closetshelving
I am new to DIY/home improvement, and I want to update my closet. There is a 2×4 going across the width of the back wall. It doesn't seem essential. Do builders usually add support beams across the middle of a closet or is this likely the remnants of an old shelf? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Plywood will not sag over time if you intend to use it for the door faces. I recommend birch plywood for not only its hardness but looks. However your hinges and what they are attached to are the big concern in this project. It looks like you've used a low grade pine to build the unit. This is a soft wood and a couple of cabinet hinges screwed into this are going to loosen quickly. Your best chance for longevity is to use a piano hinge so that you have a continuous hinge from top to bottom with 15 screws or more on each hinge. I highly recommend ordering a stainless steel or flat nickel piano hinge for this. What they have in stock at the box stores is of the "bright" variety and looks cheap to me.
I'd also recommend that you not attempt to build the door to be perfectly flush with the "lip" at the bottom. Leave yourself 1/4 of an inch gap. Units like these always sag at least to some degree and you wind up with the door scratching the "lip" and its going to look really bad with time.
Also take a look at ball catches to use either at the top or bottom of the doors to hold them in place once closed.
Since you want to have the drywall piece be 5" high I think you will want to have backer behind it for its full height. Consider making it 5.5" high and then using a piece of 2x6 lumber (that comes 5.5 inches wide) as the backer piece. Cut a couple of pieces to straddle across the bottom of this opening at the back and middle to hold up the shelf the full length. To install the front backer piece pre-drill clearance holes through the 2x6 that let your screws slide in place. Then use screws about 3" long to secure through the existing drywall at the corners. This will end up surprisingly strong! See picture below.
The trick to get the 2x6 to screw in place would be to start two screws from each end on each side (eight screws total) and tighten them down evenly and gradually. Make sure to stagger the pre-drilled holes from side to side of the 2x6 on each end so that the screws do not collide with each other as they enter the existing corner studs.
Best Answer
Those 2x4's are almost certainly the remnants of a previous shelf support and are certainly not structural elements.
You can safely remove them.