# Down stairs bathroom cabinets.



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

The finish aspect of the down bath has finally started the woodworking phase with the building of the medicine cabinet. I decided to go with cherry for the bath just for a break from the walnut that I usually go with. Pic 1 was deciding on the how it would be built and with which pieces. I processed the wood and decided on lipped overlay for the construction of the door Pic 2 & 3. Pic 4 is the completed door with mirror.

The building of cabinets is a first for me and is being a bit of a challenge. It has all begun with the corner medicine cabinet as mentioned and has turned out very well with a few exceptions.

The base will be built in place (Pic 5) and presents some challenges, the first is the drain is too low, wonder who did that? I had the base and plywood in place when I decided the base was too low and needed to be raised about 2", well this has left the drain rough-in too low for the trap to fit within the cabinet, so what to do? Well I will just have to figure that out. Options will be cut it into the floor of the cabinet or raise it in the wall (Pic 6) there will be challenges doing either but that will have to wait, my sister-in-law arrives tomorrow and things will go on hold for the rest of the week.


----------



## rejames (Feb 27, 2011)

Good job Jerry! Looks like you are off to a good start. The Cabinet looks Great!


----------



## Noob (Apr 18, 2009)

I wouldn't have known that was your first cabinet if you wouldn't have said it.


----------



## 01stairguy (Apr 18, 2010)

good job!


----------



## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

By golly Jerry, I think you gettin' the hang of it!!!


----------



## mac_y44 (Feb 1, 2011)

You can set up with slip nut 90's or 45' on the drain inside the cabinet if you want. Only you will know it is this way. I looked at the pictures before I read the post and that was one thing I seen (drain to low), probably the fitter/plumber in me.

Kevin


----------



## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Not being a plumber so just a "guess' here...

couldn't you elbow upwards off of the drain line, just enough to elbow back to where you would have enough clearance for a trap?


----------



## N'awlins77 (Feb 25, 2011)

*NICE, Jerry! I'm waiting on a new sink that I had to order to come in, then I am going to commence on building 3 pieces. Actually started on one.*


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Fixed the plumbing today, now to get it all back together. Something about wanting it to look right to me. I really don't think I am a perfectionist and compared to my Dad I'm not, but there is some of that in me so I choose the harder fix. Kevin I think next time I will PM you to get some plumbing advice!!!


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

This past week has been hectic to say the least!! My sister-in-law and her husband were here for four days, he is a fellow woodworker from Ohio. He brought me 75bf of cherry to be used in the down bath which brings me to this update.

The drain problem is fixed so yesterday I squared and plumbed the body of the vanity and today I will begin processing the cherry for the face of the cabinet. Pic 1&2 are the temporary corners that I am using to establish the corners of the final cherry fronts. I needed something besides "air" to establish the corners of the face of the cabinet. Pics 3&4 the material to be processed to build the cabinet.


----------



## Capt Splinter (Dec 30, 2008)

Looks great Jerry! Keep those pics coming.


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Yesterday I dry fit the face frame into the jig (pic 1) I laid out on my work bench and today glued it up, I used dowels, still have not mastered the mortising tool. Pic 2 I glued up the frame using the jig to keep things square. Pic 3 sanding the frame getting it ready to fit. The mask is a result if my brother-in-law's recent visit. He is a retired doctor and just has real concerns regarding breathing the dust and fumes from chemicals, so I got the mask. Pic's 4&5 first coat of finish.

Sorry the last are out of order because they were taken before the finish but I got things mixed up during the "managing attachments" phase. 

I got the sides and face frame finished today (Pic 6-9). The three remaining cuts are the most critical parts the 22.5d cuts at the face frame and end panels. The cuts are made using the table saw (Pic 10) with patients and care. If this angle is not done correctly then there is a gaping crack top to bottom for all to see. I may have had a 1/32" to play with, but not much more. It went together well.


----------



## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

keep it up, Jerry.

Can't wait for the finished pics...

great work so far.


----------



## tdublyou (Jan 8, 2010)

Jerry,
Looking great. You're doing a fantastic job. Keep it up, we're looking forward to the finished product.


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Almost finished the sides and face, the attached pics are with them assembled and where they will be. I am pleased with how the corners have come out, it could have been much worse. I think I will order the top and sink tomorrow.


