Full – house customization has always been an existence that “makes people very unhappy (perfunctory design, frequent additional items, and installation failures), but there’s nothing we can do about it”. It can be said that the world has suffered from “customization” for a long time! Fortunately, things will develop in the opposite direction when they reach the extreme. In the past two years, its competitors have gradually emerged.
The closet (metal hanger + folding door/curtain) we shared before is one of them. Now, there’s another one: the aluminum profile wardrobe. Its competitiveness is comparable to that of the closet.In this issue, we will have an in – depth discussion about the aluminum profile wardrobe. (The content is relatively long, but as long as you read it patiently, you can even directly make an aluminum profile wardrobe by yourself!)
What does an aluminum profile wardrobe look like?
Outwardly, it looks no different from an ordinary full – house customization. When you open the wardrobe, the layout and functions also seem similar. It can also have various accessories, laminates, and light strips… You will just see more aluminum profiles! Take a closer look, and you will find that the frame of the entire wardrobe uses aluminum profiles instead of boards.
What are the advantages of an aluminum profile wardrobe?
Some people may say that it is cheaper than full – house customization. In fact, that’s not the case. It still depends on the stage of your production, the materials you use, how you layout, and how you match the accessories. When it comes to the starting threshold, it is similar to that of full – house customization, so there is no obvious price advantage.
The real advantages of an aluminum profile wardrobe are:
01 Environmental protection
This is easy to understand. Since the cabinet body no longer uses boards but aluminum materials, it reduces the pollution of TVOC gas and the anxiety about formaldehyde. Even, if you want, this cabinet can achieve zero air pollution. You just need to use pp plastic laminates and aluminum alloy cabinet doors.
02 Durability
No matter how good a board is, compared with aluminum alloy, it’s like an egg hitting a stone. Aluminum alloy can be made to be non – deformed, fire – resistant, waterproof, moisture – proof, and corrosion – resistant… Compared with boards that are afraid of swelling when soaked in water, getting moldy due to moisture, and deforming over time… aluminum alloy is simply overwhelming. It can be said that it’s no problem for one wardrobe to be passed down through three generations!
03 Flexibility
Inside the aluminum profile, all profiles and accessories are connected by connectors. This means that as long as you want, you can almost arbitrarily change its layout. The height of the laminate, the position of the hanging rod, the width of the cabinet body, and even the entire wardrobe can be disassembled and reassembled in another place. The process of disassembly and combination is not difficult for those who have installed it before. It can be said that among all types of cabinets, including closets, customized cabinets, and finished cabinets… it has the most excellent flexibility performance, without a doubt!
04 DIY – friendly
This is also the only type of wardrobe that allows you to do everything by yourself, turning a pile of aluminum alloy profiles into a wardrobe. From design to materials, and then to texture and storage… you can control everything by yourself.
For those who love DIY, this is incredibly appealing. For the average person, it might be slightly challenging due to the numerous screws that need to be tightened, and it also requires learning the following content. How to make an aluminum profile wardrobe? Understanding how to make an aluminum profile wardrobe not only allows you to master the method and create one for your home but also gives you a more comprehensive and profound understanding of aluminum profile wardrobes. I have divided the DIY process of an aluminum profile wardrobe into the following six steps, which we will examine one by one:
01 Design First, measure the space where the wardrobe will be placed. Image source: may-CAD official website. Then, find a software called may-CAD to design the internal frame layout of your aluminum profile wardrobe. Once the design is complete, you can export all the specifications, quantity lists, and installation instructions for the profiles with a single click. Material list Of course, you can also design by hand drawing or imagination, but it is recommended to use software. The difficulty of getting started with the software is not high, even simpler than Kujiale, and there is a Chinese version available. If you can’t figure it out, you can look for tutorials yourself. 