Vanity how to?

[Darren Vass]

I guess I screwed up. Put in the vanity in the bathroom and told the plumber that things were ready for him to come in and do the vanity top. He was kind of unhappy and told me that I had not scribed the vanity and vanity top.

I did not know what that meant. What I've found out is that the vanity has to be square front to back and side to side. I was told to shim the vanity with the top off and then use a compass to scribe the distance of the widest gap between the floor and the vanity bottom edge along the bottom edge and then to use a jigsaw to saw off the scribed area so that the vanity sits level to the floor. Also, the wall the vanity top will rest against is slightly bowed so that the two ends of the back splash are about 1/2 inch from the wall and the middle flush against the wall. I was told to use a belt sander to sand off the scribed part, basically sanding the bow into the back of the backspash. The vanity top is made of a presssed stone (silk stone). I presume that a belt sander (that I have to purchase, what kind?) will work. The contractor cautioned me to sand only a certain way so as not to chip the top?

Also, I have wainscoating, white, against the wall of the vanity. I was wondering whether it made sense to run the wainscoat all along the wall, meaning also behind the vanity, but the stop the base and top moldings against the vanity bottom and top.

Any help? Does this sound correct?

Thanks,

Darren

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Darren, welcome to the world of installing cabinets.

If your base cabinet does not have adjustable feet, you will indeed need to scribe the base to match the floor.

I use often use a coping saw for that, sometimes a jig saw.

The top will also have to be scribed where it touches a wall. Often this means three sides.

A belt sander is ideal for the type of top you are using.

Regards, Rod.

P.S. I wouldn't put the wainscotting behind the cabinet, since you can't see it, and it may build the cabinet out too far from the wall for the counter top.

[Jamie Buxton]

I don't recognize the name "silk stone", but if the top is engineered stone like Silestone or Zodiaq, a belt sander is not going to cut it. Those stones are mostly quartz held together with a little plastic. The abrasive on the belt would be trying to cut material which is as strong as it is. Engineered stone is machined with special diamond-tipped tools, not woodworking tools.

You might consider building out the wall to eliminate the gap, or making a wood backsplash to cover the gap between the wall and the stone.