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

It has been 8 days since my last post and I have been so busy as of late by the time I get to the computer it is ,as now, after midnight. I had finished the basic vanity and ordered the top, it will be installed this week. The doors are ready to be fitted and then I will finish them. Actually I discovered during the dry set up that the doors were 1.5 inches undersized, but being my first attempt at make an inset door with the stiles and rails. All in all I learned a good lesson.

Pic 1 is the cabinet less doors basically finished.
Pic 2 they look good except for being 1 1/2" too narrow!!
Pic 3 I found the pieces I,d cut off the inserts and glued them back. The panels are solid cherry
Pic 4 doors are now ready for installation and finishing.
Pic 5 the inside cabinet edge where the hinge mounts looked unfinished to me so
Pic 6 I added a piece and now it looks like I want it to in Pic 7 .
Pic 8-10 I wanted a softer round over so I ran the doors through horizontal and then vertical to the fence.

I want to get the plywood at the back painted, plastic laminate on the bottom, the doors fitted and ready to hang as soon as the finishing is done. Well it's 2:45 and I have had enough for today---or was it yesterday????


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Doors have been fitted (Pic 1)and are being finished, top to be in tomorrow. After getting that plumbed in I will start on shelf behind commode. Last will be cabinets in alcove to left of commode (Pic 2)


----------



## Tommyt654 (Apr 5, 2009)

Looks good Jerry, Who's that guy behind the mask sanding stuff in your shop


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Tommyt654 said:


> Looks good Jerry, Who's that guy behind the mask sanding stuff in your shop


My evil twin!! Top should deliver tomorrow


----------



## N'awlins77 (Feb 25, 2011)

NICE job Jerry!


----------



## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

Looks great, Jerry!


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Finished all but some trim on the vanity, here are a few pictures. I am quite pleased with how it has turned out for a first try. I will do the shelf and then the cabinet.


----------



## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Jerry,

re "quite pleased".... If that was my first attempt I would be much more that please.

Great job.


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

I will be stopping with the completion of the shelf and towel and TP holder until we get back from our trip beginning the end of May. 

For now I will be finishing the cabinet, medicine and shelf. I am attaching pictures of the shelf and trim around it. I realized when the top was ordered that it would be the same height as the shelf (Pic 1&2) and would never look or finish out correctly, so the logical thing was to raise the shelf (Pic 3). (Pic 4) is finishing the shelf and trim areas, installing the shelf has presented a few challenges, getting the corners to pull in has been a total headache, and looks like--- well it looks bad!!!

Pic 5,7&8 are the TP holder, towel racks will be similar. The last pics are fitting everything together, all looked good till nails were added this opened the corners by a 32'd or so. I will give myself some time to come up with a way to correct this or I will rip it all out and start again!! Any suggestions out there?


----------



## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

HI Jerry

Looks like a great place for a small cabinet to match the other sink cabinet for storage for items needed in that room, just pickup a nice TP holder and insert it into the dry wall, to the right of the john..
Just cut a hole out for the outlet and you can plug them in inside the cabinet, like for your hair dryer.. LOL 


=======




xplorx4 said:


> I will be stopping with the completion of the shelf and towel and TP holder until we get back from our trip beginning the end of May.
> 
> For now I will be finishing the cabinet, medicine and shelf. I am attaching pictures of the shelf and trim around it. I realized when the top was ordered that it would be the same height as the shelf (Pic 1&2) and would never look or finish out correctly, so the logical thing was to raise the shelf (Pic 3). (Pic 4) is finishing the shelf and trim areas, installing the shelf has presented a few challenges, getting the corners to pull in has been a total headache, and looks like--- well it looks bad!!!
> 
> Pic 5,7&8 are the TP holder, towel racks will be similar. The last pics are fitting everything together, all looked good till nails were added this opened the corners by a 32'd or so. I will give myself some time to come up with a way to correct this or I will rip it all out and start again!! Any suggestions out there?


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

That would be one solution however when we planed out this bathroom we designated the space to the left of the commode (see Pic 1) to contain a base cabinet 34" wide x 22" deep x 36" high with at least 2 deep drawers for blankets, pillows and the like above that will be a wall case 12" deep with two doors and shelves as needed. The area above the shelf in question we have considered making into a false window window with a scene from the Colorado high country. That would have been a good solution had Honey not set her mind on the window thing.

