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Thread: How would you install this vanity?

  1. #16
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    Dec 2005
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    I like Johnny’s method. Beefier the better. Consider that #1, the weight of this thing is likely going to be pretty heavy to begin with. And #2, consider a 200 pound person sitting on the countertop and how much leverage that will create. Because if you’re building this for a customer you have to take into account that things like that might happen and if the anchoring system fails you’ve got flood situation.

  2. #17
    I talked to my nephew, a mechanical engineer, for his thoughts. He said too many unknowns to be sure but consider the weight of the wood alone will be around 120 lbs., estimating 32 BF @ 3.58 lbs/BF for ash.

    To be truly floating with no visible attachment points, a stud directly behind the left and right sides would almost be necessary with at least 2 more between each end.

    Mount using 1/2” threaded metal rod (like all-thread)inserted completely into stud and epoxy in place. Threading the hole and screwing the rod into place with epoxy is preferred. The other end would penetrate the vanity as deeply as possible, 1’ preferred and be epoxied in place at time of install.

    The vanity holes would be oversized to accommodate epoxy.

    As long as the vanity can’t pull away from wall, most of the stress is directed straight down and relies on the shear strength of the metal rod
    You wouldn’t be able or need to attach it to the right side wall with this method.

  3. #18
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    I like Johnny Means' idea best. The epoxied 1/2" steel rods Mark suggests appeals to me too and I think they'd work, but what if you ever wanted to remove the vanity temporarily in the future?

    When I worked in construction / remodeling we always had to pose the question of will this stand up with two adults dancing on top of it. I just would not trust pocket screws in this situation, especially going into such a soft wood as doug fir. The studs behind plumbing fixtures seem to be the most degraded of anywhere in a house when your demolishing.
    And I would add blocking between the studs to anchor that angle iron too.

  4. #19
    I’d go with something like this.

    Cut into the rock. Screw directly to a stud then patch. I would alter them to accept some kind of set screw or screws so the whole thing actually has a chance of staying on the wall but can also be removed.

    Beauty of the set screw very construction adhesive is it’s reversible. All you gotta do is take the thing off dig out the joint compound, remove the brackets and patch over the small holes.

    I’ve used them a few times with floating shelf’s and just set the bars for a pressure fit. Works pretty well but not great. I’d like the liquid nailed on but then your stuck literally.

    https://www.amazon.com/Black-Solid-F...a-813127776676

  5. #20
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    Nov 2006
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    I'm sorry, but some of tHe answers here are comical at best. I wouldn't attempt any of them except the steel rod into studs suggestIon. The rest are guaranteed failures fairly soon after install.

    Pocket screws wont cut it, even if they are super duty timber screws. L- channel by itself won't cut it. The front edge of the top will sag under its own weight. Think you already know what will happen next when someone leans on it.

    These assemblies need to couner forces in compression and tension.

    Order these brackets in the appropriate size , one per stud and be sure to have a pair suppoRting just the sink area. Add a stud if you need too. I'm sure you can easily figure out how to build the top to slide onto the brackets. You'll need a row for the counter and the lower shelf, so they may need to be special ordered as one assembly to meet you height design.

    https://www.aandmhardware.com/concealed-flats.php

  6. #21
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    Mar 2005
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    Pittsburgh
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    First of all I always consider the person that has to follow me when the time come for a repair or to remove an item. I’ve had to follow up too many butchers in my day that figured they would never see this job again. Remember it’s what people do when no one is watch that is a measure of your work.

    I just finished a bath that I had to float a large granite top and sink. Total weight was approximately 165 lbs. I took down the dry wall and welded up two brackets to be hung from the studs. I doubled up the studs and bolted the brackets to them with long lag bolts. Then installed and finished the drywall. I supported the left side with a piece of angle iron. I allowed for the cantilevered weight by hanging the brackets 1/8” high in the front so when the weight was applied it would deflect to level, it worked out perfectly

    i apologize for the pictures not being positioned correctly. I loaded and reloaded the 4 times and they keep coming out turned 90 degrees

    ben.
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    sometimes it's people who no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one imagines. Alan Turing

  7. #22
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    My wife wanted about a 6' section of an old reclaimed beam about 7" x 7"
    I drilled holes at an angle into the studs. Then I drilled oversize holes, at the same angle in the beam.
    I think I used around 8 or 10° angles. Then I cut pieces of 1/2" threaded rod.
    Dropped the rods in the holes in the studs.
    It took us both to boost it up where she wanted it, nearly 6', and it slid down nice and firm against the wall. It is solid as a rock.
    I know because I hung from it after the beam was up. At the time, about 235.
    Last edited by Bill Jobe; 01-19-2020 at 8:45 AM.

