a wood worker I built my own closet and use 3/4 inch iron gas pipe, I sanded, primed, and painted it to coordinate with the walnut wood in the build, it is incredibly beautiful and strong. You can use the threaded foot plates to screw to wall or wood post making mounting super easy
I like that you keep advice short, simple, and functional...even for stuff that folks don't think about. At some home supply stores, the same curtain rod is more expensive than the closet rods of the same length, so look around within the same store.
One other item to add to the metal rod, use wax paper to rub down the top of the rod. When I was working retail using wax paper helped the hangars slide just a bit easier. I do it every so often at home usually when the hangars feel "sticky" -MG
I’m about to install a closet rod. Was going to be metal, sir. 👍 Ticketed carpenter here. Your video on where the carpenters have gone has been shared far and wide. Thanks.
Thank you, Herman! That one was cathartic. It’s always meant a lot to me that so many carpenters and tradespeople wrote in with their personal stories. 🙂
@@TheHonestCarpenter Am thinking of starting a website for tradespeople that reviews employers. There’s so many criminal employers in construction out there that it’s desperately needed. I’d probably be sued clean into next week by unscrupulous types, but it’s necessary.
There are new oval shaped closet rods that are fantastic. I recently built a full walk in closet dressers, garment shelves and hanging space. Using the stainless oven shaped rods with the gunstock stained wood looks fantastic and no need for any middle support even on 6-8 foot spans(depending on weight). The new innovations are amazing.
You're absolutely correct. I've been using and replacing wooden closet rods with metal for 40 years, since before they came painted in colors. Wooden rods wear and sag.
I have used these rods for awhile now. Also, as my shower curtain rod. I have textured walls and the usual tension rods do not hold up. It looks high end and sturdy and I have no worries of the rod falling down. I use the grommet style curtains, fits perfectly. Best if all, you don't have the overlapping joint so the curtain slides smoothly and doesn't catch when opening or closing. Enjoy watching your videos.
Glad that we used metal in our closets. They had metal wire racks installed already so we just used a metal kit and attached to them. Thanks for sharing, Ethan!
I'm with you on this one, The Metal Rods in my closet have held up for about 10 Years. In fact if you mount the frame of the rods to a stud in the wall that rod will feel like it could hold up a Tank. 👷🏿♂️
@@TheHonestCarpenter I have a closet rod made from galvanized pipe, & it's strong as an ox... my kids played on it for years, & now the next generation (my grandkids) are doing the same~ LOL!
@monkeygraborange yea I'm not agreeing with the whole tin metal rod being stronger than the wooden rod. It takes long to saw through the wooden rod, than the metal rod due to thickness. I trust thickness, not the thin metal rod. For years, when the wooden rod would bow, we would just rotate the rod 180 degrees lol. Team WR here.
Also, hard wood rod / dowel is incredibly expensive (North East). Where I live, even soft wood dowel is expensive. Exotic hardwoods are insane right now, $50 and up for 8'. I had an oddly long closet to span while renovating my basement. It was over 9' and a heavy steel tube cost me $25 (thick walled, welded tube). I built the end supports into the structure of my built-in closet shelves with one steel support at the mid point and then tested dynamic load at around 300 lb (two of us swinging like goof balls). I over built it because in have zero faith in my family members being gentle on anything. Being annoyed by the typical tinniness of the tubing I stuffed pipe insulation inside and filled the gaps with left over spraycan foam insulation. Almost silent and very satisfying. If you live near a scrap yard, just about any strong tube will work if you don't mind the look or finishing the tubing yourself. I've used ENT, galvanized fencing but I find gas tubing a bit too heavy for purpose and its surface finish is not as smooth as other types of tubing. Best yet, recycling tubing is cost effective or free.
I once built a shelf in my old closet with the wooden version total cost I think was around 150. But it was neat and clean and held all the weight of the hanging clothes and items stored on slef above. This was a number of years ago and didn't even know about these then. Now I do....thanks
👍👍 I recently remodeled our closets and replaced all wooden rods with steel ones! I did not put the middle support in to see if they bend too much. So far not much bend; although it is a 5 ft wide closet. I made the supports since I was also replacing the shelf.
Interesting to hear your opinion and reasons for it, also to read many comments saying they felt the same or had never seen or heard of wood closet rods. My experience is the opposite, I've never seen or heard of metal rods except the ones that are more like wire with the shelf attached. I guess I've always lived in older homes built in 50-70's with unpainted wood rods. Like a lot of things, it's often what's familiar that is what you prefer... except wood paneling, harvest gold and avocado green appliances from the late 60-early 70's! 😜😏
once you have a closet where they sag, that's where the strong preference comes in. if installed to where it has enough support for the usage, it wouldn't matter much. i rented a place where much weight at all would sag it like a motherfkkr. :/ it was SO vexing. could also be that there are different qualities of wood used. i can imagine a hardwood rod would work better, less flex.
