Carlisa,

I'm surprised that you say that it took them half a day to assemble the closet. When I was at the store the salesperson but together a bunch of shelves in minutes. I'm counting on the setup to be minimal so that the builder will give me a break on installation. I suppose I could put it together but I'm busy with last minute details so that we'll be ready to move in...

It took them over three hours - locating studs, leveling, drilling holes and installing the top rail, figuring out where all the shelves go (several different lengths and widths, and separate shelves at both ends of the closet, with a space for the sliding baskets in the middle), installing the brackets and end caps, and assembling the frames for the sliding baskets, plus some other optional fittings.

If your builder puts in the top rail, it will save you some time. And if you're only putting in straight shelving with no bells and whistles, then that will go faster.

You start with a pile of shelves, rails, brackets, endcaps and hardware (and baskets and basket frames) that you have to sort through. I don't really enjoy that kind of work - would rather be doing other things - I think it's a personal choice. If you have a helper it would make a big difference too.

I haven't used the HD closet stuff, but we have various Elfa systems throughout the house and have the found the quality to be quite good. IMO, the mesh Elfa is better quality than the ventilated wire (but more $$).

On the other hand, Consumer Reports just rated DIY closet systems and placed Rubbermaid first, Elfa second. Rubbermaid is cheaper, but has fewer options.

we let CS design our closets, and some we did the execution with HD supplies, some with CS supplies.

HD Plus: cost :-)

CS Plus:
1) The shelves are structured with a middle horizontal bar that lends itself to more stability and less sag. if you're not storing anything heavy, you could go with HD.
2) After they design it you let them fulfill the order, they cut it all to measure, and load it in your car for you. Nice !!!
3) A bit more choice of options for components and colors.
4) When they fulfill the order, you have everything you need - exactly how much you need, not too much - like screws, brackets, endcaps, etc etc.

So we did HD in the toy closet (not a lot of weight, just needed organization.
And we did CS in master closet and DD's closet, and love it!!!

I have HD wire shelving in my office - weight capacity (up to a point) depends on how many vertical bracket mounting bars you install across the horizontal bar at the top - as long as the horizontal bar is screwed into the studs securely. I store all my office supplies, including a 5-ream box of printer paper, on these shelves. It is a double closet with 72" shelves and three vertical bars - one at each end and one in the middle. No sagging and I've had the shelves for several years.

I have HD in an upstairs loft closet, and it holds several (like 7) bags of out-of-season clothes (the sweaters can get heavy, too). Easy to put up, good stability.

But I understand the Elfa is more changeable. A few years down the line, take down a few shelves and replace them with 2 hanging bars, that kind of thing.

I'm waiting for the CS sale so I can redo my front-hall closet. It's really small, so I want to have more versatility there--being able to hang a few jackets and next to it have lots of shelves and some baskets and other options.

I also like the fact that CS has customer service--somebody to do all the cutting (at HD, I had to wander around looking for a salesperson to cut the shelves), to make sure you have everything you need (of course, not everyone's perfect!).

I just completed 2 closets systems as a DYI. WE have a new home.

For the MBR I used FreedomRail System. It is comparable in cost as ElFA. I live in Southern NJ and we are just getting a CS. I bbought the system online from Organizedliving.com. They d list places to buy the components but orgainized living is having a 20% off sale. I also prefer non ventilated drawers since I do not like wire lines. Your builder may be able to get FreedomRail discounted.

I used Closetmaid in our second closet which is my BF's closet. It works fine for him and we were able to recycle some of the brackets, etc from the MBR. We only had to buy the shelfs that are required for the railing bracket that allow the closes to move freely. We did not use a mounting bracket for his

We also incoporated IKEA chests of drawers into our closets. We are really happy with the results. It helped us save $$ since the drawer components are a little pricey.

I apologize for all the typos. I thought I had corrected them before submitting. I hope you can make out what I was trying to say.

Steve O,

My apologies. This is the first time I've ever blogged on a site. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

The Shelving Guy

My thoughts on this debate are on this thread for those looking for more current insight on this topic.

Here is a link that might be useful: closet system reviews

I got the John Louis set at Home Depot. It's not the cheapest, but it was really well thought out and looked a lot better than the Elfa system. A nice closet setup can be a nice selling point.

In terms of the instalation, you don't want someone rushing through it. Installing these is easy. Installing them properly so it's all level and doesn't fall apart takes some time.

I posted my review of my extensive (LOL) use of Elfa at the link Chris has provided. Love it. Their 30% off sale is starting on Dec 23rd, I believe.

I purchased The Container Store's Elfa self install, L shape a few months ago. My opinion of the transaction is that I was cheated out of a few hundred dollars.

Let me state the obvious that the Container Store's intentions are to sell you something. This was apparent throughout the process.

I told the agent what I wanted and she handed me a buzzer; told me to talk around the store while SHE designed the space. Before this, I told her I wanted an L shaped for a small 5x5 walk in at around $1000. An L shape is only 2 walls.

I came back to a design she thought I would like, at a price of $1800 (30% off included in this). This is substantially higher than what I asked for. We made adjustments and brought it down to $1600. I was told it wasn't possible to go lower without changing the entire design.

Against my better judgement I went forward with the purchase. After receiving all pieces in the mail, I went over the design again with someone over the phone who told me there were a couple hundred dollars worth of pieces that weren't necessary to the design. For the bulk of the design, the original agent sold me smaller 20" shelves instead of longer 40" shelves. This caused me to need extra brackets, an entire support beam, fronters, ect..

If this was not brought to my attention, I wouldn't have had a clue that I over paid by $400. Additionally, I would have installed more pieces than necessary, and the closet wouldn't have looked as uniform due to the break up in shelving.

A few weeks later, customer service emailed me with a standard protocol follow up, and I told them I wasn't happy with the purchase, solely for reasons stated above. She defended the company by saying: The Container Store was selling me "options" by giving me the extra pieces, they were leaving the closet open ended for changes if I decided necessary in the future. (adding draws, whatever). However, I was not given the original OPTION to go lower in price. So, basically what they're calling options are really just up-sell pitches. Beware of this.

I still had 12 pieces that I did not need, the facia (sp?) fronters. I planned on returning. The rep told me to throw them away and she would refund the $200 for the fronters. This saved me the hassle of having to go back to the store.

In a nut shell..for almost being over charged hundreds of dollars, I was spared a few dollars in gas from having to driving to the store. Nice.

The closet is awesome. The quality is nice (don't get cologne or room spray on the wood, it stains). It was easy to put together minus the stickers they put everywhere (two per bracket).

If you purchase this item, insist on being present while the employee designs the features. Don't let them sell you "options". Don't let them stray from the price point you decide. It's all one big sales tactic. Other than that, enjoy.

**I could have went without two of the shelves as well. She really crammed in as many as possible. I guess they saw me coming.

Definitely get Home Depot. Those tracks affix to the wall, whereas the vertical tracks in the Elfa system are suspended at the top, and swing back and forth. Installing the actual shelves was a nightmare since the tracks kept swinging and we had to keep re-leveling them. I was told Elfa is a better brand, but in reality I much prefer Home Depot. And it's cheaper. Elfa is a nighmare.