Closet and Cabinet Cleat

Abstract

A closet and cabinet cleat system as described in which a cleat is connected between at least two studs and provides a surface which receives a foot from a cutout of a panel. The panel may be connected to other panels in the form of a cabinet such as a bookshelf structure or other cabinet structure. Furthermore, the cleat is also useful to support a shelf extending away from the panel internal to cabinets. Other cleats may be useful to assist in supporting shelving and supporting brackets for hanging closet rods thereon. With the applicant's system, a closet can be installed in an extremely little time while still providing an excellent quality product to the marketplace.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cleating system for use in supporting cabinetry and/or closet components.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

Closets have traditionally taken a number of forms in residential and commercial applications. Many companies today are in the market of providing custom closets. Furthermore, hardware stores, in particularly big box hardware stores, provide do-it-yourself closet assemblies.

Many of these prior art systems rely on traditional cabinet techniques such as locating studs and screwing rear panels of cabinet boxes directly to studs. In typical closet installations, it is often advantageous to find studs and then screw retention systems to those studs such as a bracket to support other components of the closet system such as a wire closet system. In other applications sleeve anchor/screw assemblies are utilized in systems designed to engage just sheetrock. While various competitors provide closet systems to the market that are attractive and/or functional for the market, there remains a perceived need for a fast and efficient system and method of installing closets which can greatly improve the efficiency of the closet and/or cabinet installation process while continuing to provide attractive options to the market place.

Specifically, a need exists to potentially eliminate locating and marking each specific framing stud and then determining where individual supports should be located. Connecting separate supports to specific framing studs while maintaining an installed product level as would be expected to the users of these systems can be difficult, or at least time consuming with many prior art systems known to the applicant.

Furthermore, although some companies have been powder coating wood specifically MDF (medium density fiberboard) for a number of years, the articles these companies have printed routinely discuss the precision required to maintain moisture content as well as a need for a carefully maintained elevated surface temperature of wood based MDF (medium density fiberboard) prior to applying a powder coating and then curing for consistent results.

In wood powder coated products purchased by the applicant, the applicant has observed that a corona occurs where a connection is made to the wood product by some type of hanger. A corona is an area of paint or coating of poor quality whereby in the case of a painted part may be only partially painted and/or unpainted at that specific location. A corona can be as small as an eraser head or even be as big as a dime, quarter or larger. Normally, the provider is careful to ensure that this corona occurs on an obverse side of the part painted (i.e., a side which is not viewed when installed). Even the samples provided by a provider to applicant reflecting coating options have a dime sized corona covered by a sticker on a back side of the samples. However, if a part is to be utilized for which visual access may be had on both sides such as an elevated shelf such as a closet shelf, a corona would likely result in a failing quality for the part.

Orange peel defects are possible in powder coated wood based on uneven coating applications of a part. This may not be particularly noticeable in some applications may be extremely pronounced and unacceptable in others.

The applicant became interested in a possibility of powder coating MDF and possibly other wood products themselves. As applicant was not particularly interested in the prospects of modifying an existing metal powder coating set up to have a capability of providing the surface temperatures in that elevated range prior to powder coating, the applicant discovered a need to provide alternative methods of powder coating MDF and possibly other wood based products as well as a need to eliminate unsightly coronas.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present embodiment of the present invention to provide a closet and/or cabinet installation system having an improved cleat which cooperates with framing studs behind the wall or the one framing stud behind a wall such as a sheetrock wall which can be relatively quickly installed in a level manner and then the remainder of the closet cleat quickly assembled relative to the cleat connected to the wall.

It is another object of the present invention to provide improved closet and/or cabinet installation system.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved closet and/or cabinet system principally comprised of powder coated wood components.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved cleat for use with closet and cabinet installations. In accordance with the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention, a cleat connection system is provided whereby an elongated cleat member is provided with a plurality of indications preferably in the form of bores at specific intervals with corresponding indications spaced 16 inches from other indications (i.e., the expected stud spacing). One example might be an indication such as at 1 inch intervals, 2 inch intervals, 4 inch intervals, 8 inch intervals and/or 16 inch intervals. Accordingly, when a stud is located and a connector such as a screw goes through the indication, the operator can quickly determine where to drill the next connector in order to provide a secure connection of the cleat to the wall (presuming that the framer correctly observed the 16 inch stud intervals as specified by code).