Thank you for presenting this video. I have searched a lot to find a wooden rod fixed in the same way as the one in my closet, and this is the only one I found. But the problem I'm facing and trying to find a solution for is how I can remove the wooden rod in the cabinet
I recently replaced some wooden 5/8"(16mm) wooden rods that had sagged too far after -50- years. I went to the bathroom section and got suitable lengths of stainless steel shower curtain rod - 1"(25mm) - already cut to 3' (900mm), then went to the wooden trim section and bought some 7/8"(22mm) dowel that just fit inside the curtain rod. I had to use a simple jig to enlarge the existing holes in the closet frame and lower them 1/8" as there was barely enough room to get modern plastic coat hangers over the 5/8" rod and under the shelf above. If you can't find dowel that is a close fit you can tightly wrap undersized dowel with newspaper & tape until it is a snug fit. This all works because as a hollow tube approaches collapse it becomes oval in cross section, bulging to the sides and getting narrower top to bottom - the dowel filling stops that. Some others have posted about using water pipe inside as a filler, but I only have 3 anvils & I don't keep them in the closet.
The Euro style oval rods for me...15mm x 30mm. Span 4 foot easily. Closet shelving is about half my work. Used about 1000 LF of rod since the first of the year...prices are up and availability is a problem now. Several customers have suggested wooden rods, but I give them the same reasons to avoid them....your video is spot on. Funny thing is my personal house has wooden rods😀
I totally agree on most of your findings, but one area I think wood rods excel on is they look better in custom wood closets. It may just be me, but the look of metal (painted or chrome), in a wood trimmed closet just does not go. In a standard house painted closet, I love the metal rods and switched mine over to the white painted ones. All my wood rods had sagged over their 25+ year lives... and were all scratched up.
I love wood for a lot of things, but I'm also a huge fan of function. It's more expensive than it was a couple of years ago, but I've been using 1' or 1 1/4" EMT conduit for a long time. The only weight limit is what the end supports can handle. The heavy duty 1 1/2' sockets claim to be good for 500 pounds, so what you screw them to is probably the weak spot.
@@TheHonestCarpenter so far, no. But my spans are only about 5’ and I use handrails or all-purpose dowels rather than closet rods specifically. They’re sold in a different section of the home improvement store, in longer lengths, and thicker diameters, yet cost less! A bit more work, perhaps, but the result are holding up. If I had a longer span, I’d definitely use a brace in the middle, or knowing me, maybe something minimal with airplane cable drilled through the center.
Last couple of houses I did I used thick wall 1 in PVC with the screws in right and you can't see the printing a lot cheaper than closet rod metal or otherwise
Personal opinion. I built out and entire closet for a client in birch ply and they wanted wooden rods to go with the wood look. I think the white metal ones look cheap and chrome is gross. The only good alternative is the black. Also hangers that aren’t cheap plastic hangers slide better. But I get what you’re saying.
A for what it's worth comment. We had to take down some chain link fencing and I cut some of the top rails and used them as clothing rods. Including one that was a full six foot long without any sagging. I get the impression that even buying the top rails new may be cheaper than the metal clothes rods, although in my case they were free so definitely cheaper and stronger.
How is it that you always know what I need to know about? Not like I've typed anything into a search bar that tells you. Yet, here you are, with exactly what I need to know about. Do you have a small camera somewhere in my office? This is creepy. Lol
I have been trying to install the metal bar and I didn't like all the play in the holders. but I see yours do to I might drill a hole in the one like one had just for added protection. I even try a reducer but none of them fit.
A hollow steel closet rod is a great hiding place for valuables. Rolls of cash, jewelry, and other things that will fit. Easy access with one side in an open top cup holder. So much better than a fake electrical outlet or in the tub of ice cream in the freezer.
70 year old wood cut for a closet rod is probably pretty high quality. If they still work, you don't change them. But people who buy a house that's less than 25 years old are going to find that wooden rods will sag, or already do. And metal is a better, cheaper replacement.
Have to disagree with you on this one. IMO, a good hard-wood rod looks much nicer than metal, especially if a dark wood or stained dark. I agree that I would not span 6 feet with wood, but just as you mentioned using an interim support for metal rods over 6 feet, I would use interim support for wood rods over 4 feet. And, IME, people really don't slide their hangers from side to side all that often.
I am a wood freak, I will choose wood over anything in most cases and there's no question it 'looks' nicer. But HC's points are very valid. I have an 8' wide closet with the entry door offset to one side (not the center) + 2 small closets with the 'rod' running perpendicular to 'me' ... you can believe I SLIDE hangers 9 out of 10X I open a closet, sometimes extensively, multipleX/day. And with that .... I now realize a silent, constant annoyance in my daily domestic life that warrants a modification project, to be excised for ever!
