Fold-Away Laundry Room Drying Rack

Build and attach a pullout rack for drying delicate and hand-washed items.

Dry with added care and convenience using this versatile rack. It allows you to dry smaller items while leaving it in its upright position against the wall -- saving space. Pull it down to dry larger items.

Here’s how you can build your own drying rack:

Before you start

Use the Finished Dimensions to find the best wall location for installing the drying rack. You'll want to position the rack where you can drive the hinge mounting screws into studs spaced 32 inches apart (based on common 16-inch center-to-center stud spacing) to ensure a secure installation.
You'll also fasten the bracket assembly for the swing knob, centered above the rack, by driving screws into the stud located between the 32-inch spaced studs.
Using a stud finder, locate and mark the three stud locations.

Prepare the parts

From two 8-foot 1 x 4 pine boards, crosscut the sides (A) and top/bottom (B) to the specified sizes (Project Diagram and Materials Cutlist).
From the offcuts, crosscut the horizontal top support (D) and vertical top support (E) to size. Then, crosscut the eight 3/4-inch-diameter pine dowels (C) to a length of 32 inches.
Mark center points for the eight 3/4-inch-diameter dowel holes spaced 4 inches apart and centered along the length of one of the sides (A), where dimensioned.
Align and clamp the two sides together face to face so you can bore the holes through them simultaneously. Bore the holes using a 3/4-inch Forstner bit. Place a backer board under the sides to prevent splintering when the bit exits, now separate the sides.

Put everything together

For easy alignment of the ends of the dowels (C) during glue-up in the sides (A), cut two boards from 3/4-inch scrap the same size as the sides (A) covering one face with 2-inch-wide packing tape to prevent the glue from sticking. Clamp the scrap boards to each side with the taped face against the outside face of the side.
Apply glue inside each of the holes in the sides and assemble the sides and dowels. Now apply glue to the ends of the top/bottom (B), and position them between the sides, flush with the ends of the sides, to complete the frame. Clamp the sides to draw the frame tightly together, and measure for equal corner-to-corner diagonals to verify square corners.
TIP: When assembling multiple parts, use glue with a longer set time like Titebond Original.
After the glue dries, reinforce the corner joints with 4d finish nails, where shown. Drill pilot holes through the sides into the top/bottom using a 1/16-inch drill bit and drive the nails.
To assemble the bracket assembly for the swing knob, glue and clamp the horizontal top support (D) and vertical top support (E) together, (Project Diagram).
Drill a pair of mounting holes through the horizontal top support into the vertical top support, and drive 1-1/2-inch screws. Then, drill a pair of mounting holes through the vertical top support, where shown, for fastening the bracket to the wall.
Sand the rack and apply Minwax Fast-Drying Polyurethane semi-gloss finish following the manufacturer's instructions. After the finish dries, mount the 1-3/4-inch swing knob, centered, to the front edge of the horizontal top support (D) using the supplied screw.

Mount the unit

Use a helper to position the rack on the wall, and verify level. Mark the locations for the 2-inch butt hinges on the wall and bottom (B). The hinges should be flush with the outside face of the sides (A), but you can adjust them slightly to align them with your studs. Remove the rack; then mount the hinges to the bottom using the supplied screws. Reposition the rack on the wall, drill pilot holes, and drive the hinge screws into the studs.
Position the bracket assembly on the top (B), where shown, with the mounting holes in the vertical top support (E) centered over your stud. Using the mounting holes for guides, drill pilot holes; then drive 2-1/2-inch screws. Rotate the swing knob to capture the rack.
To install the 23-inch-long jack chains (a Lowe's associate will cut the chains to length for you), drill pilot holes for 3/4-inch panhead screws into the sides (A), where shown. Fasten the chains to the sides using the panhead screws and #8 flat washers, driving the screws through end links.
Finally, to attach the free end of the chains to the wall with 3/16x2-inch eye screws, where shown, drill holes for wall anchors, and drive in the anchors with a hammer. Thread the eye screws into the anchors, and slip the end links onto the eye screws.

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