I am looking to build a vanity for my bathroom and was looking for ideas. Google searches of this group don't come up with much in the way of past discussions, and I obviously can't search the pictures group.
I will probably build a double-sink vanity, but would be interested to see examples for single-sink styles as well. I know I can look at commercial vanities online for ideas, but I was wondering if anybody here has built their own vanity for their bathroom. It would be great if anybody had a link to pictures on their website or could post some pictures in a.b.p.woodworking group.
Mark Blum wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news-central.giganews.com:
Mark, I built one for each of the bathrooms in our home. The first one was L-shaped, and replaced the one that collapsed under the weight of one of my sons, shortly before Thanksgiving, 5 years ago or so. Learned a lot from that one. Not all those lessons are easily, either. Built that one with a Shopsmith. Not doing that again. There's a Unisaw in the shop now, and no Mustang coupe.
Last summer, I finally built one for the master bath. It isn't perfect, but it is a major improvement over what was there when we bought the house (23 years after it was built). Maple, with some cherry trim, and ceramic tile counter top. We're taller than most, so this one was taller, too. Shakerish in style, with eight drawers, and a large area underneath the single sink. I've taken no pictures yet, because the rest of the bathroom isn't quite finished yet.
Thoughts to consider:
Make certain you plan for any needed changes in running plumbing. I reinstalled this cabinet twice, because I needed to move the drain lines and water supply lines. And re-sheetrock the back wall. Twice.
Check how tall you _really_ want the sink to be. Mine's a bit taller than I originally 'planned'...
Validate how deep the sink will be inset from the front lip of the counter. This is another dimension I'd change in the next go around. Ours is set further in than I really like.
Discuss long and hard the type of counter you want to live with. I think I would consider a solid surface job by a pro, in the next go around. Grouting should not take three or four days, but it seemed to.
My wife shows it off to almost everyone who comes to the house. Make certain that your skills and/or ego can deal with that experience.
From tearing out the shower to (mostly) completing the dressing area took most of four months of spare time, and using the hall bathroom instead. You may go faster, but I had a lot of spare time this last year, and still didn't.
Good luck. Check lots of sources. Write your project schedules down, and don't get too far out of order, or you'll need to store things, or wait for varnishes to dry at inopportune times...
Patriarch, thinking about a kitchen or two. Maybe.
I did mine out of my head. Basically a box with holes cut in to accommodate the sink and water lines. You might look up general cupboard construction; rails and stiles etc.. Don't forget a foot recess either. After that, it's whatever you want. Mine fits a ratehr small bathroom, so I had to taper it from the door. Cupboard doors fit to the holes [with allowance of course]. That was some time back, and I'm redoing it pretty soon. I just bought the paint. This time around the doors will be outside, not flush inside, and will have raise panels instead of the previous flat.
Google helps. Here's a carcase construction detail:
I did a small powder room one. It is shaped like an oval 'bass drum'. The sides are flexible ply covered in oak veneer with a solid oak, oval ring around the bottom and an oval top with oval sink. There is an attached, framed mirror as well. I made a matching curved shelf for behind the toilet/bidet.
I made a much more standard one for the master with 2 sinks in a flat counter, with a cherry front edge and arborite. There is a single cabinet with 3 drawers underneath, between the sinks, also in cherry to match (well sort of) our cherry Bedroom suite.
I'm working on one for the main bath now with a side pedestal and shaped counter. Construction will be similar to the powder room.
I would recommend the curved 'drum' approach if you want something STRONG and not too hard to make. (router/table saw/sandpaper)
Either way, bathroom cabinets are fairly easy and can add a very rich appearance to the bathroom.
Looks like lots of good advice here; I have a couple of "other" category things to add, I think.
If the sink is "hung", un-hang it. Much easier to get the sink out for faucet replacement, etc. And remove the brace it was hung on. If it's not hung, no sweat.
Height, as someone mentioned is good to consider. IFF it's feasible, but be sure it's not the only bathroom in the house or you'll go "out of spec" for many people. I'm very tall and arthritic: I put my sink at MY height so I didn't have to bend to brush teeth, lean on it to shave, etc.. But the main sink is at the standard height. Turned out most everyone like the height of MY sink though; it was the most popular one in the house, except for young kids.