BTW have you heard from Lavon lately?


----------



## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Jerry

Levon , not a word he got piss off and said that's it for him..  he is just down the road from you ,maybe drop him a note.. by the way have you heard from Bob N lately ? , just one more good one gone down the same road also too I think.

By the way a picture of a JEEP on a dirt road in the high country, would look great, I saw one at a auto dealer the other day and I though of you when I saw it.. 


========



xplorx4 said:


> That would be one solution however when we planed out this bathroom we designated the space to the left of the commode (see Pic 1) to contain a base cabinet 34" wide x 22" deep x 36" high with at least 2 deep drawers for blankets, pillows and the like above that will be a wall case 12" deep with two doors and shelves as needed. The area above the shelf in question we have considered making into a false window window with a scene from the Colorado high country. That would have been a good solution has Honey not set her mind on the window thing.
> 
> BTW have you heard from Lavon lately?


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Bob and I talk from time to time and get together now and again I don't ask and he doesn't say why he left.


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Still making progress, the shelf is finished (Pic 1) and it is fairly well done, as usual I am learning things with each new venture. The remaining pics 2-4 are the TP holder, hand towel rack and double bath towel rack. Pic 5 is the nest area to spruce up where we have arranged for a future stacked washer/dryer.

The to/do list is still quite long, but the bath room is open for business (excuse the pun) and will get done later this summer.


----------



## N'awlins77 (Feb 25, 2011)

*Really nice Jerry! I wish my bathroom was that big that I'm redoing. On the upside, I can redo my floors with one box of tiles and have spares!! LOL*


----------



## TRN_Diesel (Feb 24, 2009)

Nicely done Jerry! Looks like you are well on your way to mastering cabinets. Did you buy that book I recommended to you for cabinet making? If so how did you like it?


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Yes I did and it was great, good to hear from you again.


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

It as been a while since posting on progress down stairs. We have decided to go with a built in door and drawer cabinet. The boxes are fabricated (Pic 1) built from prefinished birch. There are two large drawers at the bottom 13" high x 16" deep and 28" wide. There are 4 shelves, the top shelf will be separate from the bottom three shelves. The door and drawer construction will be the same as the vanity using a lipped overlay. For now things have slowed to a crawl as the latest equipment is being added to the basement and shop I will be posting that in the lobby, it isn't show and tell and not DIY.


----------



## mailee (Nov 11, 2005)

Thanks for showing us the build on these Jerry they look great.


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Finally got the doors done, well almost done, still need to do some fitting and tweaking to get them where I want them. Next will be the two drawer units, never made drawers before so it will be a challenge. The drawer faces will be about 14.5" high and 32.5" wide. These drawers will be for storing pillows and blankets.

The blue tape is because I will need to paint in the next week or so. I will also need to move the towel rack to the left or move it all together to another wall.

I hope to have this completed in the next week or so, fat chance that will happen!!! I may be slow but I'm sloppy:haha::haha:


----------



## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Waiting for a pictorial on the drawers, Jerry. LOL

This project has really kept you busy.


----------



## Dr.Zook (Sep 10, 2004)

Where's the magazine rack at Jerry? You gotta have a place for your wood working magazines.


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

The shelf behind the john.


----------



## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Jerry

Now that's a man's library  one could spend hours in that one just as long your legs don't go to sleep that is 

===



xplorx4 said:


> The shelf behind the john.


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Plus it is only a few feet from the shop!!!!:haha::haha::haha:


----------



## darrink (Sep 7, 2009)

I am going to have to remodel one bathroom and move another one. The remodel I will do myself since it is a small guest bathroom. I hope mine turns out as good as yours did Jerry, becasue it looks great.


----------



## Funwitwood (Sep 8, 2011)

*Thanks for the photographs*

The work looks great and thanks for all the photo's, very interesting. I hope to tackle such a large project someday.


----------



## jlord (Nov 16, 2009)

Hi Jerry,
Your bathroom project looks great. Nice job!


