Vanity makeover instructions

So as promised in my previous post, I will now provide you with the instructions on how I managed to complete this project.  It is quite simple actually.   For starters you need to have a vision of what you want your vanity to look like.  I went with the shaker style door, as this was the easiest to complete.  If you are planning to include a more detailed trim, it will be more difficult. 

I purchased pieces of 1/4" x 2 1/2" x 4' poplar at Home Depot.  These were the thinnest pieces that I could find.  I did not want to add too much thickness to the door, otherwise the doors would not open, as they would hit each other on the edges.   I was able to adjust the doors to provide a bit more of a gap between the doors to allow for additional room for the extra thickness.

Now here is a little piece of advise.  When you purchase the wood and you are trying to determine how much you need, DO NOT just add the LF based on the cabinet sizes.  What I mean is, in my case the cabinet doors were 2' tall.  The pieces of wood that I purchased were 4' tall. So essentially one would think that you could get 2 stiles (the up and down piece of the shaker trim).  WRONG.  Once the piece is cut in 1/2 with the saw, you loose the width of the blade, in this case about 1/8" or 2/16" depending on how you work your inches.  This would make your pieces too short and it will be noticeable in the end.  What I did instead, is I used one 4' piece and made one stile and 2 rails (the pieces that go across the top & bottom).  

Once you have determined the amount of pieces that you need, it is time to start cutting.  I am lucky and my husband has a lot of power tools, so I used his Sliding compound mitre saw.  Now since you are doing straight cuts, you could essentially use any method.  Even a hand saw, even though it may it longer and you have to be very careful to saw the pieces straight.  

I worked on one door at a time.  I started by cutting the 2 stiles. Glued them in place and clamped them.  I used LePage glue called PL Premium Ultra.

You will need to use 2 clamps per stile to make sure that the pieces don't move around.  Once the glue dried, I gave it 1 hr, you can remove the clamps.

Next is cutting the stiles.  My advise on this, is cut a little bit bigger and then shave down until it fits the opening. You could always sand the piece until it fits especially if you are using a hand saw.  It is always easier to shave the piece, as you can't add.  Once you are happy with the fit, go ahead and glue those on as well.

I clamped the rails right where they meet the stiles, to make sure that the pieces stayed where I wanted them.  This also makes sure that the finish will be smooth and that the rails won't be higher then the stiles.  

Here you can see a close up of where the wood pieces abut each other. I left a hair line, as I wanted the finished look to be noticeable as to where the pieces where cut. If you don't want to see the lines, you will need to cut it exactly to fit and then use wood filler to fill in the gap and get a smooth finish.

Once all the doors are finished, I use the wood filler to fill in the gaps on the top and sides of the door (I didn't worry about the bottom as no one will see that).  I did this, as I wanted it to look as though the door was all one piece.  It worked OK, but not as good as I wanted it to.  You could sand the pieces down to get an even finish.  

The next step is to cover the hardware holes.  The stiles covered the holes on the front of the vanity doors.  But this did not cover the holes on the inside.  If you plan to change where you want the hardware to go, you will also need to use the wood filler to fill in those holes.  In my case, the original hardware was a handle, therefore there were two holes I needed to cover. Make sure you fill in the hole and sand it smooth, then prime. 

Now it's time to prime the cabinets.  I used the same primer as all my other projects, Zinsser Cover Stain.  Remember that this is an oil based primer, so you won't be able to clean up with water.  I used a foam brush and roller and then disposed of them.  I don't like to use paint thinner. 

What I also did, is I lined my smaller paint tray with wide thick tin foil for easy clean up.

This time I decided to use the CIL Melamine paint.  It is cheaper than the Benjamin Moore that I used on my mother in-law's kitchen.  The first coat, I applied with a small roller.  The second coat I applied with a brush and found that as long as you applied a thin coat, it leveled better.  Also make sure that you paint the frame of the vanity. 

In my case, I did not paint the kick plate of the cabinet, as it will be replaced.  You can't see the bottom in this picture, but our cement floor is sloped towards the toilet on the left.  Therefore before I can install the tile, I will need to level out the concrete, which will require me to cut the end of the vanity anyways.  So no need to paint it in my case.

I used the existing hinges re-installed the doors on the vanity. Here is the finished look.  Ok, mostly finished.  Still waiting for the new hardware before I show the final final picture.

Not bad for approximately $70 in material costs and free labour of course.

Now, on to the next project.  Painting that ugly ugly counter top. Stay tuned.