@@DemPilafian I wish, but as a bachelor for the last 30 or so years I do my own laundry. Now hanging it up after it comes out of the dryer -- that's another matter. But in all seriousness, for example, I have a section for dress shirts/slacks -- the vast majority of activity is hanging them up ONCE each time I wear one. I am not sliding shirts/slacks back and forth constantly.
Mine works for me in a strange way. The paint on it gives the hangers a grip on the rod so you need to push to make good room but it also works your arms out 😄 I guess I see it in a glass half full sort of way.
A decent way to get your reps in, Ederd 💪 It only drives me crazy when they’re in a closet so small you can’t get your elbows inside without smashing them!
Don't worry about centering the support, if the studs in the wall aren't there, use two to the pair next closest, or put a stringer in, nobody but the user has business in the closet anyway, better a solid hang than a symmetric install.
Thank you Ethan. I was just considering making my own clothes rod, since the tiny closet in my apartment is not set at the right depth with the bifold door: won't shut because the clothes stick out. I am (creating/ designing) an HDX 5 shelf (black) to house my hanging and not hanging clothes. Have nothing bought, just items in my head.
Good information to know especially showing the two holding rings for each end and of course the centre support as in many cases people can be very rough when hanging or removing items from hangers and of course packing the area with too much stuff great video great job and of course you live up to your title "The Honest Carpenter" you give advice with good hints but leave the option to the user to make their own decision. Nice job
Finish carpenter here with some critiques #1 the support brackets are even more useful for holding up the shelf than even the closet rod. I still add supports for everything over 3.5 ft span and switching to metal wouldn't change that. #2 unless you're a retail store sliding hangers horizontally is not particularly useful. I already know what all my shirts look like. #3 while I do agree that painted wood doesn't look great I would never call the raw wood look cheap. That's completely subjective 😂 they're both good looking products. Since those are the 3 main arguments I'd have to say it's more of a tie with wood being cheaper. Of course, overstating it gets more comments...😂
Interesting I had no idea metal closet rods even existed. Back 40+ years ago when we built our house I used EMT (electrical conduit) in all our closets. Additionally use metal rather then plastic rod holders. Plastic gets brittle over time dumping your clothes and the closet rod on the floor.
We recently moved into a new apartment and the closet here had that fat, wooden closet rod. None of our clothes hangers could fit around that thing. I removed it and put in a metal one, with a smaller diameter. It looks better, and it's actually useful.
Agree 100%. Wooden closet rods sag so bad in a short time. So do the metal 2 piece ones! You didn't mention those. They are bad. Oddly enough, I recycle old hockey sticks for my kids closet rods. It looks cool and is as slick as metal and stronger. :) You can chin up on them!
One of the problems with wood rods are finger joints which come from Asia, if it’s truly solid then you have to be careful with the grain orientation. I’ve grown up with galvanized pipe in almost every home I’ve lived in since 1960. Wooden rods will survive the test of time if it came from that time and they’re short. Like coat closet short. Grain was tighter in wood back then. Also people tend to overload their rods. Mom was a stickler for us kids to make sure our hangers were 1 ½”-2” apart so clothes didn’t wrinkle. She also had us put on a coat of wax on the pipe as part of spring cleaning. For those considering conduit I would recommend rigid metal conduit over emt as it won’t bend as easily. Thick wall thickness when using any metal rod.
I knew right away what you'd say the problems are with wooden rods: bowing and friction. I once lived in an apartment where the wooden curtain rod was painted, which made the friction even worse. My solution was to get a plastic tube (I think it was a kind that can go on fluorescent lights to give them color?) and slice it down the middle. I placed the wooden rod inside the tube and now it was nice and smooth. This approach could help too with metal rods that aren't smooth.
How do you feel about black plumbing type pipe? I've got a bit of that industrial aesthetic in my house, so I was thinking of going with this in my closet. It also gives me the option of putting some short pipes for hats, scarves, bags, etc on the wall where the door is where there isn't enough room for another closet rod. 😀
I completely agree, but I don't recommend the painted metal rods. Stainless or chrome or something is better because metal hangers can scratch off paint, which is unsightly.
If you install wooden rods with the wood grain perpendicular to the floor, you will never have problems with them. Too many carpenters ignore mentioning about wood grain and the sagging issue.
my closet has a thin two part metal rod that has bent under the weight of whoever's clothing was hung before I bought it. This led me to believe that metal rods are weaker than wood. I guess they just put a thin crappy rod in place with no center support. I dont like wooden rods either though because they do sag with time and end up falling out of the supports becuase the curve makes it shorter. Thanks for explaining, I guess new rods are thicker and one piece instead of two. Maybe I'll go ahead and replace this bent up rod after all.