Accordingly, a quick measurement to measure the desired height for the cleat would preferably be recommended by the manufacturer at a location on a first stud through a first indication with a first connector. With the first connector in the first stud, then a second connector can be provided through a second indication in a second stud with the cleat being verified level during the process such as with a level. Additional connectors can be provided through the cleat as desired such as at additional 16 inch intervals or otherwise on the wall. With the cleat at a desired location as specified by the manufacturer, the cabinet and/or closet can be hung thereon. The side wall members are preferably equipped with a cutout which has a cooperating foot extending into the cutout which is received by shoulder on an upper end of the cleat. Gravity may assist in maintaining the side panel portion in a desired location. Then, additional components can be connected to side wall members such as shelving, bottoms, tops (which may be securely connected thereto to form a box-like structure rather than an ability to have adjustable shelving in some embodiments), if not already connected as a cabinet portion. Furthermore, most side panels can be utilized to assist in supporting closet rods and/or shelving with or independent of box type cabinet structure or even cabinetry in some embodiments.

Cleats may have at least an upper angled shoulder at an upper surface as well as possibly having a symmetrical surface towards the bottom surface so that the cleat can be utilized in an upside down configuration in an identical manner. The top of the cleat provides a flat portion to assist in maintaining a rear of a shelf stable thereon. Cleats, shelves, side panels, and possibly other components may preferably be powder coated wooden products that are powder coated, preferably at lower temperatures, such as less than 200 F, and more preferably less than 150 F, if not less than 100 F, in a presently preferred embodiment.

A shelf bracket may be retained to the cleat through one or more of the indicators. The bracket may or may not be metal and provide an upper surface extending away from the wall to be coplanar with the flat portion of the upper surface of the cleat to assist in supporting a shelf thereon. The bracket extends in a cantilevered manner and possibly is provided with a truss style brace. A closet rod may also be connected along a portion of the bracket such as in a hook.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The particular features and advantages of the invention as well as other objects will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a closet system showing use of a cleat support system of a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the portion shown in Detail A of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side plan view of a Detail A showing a corner of the system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of Detail B shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side plan view of Detail B shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an alternatively preferred embodiment of a cleat as is used in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a front plan view of the cleats shown in FIGS. 1 and 6;

FIG. 8 shows a diagrammic view of a powder coating line transporting a wooden article, such as a shelf shown in FIG. 1, towards a powder coating station in accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 shows side plan view of a preferred embodiment of a staple remover removing a hanger from a product coated as shown in FIG. 8; and

FIG. 10 shows a front plan view of the detail A shown in FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a system 10 of the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention. This system 10 is configured for a closet but other systems could be configured for cabinetry whether for kitchen cabinetry, washroom cabinetry, shelving and/or garage cabinetry and/or shelving. Illustrated in FIG. 1 are a plurality of elongated cleats 12,14,16 or cleat portions which are located on two walls 18,20 meeting at corner 22.

Cleats 12,14,16 are maintained at a top edge as parallel to the floor 24 and/or ceiling (which are not shown in detail but would be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art). Additional cleats, namely cleats 26,28,30 are useful to support shelves independent of supporting planar vertical panels such as panel 32 as a single panel or panels such as 34,36 or 38,40 which essentially form portions of cabinetry such as corner cabinets 42 which has an open front or book shelf style cabinet 44. Cabinet doors could also be provided as would be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art.

Cabinet portions 42,44 preferably have a top 46,48 as well as bottom 50,52 which can be securely connected to respective side panels 34,36 and 38,40. By securely connecting the top 46,48 and the bottoms 50,52 to the respective side panels, namely 34,36 and 38,40, a rigid cabinet member such as 42,44 can be provided. Shelves such as shelves 54,56,58,60,62,64 can be adjustable type shelving as is known in the art or at least some of them can be fixed at specific positions to possibly provide further structural integrity to the respective cabinets 42,44 at least in some embodiments.

