If the road to H-E-double-hockey-sticks is paved with good intentions, DIYers like me are doing much of the paving. At the start of my bathroom-remodeling project, I was intent on doing my first real woodworking job by building a custom vanity.
But the vanity kept getting pushed to the bottom of the to-do list. I was too busy moving a bathroom wall, creating a tiled wet room for a shower and bath and building a separate room for a toilet and double vanity.
By the time I was forced to focus on the vanity (because it was holding up progress on the rest of the project), I realized I had underestimated how time-consuming its construction would be. If I didn’t want to lose my momentum, I’d need a little help from my friends — in this case, IKEA, Rockler Woodworking and Hardware and Mike Connor, a Club member and Minneapolis contractor.
Though I briefly considered breaking down and buying a prefabricated unit one panicky day, I came to my senses after checking some prices. Instead, I compromised by building just the base and face frame, which I attached to IKEA cabinets. Then I completed the project with Rockler’s manufactured doors, drawers, drawer fronts and hinges. The result was perfect: I gained a good introduction to woodworking without biting off more than I could chew. Here’s how you can follow my lead to create a great-looking custom vanity without the stress of doing it all yourself.
Step 1: Buy and assemble cabinets. The vanity needed to fill a 65-in.-wide space. The plan was simple: A granite vanity top would fit over three cabinets. I purchased inexpensive cabinets from IKEA, two 24-in.-wide units and one 15-in.-wide unit that would hold three drawers. The face frame would cover the extra inch on each side.
Step 2: Build the base (photo 1). We used 2x4s placed directly on the subfloor, which saved on tile costs. The base (3-1/2 in. high) plus the cabinets (30-1/2 in.) plus the granite (1 in. thick) created a vanity that was 35 in. high. When you build the base, make it shallower than the cabinets to create a kick space (3 3/4 in. in this case).
Step 3. Mount the cabinets on the base (photo 2). Cut holes for plumbing before mounting. Shim as needed; then screw the cabinets together.
Step 4. Build framing for a backsplash (photo 3). This is optional. We screwed DenShield Tile Backer to the framing to create a water-resistant base for tile.
Step 5. Build the face frame. We purchased lengths of 1x3 red oak from a home-improvement store and then measured and cut according to the vanity plan. The plan was uncomplicated (two doors, two tilt-outs, three drawers) and designed to fit the floor space, accommodate storage needs and complement the features of the new bathroom.
This step posed a big question: What’s the best way to join the 1x3 lengths and then attach the face frame to the cabinets? Although biscuit joining a few pieces (photo 4) worked, we found using pocket screws (photo 5) installed with a Kreg Jig Jr. to be the best approach. (Frankly, the pocket screws made me look like a more skilled woodworker than I can claim to be.) The kit is easy to use: Just clamp the jig to the piece and drill holes using the bit that comes with the kit. The holes angle from one piece into the adjoining piece. Then you use a Kreg driver to tighten the pocket screws, which end up below the surface. The resulting joint is very strong.
Step 6. Attach the face frame to cabinets. Shooting nails through the front would have marred the appearance of the face frame, so we again used pocket screws. We drilled holes in the cabinet walls from inside the cabinets (photo 6) and then drove screws that were just long enough to fasten the pieces without protruding through the face frame. This approach produced a strong bond while hiding the fasteners when we mounted the face frame (photo 7).
Step 7. Order doors, drawers and drawer fronts. You know those old westerns where the bugle blares and the cavalry comes riding in? This was the step when I cued the cavalry. As nice as it would have been to take my time and build the doors, drawers and drawer fronts myself, at this point I just wanted to complete the remodel as soon as possible.
So it was with great relief that I called Rockler. Patient advisors walked me through all the details of ordering. After referring to Rockler’s catalogue and Web site, I gave the advisor the exact measurements of the openings as well as my choice of wood (red oak), style of doors and drawer fronts (mitered, flat-panel with a single bead), and type of drawer slides and hinges (Silentia 110-degree face-frame inset hinges). Doors and drawer fronts were made to the size I ordered, with a tolerance of 1/16 in. The dovetailed drawer boxes were 1/2-in. red oak, made with a tolerance of 1/32 in. Rockler advisors suggested that I replace the faux drawers I had planned to attach above the doors with functional tilt-outs, which I did.
The only downside to ordering all of these components is that it typically takes a few weeks for Rockler to fill the order. However, this gave me time to complete the zillion little tasks involved in finishing the remodel. And in terms of workmanship and beauty, the results were well worth the wait.
Step 8. Assemble drawers and install drawer slides. Assembly was easy; I just applied glue and tapped the dovetailed drawer parts together (photo 8). When hammering, I used a block of scrap wood as a cushion to avoid damaging the drawer; then I wiped off any excess glue.
The slide rollers have to be screwed to the bottom corner edges of the drawers. When it came to installing the slides, we found that the drawers filled the face-frame opening but were narrower than the cabinet width. We ripped some scrap lumber on a table saw and screwed the slides to these pieces. Then we fastened the pieces to the cabinet walls at the exact height where the drawers would slide (photo 9).
Step 9. Apply finish. I applied stain and two to three coats of polyurethane to the face frame, doors and drawer fronts.
Step 10. Install the drawer fronts. This called for some creativity. To position the drawer fronts so that the reveal was equal on all sides, the drawers had to be closed. But to mark that position before screwing the fronts in place, we had to slide each drawer open, which invariably caused the drawer front to slip in our grasp. The solution: two-sided carpet tape (photo 10). We attached strips of tape to the drawer, removed the plastic strip to expose the other sticky side and pressed the drawer front in place. The tape holds the front in position while you slide out the drawer, mark the box edges on the back of the drawer front and then screw the front to the box from the inside. The credit cards shown in photo 10 were handy in setting the reveal on top and bottom.
Step 11. Hang the doors and tilt-outs. This process is a good introduction to installing hinges and appreciating the engineering involved in creating them. Following the Rockler directions, we used a Forstner bit, taped to indicate the depth needed to create a cup on the door for the concealed hinge (photo 11). Then we placed the hinge in the cup and secured it to the door with screws (photo 12). To install the tilt-outs, we simply screwed their special hinges to the sides of the cabinets according to the directions (photo 13).
Step 12. Install knobs. This simply involves drilling through the doors and drawer fronts at the positions of your choice and then fastening the knobs by tightening screws from the inside.
Building a vanity in this fashion — with a little help from “friends” — isn’t for the purist, the woodworker who wants the satisfaction of building an entire piece. But this kind of construction is good for the rest of us, those who don’t yet have the time or tools or skills to do it A to Z. It’s a realistic approach that produces praiseworthy results. And you can build on what you’ve learned to create more complex projects in the future.