I'm gonna guess this is a problem with the wood being used... I mean, I've seen wooden rods that would never bow or get out of shape, with finishes that wouldn't get all scuffed and marred overtime - but those certainly weren't your average mass produced hardware shop wooden closet rods. Nowadays I guess it's just easier to get the metal rod, unless you really have a need for it to be wood, which then it seems the advice would be to not get the hardware shop mass produced type. Oh, another good thing about metal rods - you can get them in non-rod shape. xD I mean, pure design choice I guess, but I've also seen square and rectangular with rounded corner models... those would definitely not work well with wood. Anyways, great tip!
Was it just me or did anyone else raise an eyebrow when he removed the "rusty" metal rod from the closet to replace it with another "metal' rod...lol? I thought the whole idea of the video was to show us how terrible wooden closet rods are compared to metal...but wood doesn't rust...lol. I still love the content...just having a little fun with the observation.
Kool, never knew about the metal rods. But as you mentioned, spands over 6ft will bow or sag needing the middle support bracket... Ok, sit down before you read further. I know it may not look pretty, but I disliked the middle support bracket, keeping me from freely sliding side to side when if necessary. In my 8ft long closet when I doubled up my closet (two rods for two rows of clothes) I used slightly larger diameter galvanized pipes. Yes, I already said they may not look pretty, but there is little if any sag. For strength I used double end plates, one side with a hole drilled out in the upper part, and the other side a channel hole cut in to set the pipe in. I suppose they could be painted? But for me it's a matter of function over fashion. Just thought I would share. I realize most are not lucky enough to have 8ft long closets. But I did the same in my 6ft closet. I didn't double up the rods,(maybe in the future) but as I mentioned, I hate the support bracket in the middle. FYI, I do enjoy your channel. And your ideas and experiences, and advice.
I agree with that approach, Lamarty! The middle bracket really can be a pain sometimes, because it’s right where you want to grab first. You definitely won’t have that problem though-thanks for watching and writing in! 😁
Thanks for your video . Question, when using a metal rod that will be going into the side wall of the closet then meeting in the middle connecting to a center pressed wood wardrobe, is it OK to just mount the closet rod to the side of the wardrobe or is a wood piece needed then attach the mount? Rod will only be about 55in across
One of the first things I had to do when we moved into our house a few years ago was replace the closet rods. One of them was spanning 89.5 inches with no supports and in the thinnest plastic mounting brackets I had ever seen. There was no back trim plate either to insert a support. So... one trip to la big box later for an 8 foot metal rod, along with a 6 footer for the other closet, some mounting hardware, some cedar 1x6s and some rod supports. Once I got the wooden rods out, THEY WEREN'T EVEN STRAIGHT!!!
Hey, explain this one to me: my grandparents had wooden closet rods that never bent under the wright of the clothes, and didn't sag even when my cousin and I would hang off of them. One of their closets/rods was at least 6 or 7 feet long and they'd all been there since the mid 1960s.... why so different to today's wooden rods?
Those things are defying the odds, Princezz! 😆 I’d say they definitely aren’t todays pine/spruce/fir. Maybe a real hardwood, hickory or something, with burly dimensions. They can stay!
@@TheHonestCarpenter Helping my grandparents renovate a while back I noticed their (original to the house, ~120 years old) dowels were solid oak and something else that was very hard and silvery grey. I had some dowel stock that was Ash and very dense, sat around because it was too small in diameter to turn into a half. Everything on racks now is softwood and what is available in hardwood is incredibly expensive.
Same with the wood rods in the closets of my old 1955 house. I think the key is wood quality and selection. Old growth lumber with tight annual growth rings is superior in strength and watching grain direction to avoid runout are both big factors. Modern lumber is inferior (fast growth = wide growth rings and weak wood) while high-production modern manufacturing can't be bothered to watch out for grain runout.
I bought an old fishing cabin, circa 1950, to renovate. Whenever I needed to attach anything to a stud I first had to drill a hole the size of the nail's shank. Impossible to use drywall screws, they'd snap off half way in. I am told the lumber is white oak that was air dried. After all those years it turned gray and was hard as a rock.
All of my hangars have metal hooks. Seems like they’d be very loud sliding along a metal rod. I know my shower curtain hooks made really shrill sound on the metal shower rod. I had to put a PVC wrap on it, because the sound terrified my daughter when she was little.
It’s actually not like an arch. It’s more like an I beam. All it’s mass is located “far”from it’s bending axis which makes it more resistant to bending. Love your channel. Innocent mistake.
a *hack saw,* GOT IT! this has been bothering me, not knowing how to approach this..... i have an angle grinder from my dad but the box tells you NOTHING. like what the heck can you use it on then??
what if I want to replace a long wooden rod. It's 126" across, there are a few support brackets but the wood is one solid piece. How can I 'connect' two metal rods to fill that length?