The system 10 is believed to be a significant advantage over prior art designs in that it can be installed extremely fast. Specifically, the cleats 12,14,16 can be placed at a desired elevation which may be specified by the manufacturer depending on the height of panels such as panel 32,34,36,38,40 and/or closet rods 122,132. Uppermost portions of upper shoulders 84 of cleats 12,14,16 can form a horizontal plane parallel to a floor or ceiling. Cleats 14,16 meet at a right angle at corner 22.

As can thus be seen from FIG. 7, cleats are preferably provided with a plurality of indications 66 on a surface such as front face 68 of one or more of the various cleats such as cleat 16 illustrated. In order to secure the cleat 16, the wall indication 66 are preferably provided at intervals such as at 1¼ inches (i.e., 32 mm) but 1 inch spacing could also be desirable so that one could quickly connect cleat 16 through indication 66 and then drive another connector through another indication to connect to two spaced apart studs behind the wall 20 (i.e., at 16 inch intervals). Cleats 16 are a length sufficient to span two studs on the wall 20. Specifically, the operator will most likely utilize a stud finder or start at a corner and secure one portion of the cleat 16 through an indicator 66 to a stud and then skip the correct interval to an anticipated location of a next stud and provide another connector therethrough while maintaining the cleat 16 level.

Indications 66 are preferably through holes or bores such as 3/16 of an inch (5 mm) and may be spaced at other intervals as well such as 2 inches, 4 inches, 8 inches, 16 inches or other desired spacing. Bores extend through cleat (i.e., from the front to the back surface). Furthermore, although one row 70 of indications 66 is illustrated, multiple rows 70 could be provided. It is preferred that the spacing per length 72 be maintained relatively consistent, such as 32 mm or otherwise, as it relates to indicators 66. It will be understood that the spacing relative to the height 74 may be varied as so desired. By locating the indications 66 at the center of cleat 16, applicant has not experienced a significant splitting of the cleat 16. Other and/or additional locations could be employed in other embodiments such as towards a top of the cleat 16 as is shown in phantom in FIG. 7.

Cleat 16 is preferably provided as a painted medium density fiberboard (MDF) product. Lengths 72 as well as heights 74 can be as desired by the manufacturer. Anticipated lengths 72 may be 5 or 8 feet and the height 74 may be four inches, but other lengths and heights could be provided. After installing the first cleat such as cleat 16, and the other cleats 12,14, the cleats 12,14,16 can then support vertical panels such as panels 32,34,36,38 which can then be installed. Panels 32,34,36,38 may be similarly or dissimilarly constructed. Cleats or cleat portions can provide a coplanar upper surface 76 relative to adjacent cleats 14,16. Depending on the length of the closet or application, multiple cleats or cleat portions such as cleats 12,14 may need to be placed end 78 to end 80 to continue an overall length as is shown in FIG. 1.

Cabinets 42,44 may be prebuilt or built on site and/or be apart until portions are hung from the cleats 12,14,16 as will be described in further detail below. Cabinet 42 is a corner cabinet. Shelf 120 and portions of cleats 12,14 extend between cabinets 42,44.

The first panel 32 is hung on cleat 16 as is shown in FIG. 1 and shown in better detail in FIGS. 2 and 3, specifically with cleat 16 connected to wall 20 vertical panel 34 which may at least in some embodiments have a downwardly extending foot 82 extending into cut out 81 which is received on a shoulder 84 of the cleat 16 as can be seen in FIG. 3 and as will be understood by review of FIG. 2 as the vertical panel 32 is placed on the cleat 16. The shoulder 84 is preferably provided with an upper planar portion 88 spaced by gap 89 from wall 20 as may be utilized at least in some embodiments to assist in supporting a rear 90 of shelf 92 along with adjustable shelf brackets (not shown) which are utilized through bores 94,96 to support the shelf 92. The foot 32 is retained in gap 39 when installed. Depending on the length of the shelf 92, intermediate shelf support brackets 98 may also prove useful. A rear surface 93 of the panel 32 can contact the wall when installed. The first panel has left and right faces (the left face 95 illustrated, the right face opposite thereto) with the cutout 81 extending therebetween.

