Bathroom vanity

[Jeff Butzer]

Well I guess I should finally break down and ask for some help and write my first post. I have been lurking for weeks reading through endless pages of great information found here. That said here is what the girlfriend has me working on and I am completely open to ideas. Google images isn't cutting it.

Bathroom vanity. 37 inch vanity top so a 36 inch vanity. Top is sitting in the bathroom waiting. She has always been one step ahead of me. Needs to be rustic in nature...craftsman style with maybe a double recessed door? I would prefer inset doors but that isn't set in stone.

wood available- about 220 board ft. of kiln dried soft maple. all 1x6 and 1x8.

Any ideas or tips would be greatly apprecaited.

[Troy Turner]

Welcome aboard! Don't be a stranger and don't forget to post pics of what you end up with :D

Rustic as in a caveman put it together with rough cut 4x4s or rustic as in still functional and looks good :) Try looking at pics of knotty alder.

[Patrick McCarthy]

Jeff, are you looking for design ideas or construction guidance ?
is this freestanding or between walls or open one side or?????
first start with what you want for finished height and start subtracting thickness of top, less toe kick height, to get size of basic box

[Jeff Butzer]

Basically some construction guidance...free standing unit. Was thinking of making the frame then on the sides using 1/2 v notched tg maybe 2 1/4- 3 in wide inset between the stiles. No toe kick as she wanted to be able to see her floor under it. Any guidance with working with soft maple?

[Floyd Mah]

I just finished a bathroom vanity for my son's bathroom. I needed to put two sinks into a 21"x55" space. I managed to complete it last week, working on it over the previous six weeks. The heart of the vanity is the set of drawers in the middle (approx. 17" wide) and also had storage units on either side of about 17". The top three drawers are fake. The material is mahogany, stained with Minwax Sedona Red. Mortice and tenon joints for the face frame and tongue and grooved carcass using a set of Sommerfeld T&G router bits. Here are some pictures, including the raw wood, the parts on my dining table, the nearly done piece, and the final vanity. Sommerfeld has a few videos on youtube showing how to use his router bit set. It's good for constructing a solid frame. You will end up with something much stronger than you can buy.

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=6f03ea9773&view=att&th=1444e1957d797720&attid=0.3&disp=emb&realattid=ii_1444e114a7887232&zw&atsh=1https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=6f03ea9773&view=att&th=1444e1957d797720&attid=0.1&disp=emb&realattid=ii_1444e12164891794&zw&atsh=1
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=6f03ea9773&view=att&th=1444e1957d797720&attid=0.5&disp=emb&realattid=ii_1444e142cfdd9b09&zw&atsh=1https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=6f03ea9773&view=att&th=1444e1957d797720&attid=0.4&disp=emb&realattid=ii_1444e16bc89d9d7c&zw&atsh=1https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=6f03ea9773&view=att&th=1444e1957d797720&attid=0.2&disp=emb&realattid=ii_1444e135bacc6716&zw&atsh=1

[William C Rogers]

+1 on the Sommerfield T&G system. The real advantage to that in addition to strength is you can build any size cabinet. M&T is better, however I use pocket screws for the face frame. They work just fine and a little easier to do. Especially since the face frame is joined with T&G.

[Yonak Hawkins]

Jeff, much of it depends, not only on space and design requirements, but on toolset (your tools and abilities). Don't bite off more than you can chew lest it strains your relationship with your girlfriend, your time and your patience. If you're looking for ideas the internet is a great place to look. Find something that you and she like and modify it until it fits into your space, your skillset, the vanity top, your time frame, your budget (choose and cost out pulls, hinges and slides before you start), and have fun, post pix and remember this fine resource if you run into problems or have questions.

BTW, I would highly recommend reconsidering no toe kick. That could be an element of great frustration. It will be hard to get close to the mirror or brush your teeth comfortably without one. I recommend making and posting sketches of what you have in mind for some more targeted advice.

Regarding working with soft maple, planing it can be a humbling experience as it tends to have grain going every which way sometimes. Go slow and take little off in the last passes.

[Curt Harms]

Yes, a little more info might be helpful. What tools do you have? Table saw, router table, jointer, planer? Neander? e.g. prefer hand tools? Maybe also some links - "sorta like this except we'd change that and that".