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Laundry Room Cupboards / Cabinets |
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The laundry room was one of the
rooms that had been damaged when the main bathroom
sink had
sprung a leak between December 2012 and
January 2013. After the contractor had repaired the
damaged wall, I painted the room. I had already
planned to make and install cupboards in this room
so I did not paint these areas of the wall to save
on paint.
The width of the area that I planned to hang the
cupboards was 90" across. I wanted the
cupboards high enough so that if a frontloading
washer on a pedestal was purchased in the future, it
would fit easily under the cupboards. It also
had to be high enough to accommodate a top loaded
washer's door being opened. In the past we had
wire shelves in the room that were too low. We
had to pull the washer away from the wall about a
foot so we could clear the washer lid from the wire
shelves. That left a lot of wasted space in
the laundry room. I wanted to be able to push
the washer and dryer closer to the wall. The
height I decided on for the cupboards was 36" with a
depth of 18".
There would be three cupboards measuring 30" wide
hung on a French cleat. |
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I wanted
the cupboards to be strong and sturdy so
boxes could be stored in them. So I
decided to make them with 3/4" thick
plywood.
After working out the design in my computer
program, I purchased the plywood and cut the
pieces to size.
I usually buy 4' x 8' plywood and have the
major cuts done at the hardware store. It is
difficult for me to rip a piece of plywood
on my table saw without help. Also, unless I tie the
4' x 8' board down on top of my SUV, I have
no other way to get it home. So having
the boards cut down to more manageable sizes
makes it easier for me to load into the back
of the vehicle.
I do not have a work bench. My kitchen
counter has become my temporary work bench. |
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The kitchen will be the last room
renovated in the house so the old laminate counter
top will become history.
The frame for the first cupboard is pictured above.
I decided to only have one
removable shelf inside of each cupboard so I made
ledges for the shelf to sit on. All of the
pieces were glued first and then held together with
clamps after I made sure all of the sides were
square. When the glue was dry, I nailed all of
the pieces together.
The bottom shelf of the cupboard is inserted in a dado and I used
rabbets to join the top to the sides. I still
do not have a router. I made the dadoes and
the rabbets by making multiple passes on my table
saw. All of which I learned how to do watching YouTube videos.
The back of the each cabinet was finished off with
1/4" plywood. I made the doors to the cupboards
the same way I did the cabinet doors for my
hearth
shelves using 1/2" blondewood, moulding around the
edges, and beadboard wallpaper. The three
inside shelves were made with 1/2" plywood.
I painted each cupboard and attached the doors while
the cupboards were on the floor. Then removed
the doors prior to hanging. The top half of
the French cleat was screwed into the back of each
cupboard. The lower half of the French cleat
was mounted on the wall in the studs with 2 1/2"
screws. |
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With a French cleat I knew I would
not be able to get the cupboard flush with the
ceiling which was OK because I intended to put
moulding at the top.
I was glad I had decided on
using this hanging method. The cupboards were heavy
once they were finished. I had just enough
strength to slide the cupboard up onto the wall
until the back of it hooked on the cleat. I
then slid the first cabinet over into the corner. Pieces
of wood were added at the bottom of the cabinet to
make the cabinet parallel to the wall.
Yes, that is a piece of pipe insulation material and
duct tape below on the washing machine hoses.
The original hoses were replaced after the wall
repairs were done. The hoses were a little
stiff and unruly. The insulation keeps the
hoses in place.
I hung the final two cabinets in place. Yes,
it was a snug fit. |
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The photograph below shows the
three cupboard in place with the cupboard doors
placed back on. The moulding at this point had
not been added yet. |
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The
photograph above shows the completed
cupboards after moulding had been added at
the ceiling, along the bottom, between the
corner cupboards and the walls, and between
each cupboard. The moulding was then
caulked and painted.
The photo on the left shows another view of
the completed laundry room from the doorway.
There is a sink and a toilet on the other
side of the room.
I still want to add moulding around the
ceiling in the laundry room but I have not done
this yet. |
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