How to Build a DIY Hanging Pot Rack

Lee has over two decades of hands-on experience remodeling, fixing, and improving homes, and has been providing home improvement advice for over 13 years.

Published on 04/22/22
Reviewed by

Deane Biermeier is an expert contractor with nearly 30 years of experience in all types of home repair, maintenance, and remodeling. He is a certified lead carpenter and also holds a certification from the EPA. Deane is a member of The Spruce’s Home Improvement Review Board.

Project Overview

• Working Time: 1 – 2 hrs
• Total Time: 4 – 6 hrs
• Yield: 4-foot by 2-foot hanging pot rack

• Skill Level: Beginner
• Estimated Cost: $40 to $75

Eliminate cabinet clutter—and wasted time spent rummaging around for a pan—with a DIY hanging pot rack.

Suspended by chains from the ceiling, this pot rack holds pots, pans, ladles, spatulas, and any kitchenware that can be hung from hooks. If you’d love to have a simple kitchen-organizing project that you can complete in one straight build, this is it.

DIY Pot Rack Design and Layout

At 4 feet long and about 2 feet wide, this pot rack uses 8-foot dimensional lumber. Choose your version, based on your kitchen and your preferences: clean and simple or heavier and more rustic.

You can use one-by-four boards for a thinner, airier appearance that emphasizes the kitchenware over the rack. It’s a clean, spare look. The boards can be painted to match the kitchen or painted with chalk paint or milk paint.

Another version uses two-by-fours that are distressed and stained for a chunkier, heavier rustic look similar to reclaimed wood.

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Safety Considerations

This pot rack should be attached to the ceiling only at ceiling joists. Do not attach the pot rack to the ceiling drywall. This may result in the pot rack falling and causing injury and damage.

Fully loaded, this pot rack can weigh upwards of 60 pounds, depending on the weight of the pots and pans. Look at the Safe Working Load (SWL) in the chain’s published specifications and make sure that it exceeds the expected combined weight.

What You’ll Need

Equipment / Tools

• Cordless drill
• Drill bits and drivers
• Drill bit countersink
• Electric miter saw
• Electric sander
• Tape measure
• Pencil
• Stud finder
• Pliers

Materials

• 2 one-by-fours or two-by-fours
• 2-inch wood screws
• 4 2-1/4-inch steel screw eye bolts
• 4 2-1/4-inch steel ceiling hooks or plant hooks
• Wood plugs
• Robe hooks
• Chain
• Desired finish (paint, stain, coating)
• Wood glue
• Sandpaper

Instructions

Cut the Wood

• (2) 48-inch pieces
• (2) 24-inch pieces
• (2) 22-1/2-inch pieces

Dry the Layout

Assemble the pot rack by laying the pieces together: two long pieces parallel, two 24-inch pieces at the ends, and two 22-1/2-inch pieces between the long pieces.

Attach the Perimeter Pieces

Screw the boards together by drilling two pilot holes through the ends of the 24-inch boards and into the ends of the 48-inch boards. Then follow up a 2-inch wood screw in each hole.

Tip

For a finished look that shows no fasteners, use the countersink bit to create the pilot hole and add a slight depression. The head of the screw should sink into the depression, later to be filled with the wood plug.

Build the Inner Framework

Add the two 22-1/2-inch pieces in the middle. Space them 16 inches. Screw them into place from the side with 2-inch wood screws through the 48-inch board and into the ends of each of the perpendicular boards. Use two screws per inner board.

Add the Wood Plugs

Fit wood plugs into the countersink holes with wood glue.

Sand the Rack

Use the electric sander with course-grit sandpaper to sand down the wood plugs flush with the level of the rest of the wood. Then, use #220 grit paper to sand the rest of the rack smooth.

Finish the Wood

Paint or stain the wood and allow to cure.

Add Robe Hooks

Determine where you will want the hooks. Screw robe hooks onto the boards.

Add Eyebolts

After creating pilot holes, add four eyebolts to the top of the pot rack at or near each of the frame’s corners. Position the tops of the eyebolts so that they are parallel with the long sides of the pot rack.

Find the Ceiling Joists

With the stud finder, locate two joists 48 inches apart. Joists should be 16 inches apart, so if your ceiling joists run perpendicular to your pot rack, you will find two joists this distance apart with two intervening joists that will not be used.

Add Ceiling Hooks

Drive two pilot holes 16, 24, or 32 inches apart from each other into the ceiling joists, depending on which direction your ceiling joists run. Repeat on the other side of the rack’s location 48 inches away. Screw the ceiling hooks in place, first by hand and then finishing with pliers until tight.

Hang the Pot Rack From Ceiling

Loop one section of chain through two of the eye bolts. Repeat on the other side. Attach the chains to the ceiling hooks.

Tip

Leave the chain about a foot or two longer than expected. Hang the pot rack, experimenting with different heights. Cut the chain when you find the perfect height.

Rustic DIY Pot Rack Using Two-by-Four Boards

Make a few adjustments for a pot rack with heavier dimensions and an older look.

Wood Cutting

• (2) 48-inch pieces
• (2) 24-inch pieces
• (2) 21-inch pieces

Attaching Boards

Because the boards are thicker than one-by-fours, use 2-1/2-inch long screws to assemble the framework.

Texture

• Hit the wood gently with chain (you can even use the chain you purchased to hang it)
• Pockmark with a nail
• Rub with a wire brush
• Scrape with a wood chisel
• Round off edges and corners with rough sandpaper

Finishing

Instead of painting, stain the wood and leave it uncoated. Or try shou sugi ban (yakisugi), an ancient method of preserving wood with an open flame.