Finishing plywood edges for bathroom vanity

[Kyle Brookshire]

I’m finishing a bathroom vanity today for installation in a house flip I’m doing. The construction is 3/4 white oak veneer ply, and solid 3/4 oak with a quartz top, and it’s a modern floating style vanity.

There are exposed plywood edges on parts of the internal framing, bottom and rear that I want to make sure aren’t at risk for moisture damage.

I’ve currently put on a pretty thick coat of TotalBoat Halcyon water based poly on all of these edges, as well as the inside faces; and I plan on at least one more coat. (Will do the same for drawer boxes, possibly with shellac as well)

Is this sufficient for my needs or should I seek further sealing?

(The visible portions of the vanity will be finished in Rubio Smoke 5%, FWIW)

[Tom M King]

I think it will be fine. I used Halcyon on some garage doors about a year ago, and the bottom panels of them are exposed to Sun for half the day, and get rain splashed on them. They still look like I did them yesterday. I know a year is not much of a test, but compared to cabinet parts that aren't even exposed I think it will be fine.

[Jim Becker]

I agree with Tom. Unless water can actually accumulate on those component ends, the finish you've applied to give some sealing benefits will help moisture move away. That's the key with dealing with moisture in pretty much all aspects of a home/structure. Water happens. Keeping it moving out and away is what preserves things for a long time.

[Kyle Brookshire]

Thanks for the vote of confidence, guys. My skills aren’t quite professional, but this is fairly simple and so far turning out pretty good. And, saving a ton of money over custom mill work or pre-fab cr@p.

[Michael Burnside]

Yea Halcyon is great stuff. The steam from a shower sounds like the only real moisture problem and if it's sealed well, zero worries.

[John TenEyck]

IMO, people worry too much about bathrooms and water exposure. Doesn't everyone who does a bath remodel install a fan? It's code with any new house, too, I believe. There just isn't much steam or or water unless there's a real leak, and then you have problems a lot more serious than worrying about exposed plywood edges. All plywood has waterproof glue these days.

OP, your plan is more than sufficient. Those edges will never be a problem.

John

[Michael Burnside]

Doesn't everyone who does a bath remodel install a fan? It's code with any new house, too, I believe.
...
John

If I could get my kids to turn on the fan half the time they shower, I'd be happy... :( I'd also be happy to tell them "it's code" but it would go in one ear and out the other.

[Mel Fulks]

Water Exposure, lots of bathrooms have a 5/8 x 5/8 inch channel around 3 walls. It’s a code violation but happens anyway. I’m almost
finished fixing one of mine.

[John TenEyck]

Water Exposure, lots of bathrooms have a 5/8 x 5/8 inch channel around 3 walls. It’s a code violation but happens anyway. I’m almost
finished fixing one of mine.

Please explain. A channel around 3 walls? Where? What's its purpose?

John

[John TenEyck]

If I could get my kids to turn on the fan half the time they shower, I'd be happy... :( I'd also be happy to tell them "it's code" but it would go in one ear and out the other.


I still wouldn't worry about it. It's just water vapor and only lasts as long as the shower. No matter how long the shower, it's just not an issue. If it starts condensing on things besides a window, you have bigger problems.

John

[Mel Fulks]

After the perimeter is established a bath room often has a plywood floor on top of the sub floor that will be covered with vinyl , linoleum
or , something else. There are pour-in products sold for that specific use .

[Jim Becker]

I don't get the channel thing, either Mel. Can you provide a photo or illustration about what you are referring to? I've never seen anything that looks like that verbal description in any bathroom I've, um...taken apart...and put back together.

[Mel Fulks]

Jim , I’m thinking Tom King could explain it better. Could be that there is more than one method .

[Jim Becker]

Are you referring to the potential gap that might be there between the flooring substrate and the sub-floor around the perimeter because it wasn't sized out to the full dimension of the room?

[Mel Fulks]

Yes, I read it’s a code thing, but it seems it gets “no respect “

[Mel Fulks]

Might be that many just figure that by the time “ I put in real floor , base, and shoe moulding it will be fine” .

[Jim Becker]

I was thinking the same thing...easy install when you don't have to actually fit it to the room. Any time I've installed a flooring substrate, whether a wood product or cement board, it was made to fit the room...the whole room, outside of consideration for expansion.

[Mel Fulks]

I just looked it up. Dap Floor Patch And Leveler, is made for that gap. As I said before ,failure to fill is a code violation. We had a
bathroom sink run-over …that’s how I discovered all this !

[Rick Mainhart]

Hi Michael,

Try one of these:

https://www.leviton.com/en/products/iphs5-1lt

I installed one several years ago and it works quite well. I did, of course, separate the light and fan functions (ran 12-3 to the fan) and deleted the night light (installed a matching Decor unit):

https://www.legrand.us/wiring-devices/designer-switches-and-outlets/radiant-full-night-light-white/p/ntlfullwcc6

Regards,

Rick

[John TenEyck]

Interesting. I can see how that would stop a splash of water, maybe even a bucket full, but if a tub or sink overflows for long it's just going to run out the door and find its way outwards and downwards.

John

[Mel Fulks]

John , You are right, and I’m working on that too ! Meanwhile, I don’t walk away from a filling sink ! I think there is a device sold that
that drops and seals a door bottom. I know I saw an ad ,long time ago for such. Of course, it might be something hideous , made mostly
for laboratory use. Current emergency water recovery is a bag of stored clean rags. The small adjoining “toilet booth” has a floor about
1/2” lower , and I changed the the floor heat register to vertical and built it into a nice little “table”.

[Curt Harms]

IMO, people worry too much about bathrooms and water exposure. Doesn't everyone who does a bath remodel install a fan? It's code with any new house, too, I believe. There just isn't much steam or or water unless there's a real leak, and then you have problems a lot more serious than worrying about exposed plywood edges. All plywood has waterproof glue these days.

OP, your plan is more than sufficient. Those edges will never be a problem.

John

I don't know if this is current information -SWMBO hasn't kept her Real Estate Broker's license up - but Bucks County PA. required either a bathroom fan OR an openable window. Our master bathroom, building built in 1995 doesn't have an exhaust fan, it does have a window. Other interior bathrooms with no window do all have fans. Who wants to open a bathroom window when it's 15* and windy is another question but them were the rules at the time.

[Tom M King]

For as long as I can remember it's been either/or. I always put a fan in anyway.

When I did bathrooms with showers, I built the showers pretty large and never used a curb. Bathrooms were always tiled, and the floors were laid so that if anything ran over, the water would run into the shower and go down the drain. I did that when I framed the house with a 3-1/4" power planer and a straight edge. It doesn't take much slope for it to do that but all surfaces have to be perfectly straight along the small slope. I have a Bunch of different length aluminum concrete screeds that are kept meticulously clean and safe. It was another selling point for my houses.

In the little bathroom house on our point that I'm getting ready to do for wedding rentals and such, the whole bathrooms will be tiled, even including the ceilings. Entry doors will open out completely, and have something to hold them open. The floors will be sloped so everything runs out of the door. I intend to clean them with a water hose, have big exterior rated ceiling fans, and leave the doors open with the ceiling fans running to dry them out.

[Jim Becker]

I don't know if this is current information -SWMBO hasn't kept her Real Estate Broker's license up - but Bucks County PA. required either a bathroom fan OR an openable window..
Just to clarify, it's pegged to the local jurisdiction your property is in, not the county. If you're in Plumstead Twp (if memory serves)...their building/zoning organization sets the rules. For me, it's New Britain Borough.