SettingsSettings for this calculationUS
The standard allowance most suppliers and estimating guides assume for ordinary work.
The width of the closet opening the shelving spans.
Measure wall to wall along the back of the closet.
Single is one shelf with a hanging rod below; double hang stacks two shorter rods with a shelf run at each.
Double hang roughly doubles the linear footage of shelving material needed.
The length shelving stock is sold in.
Wire shelving and wood shelving are both commonly sold in these stock lengths and cut to fit.
Extra board on top of the shelf runs, for the cuts at each end and an offcut too short to use.
The page opens at 10%, taken against the whole run before it is divided into stock lengths. A closet of one straight wall loses little; a wardrobe split into narrow sections by its partitions loses more of each board to short offcuts, and a higher figure suits it.
Shelving needed
6.6 linear ft
- Shelf runs
- 1 run
- Sticks needed
- 1 x 8 ft stick
They open the calculator with your figures already in it
Closet Shelving Calculator: 6.6 linear ft — shown in imperial, US market. The link sets both, so the result they see is the one on your screen.
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How this was calculated
Formula source(s)
- Single-shelf closets need one shelf run the width of the closet; double-hang closets need two shelf runs, doubling the material
- Shelving board is stocked at 6, 8, 10 and 12 ft where timber is sold by the foot, and at 1.8, 2.4, 3 and 3.6 m where it is sold by the metre, then cut to the closet width either way
Inputs used
- Closet Width
- 6 ft
- Shelf Configuration
- Single shelf + rod
- Stock Shelving Length
- 8 ft
- Cutting Waste (%)
- 10
Intermediate steps
- Shelf runs
- 1 run
- Sticks needed
- 1 x 8 ft stick
What this calculation does not cover
- The hanging rod is not in the number. Nothing is counted for rod stock, rod sockets or flanges, cleats, standards, brackets, shelf pins or fasteners — the result is shelving board length only.
- No span or load check is made. Support spacing, board thickness and material decide how much a shelf carries and how far it sags, and a long unsupported run of wood or wire shelving will deflect under books or folded clothes; this gives you a length to buy, not a cleat or bracket spacing.
- Shelf depth and board thickness are not inputs, so the answer is a linear length only. It is not board feet, not a cut list for plywood or melamine sheet goods, and not a material or grade specification.
- The model is one straight wall with square corners. Returns, L-shaped and walk-in closets, angled or bowed walls, and the extra length swallowed by scribing an out-of-square opening are not handled — measure each wall run separately and add the results yourself.
- The cutting allowance, 10% unless the field says otherwise, is already inside both the length and the board count, so do not add a second waste factor on top of it. What you get is that inflated length divided by the stock length, not a cutting plan: it assumes an offcut from one board can serve another run and that a run longer than one board may be joined, and it does not position cuts around knots, crook or damaged ends.
Estimated cost — your price
This site holds no price list for this material — local prices vary too much to publish honestly. Enter your supplier's price and the result is costed with it.
Part of a bigger job
This trade is one line of a job takeoff. Run the whole job and every other trade comes back with it, off the same measurements.
Computed in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded. Presented in US customary units and US trade terminology. Where a formula follows a published standard, that standard and its edition are cited beside it on this page; where none governs, the page says so. Local amendments override model codes — verify against the code in force where you build.
Sources checked 2026-09-02 · in the site-wide review of 2026-09-06 · v1.0.1
Regulatory standards & verification citations2
- Single-shelf closets need one shelf run the width of the closet; double-hang closets need two shelf runs, doubling the material
- Shelving board is stocked at 6, 8, 10 and 12 ft where timber is sold by the foot, and at 1.8, 2.4, 3 and 3.6 m where it is sold by the metre, then cut to the closet width either way
Cite this page
Your workspace
Most jobs need more than one number. Add the calculators you need next and they open right here, underneath this one — your figures stay on screen and nothing is lost to a page change.
Tools and safety for this job
To fit the wardrobe's rails, shelves and drawers (closet system). Generic types, no brands, no prices.
Protection this work requires
- Hardwood dust is a recognised carcinogen: extract at the tool and wear a P2/N95 respirator when cutting or sanding indoors.
- Boards, blocks and bagged material cause most lasting back injuries on small sites: two people or a lifter for full sheets, and never a bag on one shoulder up a ladder.
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Essential
Cable and pipe detector
Cordless drill/driver
Spirit level
Tape measure
Recommended
Hand saw
Also needed as materials: drill and driver bits.
what each carpentry tool is for, and the spec that decides which to buy where one does.