Stash It - 6

CLOSETS: Building a false wall or ceiling in a closet is one of my favorite ways of hiding weapons, long guns in particular. A closet that has a considerable amount of space to one side of the door is best for a fake wall. It is difficult to tell from the outside of the closet exactly how much room should be inside the closet, One thing you do not want to do though, is to make the storage area too big. This might bring the size of the inside of the closet to someones attention. I try to store my guns against the wall flat when I use a false wall. My widest gun is a bolt action that measured about three inches across. You can save some room by removing the bolt or leaving it in the open position. I make a one by four frame around one end of the closet. I net put a one by two across the back wall at the height that the barrels will be. Into this one by two I drive a nail for each gun barrel to lean against. These should be wrapped with tape or cloth to keep them from marring the barrel. If your closet has a high enough ceiling, you can put a one by four shelf directly above the barrels of that line of guns and set another row of guns on top of it. When I did it, I simply installed some hooks for my handguns and then put up a shelf for ammo. Now you will need a sheet of sheet rock, painted the same color as the inside of the closet. This sheet needs to be cut to the exact size of the inside of the closet. Now, if the end where you are putting the storage unit has a closet rod connected to it, you will need to cut the sheet in two at the level of the rod. Next cut half circles in both pieces so they fit tight against the rod. These sheets can be held in place by using either the magnet or spring-clip type of cabinet door catches. You will probably need four for each piece. If you are not cutting the sheet for a closet rod, you can get by with just four. Now if you are working around a rod, get a closet rod holder to match the one on the other end of the rod and attach it to the wall you just installed. If it is completely round you will need to cut it in half and install it in two pieces. you may want to install a piece of dry wall tape across the crack, making sure to only attach it to one of the pieces. What you want to do is anything to make it look like the rest of the closet. To open the unit, the best way I found was to install two hooks on each half of the sheet and hang a couple of ties or belts on each hook. Then you can simply grab the hooks and pull out the section you want. The same method could be used for a one piece wall.

Another method of utilizing a closet is to install a false ceiling. This is the method I used in one apartment I lived in. Nail a one by four to each wall with one edge against the ceiling. Now you need to come up with a way to attach your guns or other valuables to the ceiling. I simply located a couple of the ceiling joists and installed a series of screw eyes. A would put one gun against the ceiling and mark the spot for the screws. After installing the first set of four, (one for each side of the stock and one on each side of the barrel), I placed the next gun in the opposite direction, (first barrel pointing right, next barrel pointing left), and installed one screw eye at the stock and one at the barrel on the outside of that gun. I kept doing this, reversing every other gun. I secured the guns to the ceiling by tying a piece of nylon cord from screw eye to screw eye. Get good sized screw eyes, because as you will notice, each will be supporting the end of two guns. Now get your piece of sheet rock and cut it to fit snugly between the walls and install some cabinet door catches and you can snap it into place. Yo facilitate getting mine out. I simply drilled a small hole in one rear corner. the hole was just large enough to get my index finger in and pull. The hole was not noticeable unless you were looking for it.You can also attach trim to the new piece of sheet rock to make it look even more natural.  When I moved from the apartment, I simply took my guns and replaced the false ceiling. I am not sure whether the landlord ever found it or not. I just know that when he inspected the apartment prior to returning my deposit, he did not mention it. 

Other ideas next time. Until then SURVIVE.   Check out my other blogs.

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