The embodiments of FIGS. 1-3 provide a one angled cleat having a first angled upper shoulder 18 forming an acute angle with wall 20 when installed. The foot 82 contacts the angled upper shoulder 18 along the angle which assists in providing a force to pull the panel 32 and others towards wall 20. At a base 100 of the cleat 16 a flat bottom 102 may be found useful for increased stability against a wall 20 when installed. Other embodiments may take different forms such as that of FIG. 6 which has a second angle 104. These other embodiments are useful as it means that there is effectively no top and bottom of the cleat 16 and in such an embodiment, the top and bottom are the same. This provides part symmetry and an easy install as the angle 104 together with the shoulder 106 allows the option of either end to the upper portion. Notch 86 is useful to provide a void above and/or behind the shoulder when installed to potentially assist in locating the panel 32 on the cleat 16 and/or removing the panel 32 from the cleat 16.

Regardless of which cleat embodiment is utilized, with cleats 12,14,16 positioned various panels such as 32,24,26,28,40 can be positioned at their approximate locations and the shelf 92 can be installed with the cleats 12,14,16 extending past one of the left and right faces of the panel 32,24,26,28,40. Cleat 26 if not already installed can be installed below cleat 16 and then be utilized to support a shelf 108. The difference between the construction for cleat 26 supporting shelf 108 and cleat supporting shelf 92 is that the cleat 16 extends out laterally to be flush with outer wall surface 110 whereas cleat 26 is roughly approximately flush to an interior wall (as shown in FIG. 2) of vertical wall panel 32. Nevertheless, an upper surface such as that similar as shown in 88 in reference to cleat 16 can assist in supporting a rear portion of shelf 108 with cleat 16. Once again, adjustable shelf hangers or other connections may be useful to support the shelf 108 by the vertical wall panel 32.

Closet rod 112 which is illustrated supported by a bracket 114 and receiver 116. The corresponding receiver is obscured from view where connected to vertical wall panel 32. Each connection assists in locating closet rod 112 at a desired elevation. The shelf 108 can also connect to vertical panel 34 in a somewhat similar or different manner as connect the other end of the shelf 102,108 connects to a vertical wall panel 32. Depending on whether the top and bottom 22,50 of the cabinet 42 have been connected to the vertical panel 34 the components need to be assembled if not already provided and possibly utilizing bracket 118 and or others to assist in supporting portions of the top 22 and bottom 50 at a desired location. This can assist in locating vertical wall panel 36 in the desired position. Shelves 54,56 could be provided in a permanent location or with adjustable shelf brackets. Cabinets 42 and 44 can support similar shelf structure as shelf 120, closet rod 122, shelf 124, and closet rod 126. These can be supported in a similar manner as those shown against wall 20. The cabinet 44 can be located such as a similar or dissimilar cabinet is located. Closet rods and/or shelves 128,130,132,134 can then be installed.

The shelves 128,130 and closet rods 132,134 connect with a bracket 136 shown in further detail in FIGS. 4 and 5. Bracket has a face 138 which cooperates with cleat 12 such as by providing a connector through bore 140 as well as through corresponding indicator (obscured from view) through which bore 140 may preferably align therewith. Furthermore, additional bore 142 or bores may also be provided to assist in providing further strength or stability with the face 138 and the cleat 12 being further secured possibly to a stud as well as possibly corresponding to one or more indicator(s). Truss member 144 is useful to assist in providing structural integrity to the bracket 136 which can provide an upper surface 146 which receives a bottom surface 148 of shelf 130 and also can provide a depending end 150 which receives closet rod 134 from hook 152. Another end of closet rod 134 is supported by a bracket 154. In a similar manner, the other end of the closet rod 134 as illustrated as well as many of the closet bars such as 112,122,126 can be supported. Additional shelf brackets (obscured from view behind the shelf 130 in FIG. 5) can be connected to the wall panel 40 in this view. Once again, cleat 12 is illustrated supporting foot 156 with shoulder 158.

