Any professional cabinet makers here?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I am preparing to build a bathroom vanity and I would like to put a stone, probably, granite top on it.

Is there any special considerations you have to take in building the cabinet if you are putting a stone top on it? Any special framing or bracing?

Thanks!

[Bill Orbine]

That depends on the stone guy. Other than just being able to support the weight and be flat enough, the biggest thing is the sink. What really matters to some stone guys is how wide the front edge to the sink cutout should be. There's a minmum width with some of these guys. They don't want the front edge get to narrow that it can easily break. The rules are different with different stone guys. Some say 2 inches. Other say 3 inches. Even seen stone guys cry four inches. So, you need to know your guy and plan appropriately for the depth of sink and including the faucet.

[Randy Henry]

If you use 3/4" sides, you will be fine. On my vanities I build, most of them don't have backs, just a 1" x 3" nailer board attached to the sides, by pocket screws, then that nailer screwed into the wall behind it in several places. That will support the countertop just fine. The no back variety makes plumbing simple. If you are putting drawers in it, you need to consider the top drawer, in relation to the bowl, so as not to interfere with each other.

[Larry Edgerton]

No special bracing needed Ken. They install granite on factory particle board junk all the time with no issues. If you build it it will be better than any of the factory junk.

I don't know what you had planned for height and depth, but most I make are at 36" these days, especially in the master. Kids baths will have shorter vanities. Seldom do I make any less than 24" deep as well. You don't have kids at home so no need for the shorter cabinet.

Have fun, Larry

[Dan Chouinard]

I agree with Larry, no special considerations. My vanities typically are 34/22". Need to get going now to the shop to finish the 3rd of three vanities.

[Peter Quinn]

I agree with Larry, pretty much any cabinet you will built can handle a reasonably heavy piece of stone. Most important thing is a good design that accommodates the sink bowl and plumbing. Drawers get tricky on narrow widths. Only real accommodation for the stone is some stringers at the top that don't interfere with the sink but let the stone guy apply adhesive to connect stone to vanity. I usually do full backs and carefully locate plumbing holes on install. You can pick a stone and bowl then design a vanity around it, or design a vanity then search for the stone and bowl, but but at some point the details of both have to be fused. So many cool designs around these days, enjoy the process! Most I've seen lately are 36-42" high......so an adult of average height can brush teeth and shave without stooping. I got the kids a step stool at my house, and low and behold they have grown out of it in just a few years! Unless you are building a vanity for a day care, most I've done are set to adult height on the assumption the kids won't always be small, if that's a concern.

[Judson Green]

As others have said nothing special is needed, but a full dust top is the best. Like ¾" ply inset flush with the top of the face frame and sides. If your doing under mount SS its best to install in this dust panel as if its a drop in sink, just rabbit the hole a bit.

[Randy Red Bemont]

You'll be fine just building your vanity as normal. Make sure you build it so when complete with granite, you're at 36". It saves the back. I just built all the cabinets and vanities for my entire house and I put granite on everything. Good luck with the project.

Red

[jack duren]

I prefer a finished/wall end going straight to floor with some cross members on the center stiles if you have drawers. Never hurts to add additional bracing.

"They install granite on factory particle board junk all the time with no issues. If you build it it will be better than any of the factory junk."

That is a personal preference. PB isn't a bad product, just not used correctly...

[Larry Edgerton]

. You can pick a stone and bowl then design a vanity around it, or design a vanity then search for the stone and bowl, but but at some point the details of both have to be fused. ..


This is a good point. You can save some money if you find a top first. There are tops with sinks on the net often that are unused, I assume orders that were not picked up, for prices that are a small precentage of what a custom will cost. You may be able to find one close and design around it for some savings. Craigslist here has them all the time.

[Larry Edgerton]

Just an example.......... http://nmi.craigslist.org/hsh/4725456170.html

[jack duren]

unused/new tops are available from the local suppliers for probably 1/2 price. Most will have custom sizing faucets. You can spend more, but have a beautiful top at still a fraction to new....

[Larry Edgerton]

Check out Faucets Direct.com for good deals on faucets. I bought clearance Grohe faucets for my house for about 50% of list or about the price of a Delta locally. Grohe stuff is awesome! My kitchen faucet weighs 11 pounds! They are so smooth its amazing.