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Thank you all for the comments, it has been a challenging project and I have enjoyed and learned a lot from it. The drawers are the next big step for me, the openings measure 30" wide, 13 1/2" high and 17" deep and the drawer bodies will be 1/2" poplar, the drawer bottoms will be 1/2" prefinished birch plywood. I have used this type of prefinished plywood for the cabinet bodies, but all the fascia, doors and drawer are all solid cherry. 

I am looking forward to finishing this project, want to get back to the stools and boxes made from multiple species of wood, I like the way they turn out.


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Well the project is making headway,The drawer bodies are poplar with the bottoms being aromatic cedar, these drawers will be used for blanket and pillow storage

Pic 1&2 I used dove tail construction and am pleased with how well the Akeda jig works, I like the ease of setting it up but it does not give one enough flexibility in the size of the dove-tails.

Pics 3,4,5,6 The cabinets, I still need to attach the knob, the bottom two openings are for the drawers.

Pics 7&11 the inside bottom of the drawers is cedar, one thing I experienced is when the cedet gets close to 3/8" it will split with little or no encouragement, at least this did.

Pic 8 I have begun to get the hang of using a scraper and really like the results. I will be using them more and more.

Pics 9,10,12 this last August we added A/C and heat in the basement area. There is the one outside unit with three separate evaporators, one in each room. This way I have cooling and heating without sending dust upstairs.

Sorry this is so mixed up but I had to step away for about 5 minutes or more and everything was mixed up.


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Sorry this got posted twice, someone with the power please delete the second post. Wierd things going on here at my house!!!


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

The project is nearly finished and I am ready for it to be, I have finished the cabinets in the alcove and am overall pleased with the results. We have four shelves and two large drawers that are cedar lined for storage of whatever Honey wants to store. Pics 1-5 are the complete, nearly complete still have to fabricate and install the trim.

The last 2 photos shows the rough-ins for a stacked washer and dryer, for now I have built a fascia for it, it will be painted same color as the existing walls, with white trim.


----------



## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Excellent craftsmanship, fantastic choice of wood. Just a great job Jerry. 
I've got a spare room downstairs that could use your touch  

b.


----------



## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Jerry

Looking good  nice job,,,,May I suggest one thing a open bottom end cabinet so you can hide the hose(s) and the power cords and still close the cabinet door..I think a 4" deep box would do the trick..but that's just my 2 cents  by the way no drawer guides on the big drawers  why.. or did I miss that..

===



xplorx4 said:


> Sorry this got posted twice, someone with the power please delete the second post. Wierd things going on here at my house!!!


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

bobj3 said:


> Hi Jerry
> 
> Looking good  nice job,,,,May I suggest one thing a open bottom end cabinet so you can hide the hose(s) and the power cords and still close the cabinet door..I think a 4" deep box would do the trick..but that's just my 2 cents  by the way no drawer guides on the big drawers  why.. or did I miss that..
> 
> ===


Thank you for your encouragement, one question--what hose and power cord are we talking about?

The drawers have 100# glides mounted on the bottom corners.


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Utility covering now painted. One more coat of paint in bathroom, some trim and shoe molding and I will call it done.


----------



## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Jerry

hahahahahaha, what are all the items on the wall for looks ? didn't you say a washer and dryer hook up.. ?
It's true I don't see the drain hose hook up for the washer but you must have one near by right.

=======



xplorx4 said:


> Thank you for your encouragement, one question--what hose and power cord are we talking about?
> 
> The drawers have 100# glides mounted on the bottom corners.


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

The drain is in the recess between the hot and cold water, just below the dryer outlet. We do not plan a stacked washer/dryer for the foreseeable future but we still wanted the option of putting one down there. In the event we were to put the washer/dryer in there the cover I have to hide the services would be removed, just six screws, and that would give access to the services. Hope that clears things up.


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

*Done*

Sorry to resurrect this old thing but after nearly a year it is done. There have been many interruptions along the way but it is done. So some parting shots of the bath:


----------



## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

Hi Jerry,
I had not seen this thread so I'm glad you gave a final post. I went from the very beginning and enjoyed the pictures as you progressed through the build. 

Great looking cherry with lots of character, and a very nice looking bath by the time it was all finished.

Mike


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Thank you for your comments, it was a fun though drawn out project.


----------