After installing one of the systems 10, it is anticipated that one of the closet installation systems can be installed in time frames of roughly five to ten minutes or less. This is believed to be a huge improvement over prior art closet systems. By providing prepackaged assemblies, it may further be possible that little, if not absolutely no cutting needs to be done on the work site. This can further expedite the speed of installation. Once installed, the closet system 10 can be provided in various painted wood or metal configurations to provide a desired level of attractiveness.

In an effort to utilize existing powder coating equipment which principally utilized by the applicant for powder coating metal products, the applicant obtained a quantity of Alesta® ULB (ultra violet bake) from DuPont® and attempted to powder coat medium density fiberboard (MDF) with the existing equipment. FIG. 8 shows powder coating system 210 of the presently preferred embodiment having powder coating station 212, track 214 and curing oven 216.

Optional preheat station 218 is also illustrated and wood products 220, such as cleats 12,14,16,28,30, shelves 108,120,124,128,130, side panels 32,34,36,38,40 and/or other components, are represented by wood product 220 illustrated being supported by hanger 222 supported by a connector 224 to tab 226. FIG. 8 may be a part of curing oven 216 such as if track 214 is U-shaped or has another suitable configuration so that track 214 can direct wood product 220 through preheat station 218 and then through coating station 212 and then into curing oven 216. This, in fact, is how the applicant's metal powder coating set up is configured which is the set up anticipated to be at least initially utilized by the applicant in this endeavor.

In powder coating configurations, the oven consisting of pre-heater 218 and curing oven 216 would be heated to approximately 500° Fahrenheit and metal parts, after being washed would be provided to the preheater 218 and then travel a significant distance into the paint station 212 where they would be coated and then sent on to the curing oven 216 and then cooled afterwards. In attempting to switch over to ultra low bake powder from DuPont, while turning the oven down to 300° Fahrenheit or less, the applicant discovered that upon entered the coating station, the surface temperature of the wood product 220 was less than 150° Fahrenheit and was, in fact, less than 120° Fahrenheit at about 115° Fahrenheit. The applicant had been advised by the published article in Surface & Panel Magazine that surface temperatures at about 200° Fahrenheit and moisture contents were critical. Nevertheless, the applicant discovered that although a corona developed around an eye bolt hanger, the remainder of the wood product 220 appeared to coat satisfactorily after being processed through the curing oven 216 and cooling. The eye bolt initially utilized by the applicant had as much, if not more, material outside of as opposed within an internal portion of board 220 when installed.

The applicant then switched to utilizing a hanger 222 in the form of a staple which had a length of one inch and a width between external portions of prongs 228,230 of ¼ inch. The wire size of the staple was a little less than 1 mm. Leaving about a ¼ inch of the staple exposed with a crossbar where it was installed and having at least ½ inch the other ¾ inch or so or at least ⅔ of the staple in the wood product 220, the applicant discovered after coating with the coating station 212 and curing with curing oven 216, there were no coronas. Not only were the wood products fully coated, the exposed portion of the hanger 222 was coated, even the connector 224 in the form of a paper clip was also evenly coated. The important thing to remember here was that there were no coronas. There was also no orange peel texture on the wood product 220. In short, a satisfactory product was obtained ready for use in another component and/or delivery to a customer depending on the particular application of the coated wood product 220.

In conducting further experimentation utilizing the hanger 222 of the presently preferred embodiment, it was discovered that wood based products 220 such as MDF could be transported from the refrigerator or freezer, hung on track 214 and run through powder coater 212 either with or without passing through preheater 218. After curing through curing oven 216, excellent quality coated products resulted when using hanger 222. Furthermore, spraying moisture on the wood boards 220 prior to preheating and then coating in the coater station 212 and curing in the curing station still resulted in excellently coated products. Nothing seemed to affect the quality of the coated products when using preferred hanger 222. Accordingly, the teachings as published in the prior art are believed to be overcome through the to at least through the use of novel hangers 222 to at least assist in removing coronas. Apparently by distributing a significant conductivity internal to the board 220 by a significant enough degree relative to potentially a de minimis portion of hanger 222 being external to the board 220, coating is at least partially assisted to provide an evenly coated product with no coronas.

