The "kee" to my closet

It's funny. Sometimes I'm writing a post and I think, no one will want to read this- it's so pedestrian. And then I post, and people seem to relate and comment. Such was the case with yesterday's post about my closet.

Closets are one of those "old house" problems that many of us seem to grapple with it seems. Some of you asked how I set up the closet so that I could have a space for long items and then double bars on the other side.

The "kee" to this was our use of Kee Clamps.

Kee Clamps are industrial pipe fittings. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes for different pipe or railing configurations. Since they are industrial, they aren't the most beautiful (they are not polished) but they are incredibly heavy duty.

They are tightened together with an allen wrench. You can probably find brass versions, but I'm sure they are more expensive and let's face it, we have a humble working class 2-flat and we think kee-klamps fit right in here.


Here is a close up of the kee clamp at work. At left I have long clothes hanging. At right a double bar.


If you continue down to the floor you have a floor flange that secures the vertical bar. We used closet rod hardware (heavy duty) to secure the bar to the floor. We also bought the highest gauge steel rods we could find. We had to use a diamond blade grinder to cut it because a hack saw and a pipe cutter couldn't cut through it.

Suffice it to say, this closet ain't going anywhere anytime soon.

By the way, the company (we ordered from Fastenal) had a large minimum order for these, so we have quite a few left over. As soon as things wind down here, I plan to offer some of this up for sale on the Discussion Board or eBay. They run about $13/each.

Tonight we made one of our Home Depot marathon shopping expeditions. You know, the 3 hour kind. Among a myriad of other things, we bought some more oak for a few more shelves for my closet. My shoes need a home.