[Bill ThompsonNM]

Check out Faucets Direct.com for good deals on faucets. I bought clearance Grohe faucets for my house for about 50% of list or about the price of a Delta locally. Grohe stuff is awesome! My kitchen faucet weighs 11 pounds! They are so smooth its amazing.
+1 on Grohe. Though once you get one set in your house you may find yourself changing out all of your sink and bath hardware!

[George Bokros]

+1 on faucetsdirect.com Good staff if you have questions, knowledgeable on the products and go the extra mile on customer service.

[Jim Becker]

Ken, "normal" cabinetry design and construction is pretty robust. I didn't do anything differently for my cabinets, all of which have stone on top....soapstone in the kitchen and honed granite in the master bath, guest bath and wet bar. Remember, the whole cabinet structure is distributing the weight and the stone is pretty rigid, too. Just be sure to have "glue strips" front and back for final installation.

[scott vroom]

That depends on the stone guy. Other than just being able to support the weight and be flat enough, the biggest thing is the sink. What really matters to some stone guys is how wide the front edge to the sink cutout should be. There's a minmum width with some of these guys. They don't want the front edge get to narrow that it can easily break. The rules are different with different stone guys. Some say 2 inches. Other say 3 inches. Even seen stone guys cry four inches. So, you need to know your guy and plan appropriately for the depth of sink and including the faucet.

This is good advice. It's best to select the sink/faucet hardware/stone combo and design the cabinet around that. My vanity base cabs are FF, 3/4" ply sides, 3/4" rear stretchers top/bottom for plumb. access, 3/4" top stretchers that accommodate sink/hdwe....pretty standard and more than sufficient for stone.

[Mike Schuch]

This is good advice. It's best to select the sink/faucet hardware/stone combo and design the cabinet around that. My vanity base cabs are FF, 3/4" ply sides, 3/4" rear stretchers top/bottom for plumb. access, 3/4" top stretchers that accommodate sink/hdwe....pretty standard and more than sufficient for stone.

Yes! You will eliminate many problems if you start with the counter top/sink and build the cabinet to match especially if the cabinet is relatively narrow!

I have a quartz counter top and under mount sink in a half bath. It never would have fit in a vanity if I hadn't bought the counter top / sink first. I actually got a heck of a deal on the counter top / sink. I needed a custom sized top so I found a large top with a huge 4" chunk broken out of one corner and talked Home Depot down to $75 on it. I cut the top to size with a diamond saw blade on my skill saw using water to keep things cool. Worked great. I actually made two cuts to keep the sink centered in the counter. The sink is a large deep bowl and the drawers on either side clear the underside of the bowl by about a half inch.

P.S. the 3 piece valve / faucet sets work on a different hole spacing than the one piece faucet. Just be aware of this as the sink / counter I purchased required a 3 piece faucet set... which I prefer.

[John TenEyck]

I just finished building a new vanity for our bath. I started the design by first picking the two undermount sinks and then designed the cabinet around them to make sure I had adequate clearance. I built it so the top of the 1-1/4" thick granite is at 35-1/2". My wife who is 5'3" first thought it was too high. A month later it's just fine. I bought pretty much everything from faucetdirect. com. Hans Grohe faucets, sinks, towel and T paper holders, even more stuff. Prices were OK, selection was great.

Structure wise I didn't do anything special, just typical kitchen cabinet type construction.

John

[Mike Schuch]

I just finished building a new vanity for our bath. I started the design by first picking the two undermount sinks and then designed the cabinet around them to make sure I had adequate clearance. I built it so the top of the 1-1/4" thick granite is at 35-1/2". My wife who is 5'3" first thought it was too high. A month later it's just fine. I bought pretty much everything from faucetdirect. com. Hans Grohe faucets, sinks, towel and T paper holders, even more stuff. Prices were OK, selection was great.

Structure wise I didn't do anything special, just typical kitchen cabinet type construction.

John


My counter top is 36" off the floor. It is amazing how much nicer it is to wash your hands without stooping over!!!!!

303696

Here is my custom vanity in my half bath with custom cut top 36" high. Yeah, it still needs handles! The top drawers are functional and just clear the sink tub by about a half inch.



303697

Here is the custom vanity in the kids bathroom with 36" high counter top and built in pull out stool for when the kids were small. Everyone loves the extra height of the 36" counter top.