02 Select Aluminum Profiles When designing the wardrobe frame, you will face a relatively professional concept – what specifications should the aluminum profiles be? 2040 or 2020… It can be confusing. In fact, it’s quite simple. The so-called 2020 refers to a 20*20mm square cross-section, while 2040 is a 20*40mm rectangular cross-section. The larger the cross-section, the more material is used, and the better the load-bearing capacity. Actually, 2020 is more than enough. If you are not confident, you can use 2040 for the main frame and 2020 for the rest. In addition, when ordering profiles, you also need to consider Euro-standard profiles and national standard profiles. It is recommended to choose Euro-standard profiles as they have more complete accessories and more connection methods. The cost of aluminum profiles is actually very low. Above is a quotation for a 1.8-meter long wardrobe, and you can see that it only cost a little over 400 yuan! 03 Select Connectors Here, you will start the painful process of tightening screws! The main connectors used to connect the profiles are corner brackets, which include built-in corner brackets and ordinary corner brackets. Recommendation: In order to make the process of tightening screws less painful, for higher stability, and to prevent thread stripping… mainly choose the ordinary corner brackets shown in the picture above for connection. Although they are not as aesthetically pleasing as built-in corner brackets, they are superior in stability and ease of handling. Built-in corner brackets are used at the places where the shelves are placed to prevent the shelves from not fitting in; the main body relies on the corner brackets to get started. Then there are three other frequently installed accessories. First: Hinges The accessories on the aluminum profiles are basically fixed with M4 sliding nuts. The specific installation method is as follows: align the hole position with the sliding nut, and tighten it. What needs to be noted is: the selection of hinges.Firstly, it is necessary to choose a hinge with a small hinge seat, suitable for aluminum profile wardrobes. Secondly, distinguish between full cover, half cover, and no cover hinges. Generally, for all-aluminum profile wardrobes, full cover hinges are not used as they would expose the aluminum profiles. Secondly: For the hanging rod and its connecting pieces, direct installation is possible. What needs to be noted is that if two connecting pieces are on the same aluminum profile, they can be installed offset as shown in the diagram. Additionally, for stability, the profile with the hanging rod connecting pieces can be connected to the load-bearing vertical profiles by drilling and using expansion screws, ensuring no issues when hanging many clothes. The holes can be drilled by the supplier when ordering the profiles. Thirdly: For the connection pieces of the aluminum profile frame to the wall, it is best to connect with the wall using special connecting pieces, with holes and expansion screws for fixing. Angle brackets can also be used for fixing, depending on the flatness of the wall and the adjustable range of the connecting pieces. 04 After completing the custom shelves and cabinet door connections, it is time to customize the shelves and cabinet doors. Marine board is currently popular for shelves, along with PP board, which does not require edge sealing, has low costs, and can be chosen according to preference. For cabinet doors, there are various options compatible with aluminum profile wardrobes, such as wood veneer, solid wood, PET, aluminum alloy doors, or even completely eliminating the board and using aluminum alloy doors, which are reasonably priced and well-designed. 05 With the practical use of matching kits, the aluminum profile wardrobe is essentially completed. The remaining are some functional enhancements. The kits that can be matched with an aluminum profile wardrobe are not less than those of traditional whole-house customization: baskets, pants storage sliders, lights, which are almost identical to whole-house customization, and can be installed at home. For drawers, there is even more room for play; you can have them made by whole-house customization or directly install ready-made plastic drawers. If willing, you can even buy more shelves and cut them to assemble drawers, significantly reducing costs! These accessories and kits are flexible for later addition or reduction, just by tightening screws. If it were whole-house customization, it might be damaged during disassembly! What are the experiences of those who have done it? To write this content, I asked many practitioners who have implemented it, and the feedback is overwhelmingly positive. The content is roughly twofold: firstly, the satisfaction of doing one’s own craftsmanship; secondly, the advantages mentioned earlier, such as durability, flexibility, and environmental friendliness… Where else can aluminum profiles be used? I believe that by now, you have a clear understanding of how to make an aluminum profile wardrobe. Congratulations, you have mastered the most challenging piece of furniture. The rest of the places in your home that need customization can also basically be replaced with aluminum profiles, such as kitchen cabinets, shoe cabinets, sideboards… The effect is the same as wardrobes, matching custom cabinets in functionality and aesthetics, and surpassing whole-house customization in terms of durability and flexibility.
Besides, ready-made furniture that is not customized can also be made using aluminum profiles. Observe the aluminum profile cabinet above; it can be both practical and beautiful without any additional decoration. Well, that concludes the content for this episode. For those skilled in craftsmanship and DIY, it’s time to get started!