In conducting these tests, grade A MDF was utilized and a one inch staple utilized. It is anticipated that other length of staples can be utilized in other embodiments.

When applying coating in the coating station, a small hose rather than a larger hose was found to provide a more satisfactory coating than the bigger hose. Furthermore, reclamation during the coating process in the coating station 212 is recommended to reclaim unused powder. At least 96% of the powder is believed to be usable on products such as wood product 220. The powder coating station 220 was a Nordson powder coater but other powder coating equipment is available on the market.

Applicant also believes pretreating wood products 220 such as with a primer coat prior to putting on the final coat may provide additional benefits for some applications. Primer coats with conductive material may prove effective.

It is the removal of the coronas that the applicant has consistently been receiving from a provider that prompted applicant to attempt to utilize the powder coating equipment of applicant without adding additional equipment such as preheating station to elevate surface temperature to 200° Fahrenheit before coating.

Although coronas are usually acceptable on obverse faces (i.e., a face not exposed to view) in many applications, the applicant was attempting to provide a shelf to the marketplace in which both the top and bottom of the shelf could be viewed by end users. Accordingly, this leaves only the edges to be supported by a hanger. In the products provided by a provider to the applicant, the connectors for connecting the wooden products have consistently been connected on side faces and not edges. Thus, the coronas left would be particularly problematic in such applications. Even the samples provided for showing the various color schemes provided to the applicant from the provider have stickers identifying the manufacturer covering dime sized coronas.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show staple puller 240 of the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention specifically stapler puller 240 is somewhat lever activated in that a lever 242 connects to a pivot 244 has an operator handle position 246 with at least one foot 248 coupled thereto therebetween. The at least one foot 248 is shown pivotably connected to lever 242. The at least one foot is configured to contact a surface 250 of the wood product 220 having the hanger 222 disposed therein in a preferred embodiment. At least one foot 248 is shown in FIG. 3 having two feet 252,254 preferably with resilient coatings 256,258 where the at least one foot 248 contacts the surface 250 to prevent inadvertently marring the surface 250 while removing hanger 222.

In order to remove the hanger 222, the operator 246 is preferably downwardly directed so that the at least one foot 248 contacts the surface 250 and continues downwardly so that with the extension 260 retaining the crossbar 262 between the prongs 228,230, continued down force pushes the board 20 away from the crossbar 62 thereby pulling the prongs 28,30 from the wood product 220. In the preferred embodiment, pivot 244 is securely mounted relative to a face 262 from which extension 260 cantileveredly extends therefrom. Two “pinholes” of less than about 1 mm diameter are left in wood product 220 after pulling the hanger 222 therefrom.

Numerous alterations of the structure herein disclosed will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be understood that the present disclosure relates to the preferred embodiment of the invention which is for purposes of illustration only and not to be construed as a limitation of the invention. All such modifications which do not depart from the spirit of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what is claimed herein is:

Claims

1. A storage configuration comprising:

an elongated cleat having an upper shoulder spaced at least partially by a gap from a wall once installed, said cleat spanning a length of at least two frame studs along the wall and having indications on a surface correlating to anticipated stud locations;

a first planar vertical panel having a rear surface with a cutout defined between left and right faces, said first panel having a downwardly extending foot extending into the cutout received by the cleat in the gap when installed, with the rear surface of the first panel contacting the wall when installed and the cleat extending past at least one of the left and right faces of the wall; and

a first shelf at least partially supported by the vertical wall panel at a first end and at least partially supported at an opposite second end by at least one of a second planar vertical panel supported by the cleat and a bracket.

2. The storage configuration of claim 1 wherein the upper shoulder provides an acute angle with the wall once installed with the foot contacting the angle which assists in providing a force to pull the first panel towards the wall.

3. The storage configuration of claim 2 wherein an upper portion of the cutout further comprises a notch providing a void above at least a portion of the shoulder of the cleat when installed, said notch assisting in at least one of locating the first panel on the cleat and removing the first panel from the cleat.