  8. #23
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    Ben has it right.

    Bill, rods or fingers will work fine for something that doesn't project from the wall very far. Say 7". But a countertop that's 21"-25" from the wall has lots more forces to engineer for.

  9. #24
    I personally would have rod brackets fabricated by a metal worker/welder.

    And on that design quite a few, that lower box will also need structural support long term imop in the form of metal rod brackets.

    Anything less is just foolish.

    The point made that the top could sag under the weight of the sink mist also be considered and the solution suggested to flank the sink with a rod making perfect sense.

    I’d have one i from the left and right. One on either side of the sink. On on each bottom edge of the bottom box, and one on the top right corner of the box.

    In doing so you will probably have to rip the wall open and out in fire blocking exactly where you need it. I’d double up the 2x material where you need it and sheets between bays just for the sake of it then rick back over everything tape,mud and paint.

    If that’s to much for the client I’d pass on the job or suggested a more traditional vanity that sits on the floor.

  10. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Gibney View Post
    I like Johnny Means' idea best. The epoxied 1/2" steel rods Mark suggests appeals to me too and I think they'd work, but what if you ever wanted to remove the vanity temporarily in the future?

    When I worked in construction / remodeling we always had to pose the question of will this stand up with two adults dancing on top of it. I just would not trust pocket screws in this situation, especially going into such a soft wood as doug fir. The studs behind plumbing fixtures seem to be the most degraded of anywhere in a house when your demolishing.
    And I would add blocking between the studs to anchor that angle iron too.
    Good point about future removal- I hadn’t thought about that.
    This is definitely not your average vanity install.

  11. #26
    Some of these solutions are absolute overkill. What you have there is basically a shelf with one end attached to the wall and one end resting on a shelf bracket. I've mounted hundreds of commercial work stations and fixtures in similar configurations.

  12. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by johnny means View Post
    Some of these solutions are absolute overkill. What you have there is basically a shelf with one end attached to the wall and one end resting on a shelf bracket. I've mounted hundreds of commercial work stations and fixtures in similar configurations.
    sure you have , and all those were exposed brackets with solid tops right ?

    and none ever sagged in the middle , right ?

    Hollow or sandwich construction with hidden supports is another animal.

    Rods are doable , but are more difficult to install and adjust to all be level. And the diameter to support that weight is going to get really wide. Which means a big hole in a 2x4's edge - which is going to present its own structural issues. Just ask your structural engineer.

    There are are plenty of ways to skin this cat, but the brackets I linked ( or similar ones ) are the path of least resistance. They'll install at least twice as fast as any rod system you care to design. We've been hanging kitchen and bath cabinets and shelves like this since the 90's. And unlike some worker bee in a cubicle, our users will not hesitate to call me the second a shelf or countertop wiggles, sags, deflects or simply looks out of level at the start.

  13. #28
    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Sabo View Post
    sure you have , and all those were exposed brackets with solid tops right ?

    and none ever sagged in the middle , right ?

    Hollow or sandwich construction with hidden supports is another animal.

    Rods are doable , but are more difficult to install and adjust to all be level. And the diameter to support that weight is going to get really wide. Which means a big hole in a 2x4's edge - which is going to present its own structural issues. Just ask your structural engineer.

    There are are plenty of ways to skin this cat, but the brackets I linked ( or similar ones ) are the path of least resistance. They'll install at least twice as fast as any rod system you care to design. We've been hanging kitchen and bath cabinets and shelves like this since the 90's. And unlike some worker bee in a cubicle, our users will not hesitate to call me the second a shelf or countertop wiggles, sags, deflects or simply looks out of level at the start.
    That top, which the question was about, appears to be about 2.5 inches thick and 6" long. Supported at both ends and along the back, it wouldn't sag, unless it was rubber.

  14. #29
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    I am surprised at some of the solutions suggested, they will fail in no time. The only ones that will stand a chance are those with hidden metal bracket bolted to the studs. The amount of leverage a downward force will create at the edge of the vanity is going to break a simple faster system to studs.
    I would open the walls and put some welded angle iron T bolted to studs in at least 3 studs. The 4 or 6" thick vanity can't hold by any fastener alone.

  15. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by johnny means View Post
    That top, which the question was about, appears to be about 2.5 inches thick and 6" long. Supported at both ends and along the back, it wouldn't sag, unless it was rubber.
    except that it's hollow in side to hide the brackets, not a solid 2.5". If supported only at each end it will sag.

    Like I said , this is a lot different than office furniture. Custom residential is a different set problems.

    The first being , no one wants to look at your hardware ! The sooner you acknowledge that, the better off everyone will be.

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