Test fit as many of the harder to measure areas as possible before actual construction. It'll save days of misery.
Don't forget the toe space. Don't forget the electrical if necessary. I build cabinets above mine so those things mattered. Don't forget the GFCI's! I dropped my electric razor into the running water once; no sweat, the GFCI just turned it off.
Be sure to consider any possible interference with mirrors, holders etc. around it. Some may have to be moved, depending.
Enjoy the work; it'll be there to look at for a long time if it works out well and you'll be proud of it.
I built a double for my master bath along with two medicine cabinets, two towel cabinets, and a hamper. There is nothing unique about them, they look just like stock cabinets with raised panel doors that you would get at the home center. They are probably a little heavier and sturdier and the towel cabinets were sized to fit niches unique to this bath. That is why I chose to build them, to not have to choose a stock dimension and block in the wasted space.
(1) What woodworking skills do you have ? (2) What tools do you have ? (3) Do you have basic plumbing skills ? (4) Will you need to move wires ?
A basic vanity is fairly easy project, but you got to put on a top and you must do some plumbing.
You will also be moving wires and pipes around.
Go to Lowes or Home Depot. They both have books with any number of plans on building a basic vanity. Just remember, every single bathroom is different, so you will have to adjust your plans.
How are your drawer building skills ? How are your door building skills ?
Here is a basic version:
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you are building this to save money, forget it and go to Lowes/HD and buy one.
If you want a challenge and you want to develop your skills, this is a pretty easy job.
Got a "backup" bathroom till the project is done ?
Something I had done which I found to be very handy was to put the drawers of the vanity BELOW the cupboards. It might not be as much of an issue with a two-sink version where you can have a drawer in between the sinks, but in my single sink version the sink prevented me from having a drawer at all. Undaunted, I decided to make it "up-side-down" and put the drawers on the bottom. Granted, the sink hangs down somewhat into the middle cupboard, but I just put shorter stuff into that one.
Thanks Dave, I had already saved a link to yours some time ago and it looks great. Make sure you update that page with the finished install.
Something more elegant such as yours is what I had in mind, although I don't want to go down the curved front route. I can easily construct a basic vanity along the lines of kitchen cabinets, but wanted something more distinctive that a basic cabinet carcase.
Good job on your vanity Josh. I had considered drawers at the bottom and it is nice to see an example from somebody. Even if I do a double I might put drawers down there to maximize storage.
I'm a fairly accomplished woodworker and feel comfortable tackling just about anything.
My shop is reasonably well-equipment with pretty much everything, machine and power tools. Only piece of major equipment I don't have is a lathe.
I have both basic plumbing and electrical skills.
I plan on replacing my current vanity, a circa 1965-style standard vanity. I am looking to build something distintive and/or elegant, something more than just a basic vanity.
That should be no problem.
I am well familiar with the assaults on the best-laid plans that renovations entail. ;-) Most books only have basic plans for woodworkers of modest skill. I like to think I have the skill to tackle something a bit more distinctive.
Both are fairly solid.
Nope, I build them myself to get good quality construction tailored to my needs (I built all of my bedroom and family room furniture). I'm not trying to beat the cost of the particle board stuff you can buy.
That's a nice vanity DJ. With no storage in the vanity, how do you handle storage of the various toiletries and items in the bathroom? Did you add any medicine cabinets or the like since those pictures were taken?
Well, it's my dad's bathroom, so I don't handle it at all ;-)
In his case, though, there's a closet opposite the sinks that contains ample shelving and storage, and a laundry hamper. The original design included a shelf underneath, resting on a square lip just at the bottom of the long ogee in the middle of each leg. They decided to skip that, figuring they'd rather look at the tiles than an accumulation of stuff.
Here are some pictures of a vanity I built for our master bath a few years ago. Designed by me with *much* guidance from SWMBO. I.e., she said what she wanted, and I complied. :-) By the way, she loves them, and all her girlfriends are jealous. There are numerous important details that I'd be happy to provide if anyone has an interest.
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following image was taken without the flash, to show off the grain. In person, the whole surface appears more like the vertically-oriented parts of this picture than the picture above. It's pretty...
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are some progress pics:
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are the same pictures as above, in a larger format (each is about
135kB).
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