4. The storage configuration of claim 1 wherein the cleat has a flat upper surface at an upper portion of the shoulder perpendicularly oriented relative to the wall when installed, and said flat upper surface supports a rear portion of the shelf when installed.

5. The storage configuration of claim 1 wherein the indications are bores on a front surface, and the cleat is a powder coated wood product.

6. The storage configuration of claim 5 wherein the bores extend through the cleat from the front to the back surface.

7. The storage configuration of claim 5 wherein the bores are aligned in a row.

8. The storage configuration of claim 7 wherein the bores are at intervals of about two inches or less.

9. The storage configuration of claim 1 wherein the first panel is connected by a top and a bottom to a third planar vertical panel, said third panel having a rear surface with a cutout defined between left and right faces, said first panel having a downwardly extending foot extending into the cutout received by the cleat in the gap when installed, with the rear surface of the first panel contacting the wall when installed and the cleat extending past at least one of the left and right faces of the wall thereby providing a first cabinet portion; and the shelf extends in a direction from the first panel opposite to the second panel with a rear of the shelf at least partially supported by the cleat.

10. The storage configuration of claim 9 further comprising a second cabinet portion supported by the cleat, said second cabinet portion characterized by first and second planar vertical panels having a rear surface with a cutout defined between left and right faces, said first panel having a downwardly extending foot extending into the cutout received by the cleat in the gap when installed, and the first and second panels connected with a top and a bottom, and the cleat, along with the first and second cabinet portions are comprised substantially of powder coated wood products.

11. The storage configuration of claim 1 wherein the bracket is connected at an end of the cleat with the bracket having a bore aligned with an indication for positioning in front of a stud in the wall.

12. The storage configuration of claim 11 wherein the bracket further comprises a hook at a cantilevered end of the bracket supporting a portion of a closet rod.

13. The storage configuration of claim 1 wherein the cleat is further comprised of cleat portions disposed with an end of a first cleat portion oriented at an end of a second cleat portion while providing a horizontal plane across an uppermost portion of the shoulder.

14. The storage configuration of claim 13 wherein the first and second cleat portions meet at a right angle at a corner with the second cleat portion connected to a second wall.

15. The storage configuration of claim 14 further comprising a corner cabinet having a third planar vertical panel and a top and bottom connecting the third panel to the first panel, said third panel having a rear surface with a cutout defined between left and right faces, said third panel having a downwardly extending foot extending into the cutout received by the cleat in the gap when installed, with the rear surface of the third panel contacting the second wall when installed and the cleat extending past at least one of the left and right faces of the second wall.

16. The storage configuration of claim 1 wherein the cleat is symmetrically disposed relative to its height whereby a top and a bottom can provide the upper shoulder.

17. The storage configuration of claim 1 further comprising a receiver connected to the first panel receiving an end of a closet rod which extends away from the first panel.

18. The storage configuration of claim 1 further comprising at least one parallel cleat below the cleat, said parallel cleat at least assisting in supporting a closet rod.

19. A storage configuration comprising:

an elongated cleat having an upper shoulder spaced from a wall once installed, said cleat spanning at least two frame studs along the wall and having indications in the form of bores on a front surface at spaced intervals;

a first planar vertical wall panel having a rear surface with a cutout defined between left and right faces, said cutout having a downwardly extending foot received by the cleat, with the rear surface contacting the wall when installed with the cleat extending from at least one of the left and right faces of the wall; and

a shelf connected to the vertical wall panel.

20. The storage configuration of claim 19 wherein the first panel is connected by a top and a bottom to a third planar vertical panel, said third panel having a rear surface with a cutout defined between left and right faces, said first panel having a downwardly extending foot extending into the cutout received by the cleat in the gap when installed, with the rear surface of the first panel contacting the wall when installed and the cleat extending past at least one of the left and right faces of the wall thereby providing a first cabinet portion; and the shelf extends in a direction from the first panel opposite to the second panel with a rear of the shelf at least partially supported by the cleat.