Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Laundry Room Makeover: DIY Plywood Countertop
I’ve gotten a few questions so far on last weeks’ big laundry room makeover reveal, and to no surprise, many of them were about the DIY wood countertop. So, I figured the first post I would put up this week should include some answers!
Note: some links to products are affiliates, which help to support the maintenance of this site. See my disclosure page for more info.
About the Plywood Counter
The laundry room’s wooden countertop is made from 3/4″ Purebond maple plywood. It’s pretty heavy, so I had a beast of a time getting it to fit on my walls, which were also wonky as hell (the back corners were just slightly wider than the width of the wall where the front of the washer and dryer are… oh, the joys of working on an old house!) :) Remember: measure twice, cut once, and hammer to fit. In my case, I also used an electric hand planer to knock off 1/16″ widths at a time until things weren’t getting stuck on the drywall anymore.
Before installing, I did a little research and spied that Mandi from Vintage Revivals uses a nifty trick to save on the cost of a thick piece of plywood by gluing a more expensive one underneath, and I love that idea! If I’d had more time than an extended weekend to finish mine (I was under a pre-Christmas deadline), I might have tried this same trick, too; I think it would have made the plywood counter even stronger and less likely to bend under any weight (it’s not doing that now either, but in time with use, that could be something I go back and try to reinforce even more). Perhaps if/when I upgrade the front piece of the counter to look more substantial (even though the supports are offset from the edge of the counter by a few inches, you can still see some of the support along the wall, which could be hidden with a longer decorative piece of lumber attached to the front), I’ll see about adding another piece underneath. The plywood is actually just wedged into place and doesn’t move, so I can easily take it back out again if I needed to with a few swings from a mallet.
Cutting Plywood to Size
I bought a full sheet of plywood, but I took my measurements to Home Depot before the purchase and asked them to cut it for me (which they’ll do for free unless you have a lot of cuts to make… I only had 2, and they also loaded the pieces for me into my SUV).
Tip: When having a big box store cut the wood for you, it’s important to inspect the full sheet of plywood and make your cuts strategically so that you can get as smooth of a cut as possible and wind up with the section of the plywood you like the most. Their saws can handle the cut with ease, but there’s a lack of control and speed that you’ll have as a customer (compared to, say, cutting it yourself with saws you’re more familiar with using at home) and it’s good to be observant when they’re cutting things down.
When the saw was cutting with the grain (along the length of the plywood), the wood had very little splintering. This was important, since this would be the cut along along the front edge, where it meets the front of the washer and dryer (as in, the most noticeable front lip of the countertop once installed). But on the pass for the crosscut (when you cut the wood perpendicular to the wood grain), I was worried that it would splinter a lot. Even though these edges would be on the left and right side walls in the laundry room (so, not as noticeable as along the front edge), the concern was that these areas would not take stain as evenly if I had to patch it up with wood filler (even when it’s a stainable filler, the texture looks different, and I wanted to prevent/minimize the obvious parts that were patched). Using the first cut as a guide, the clerk and I both noticed that the wood splintered slightly more on the front of the cut than the back on the saw. So, I used that as a way to plan which side of the plywood would be the top and bottom so I could hide the splintered side underneath.
Countertop Support
As far as installation goes, I treated the countertop similar to how I installed the floating shelves on the right side: as one large shelf in need of support along three sides. However, given the narrow space, the room’s dimensions were a little tricky to work around. For one, everything I did along the back wall had to be done around the washer and dryer; moving them out of the room through the hallway and into the kitchen would result in both units getting off balance (it’s important to keep them from knocking around), so I made the choice to keep them in the room and simply climb over them to install the supports along the three surrounding walls.
The supports were created mostly out of some inexpensive 2x2s (be sure to inspect them carefully at the store for warping). I would have used 2x4s, but the height of the lumber would have created a huge gap between the counter and washer and dryer, and I didn’t want that much clearance on top (while you do want to leave some space for air flow around the units, I wanted things to still look like a more snug fit). Measurements of the room are far from square, so it was a lot of trial and error to get things level. It helps in these situations to mark everything down on the wood itself so you know which end is up, where the studs are, etc. Given that the room is also surrounded by the garage on the left, an exterior wall with masonry along the back, and a closet and bathroom along the right, I was very careful to use a stud finder and heavy duty drywall anchors to put each support in place.
Figuring out how to support the middle between the washer and dryer was a little tougher; with the entire length a little less than 5 feet wide, I was reluctant to try to build support from the floor (I already had so little wiggle room to move the washer and dryer around, any structure in the middle would have been very snug!). So, I settled on a heavy duty shelf bracket — the largest I could find in store boasted a 600-lb weight capacity — by attaching it to the back wall.
Stain and Seal
As for the stain color, I pretreated the wood with wood conditioner for an even coat and then used a couple of coats of ZAR in Modern Walnut along with a few topcoats of poly to seal.
To hide the plywood layers along the front lip of the counter, I again used 3/4″ iron-on veneer edging like I did with my entryway closet. Again, since I can see some of the supports still, I’ll probably cover this over at a later date with a stained piece of wood instead.
To my surprise, it didn’t take much effort to get the plywood level (pictured is my 4-foot level that I inherited from my grandfather). Phew.
Once in place, I tested it out a couple of times, and it’s very sturdy. While I don’t think it would be wise to stand on top of the counter itself and put my full weight on it, I planned for it to handle at least two full laundry baskets full (though the hope would be not to leave things in the laundry room anymore!). Estimates online said a full laundry basket could be around 18 pounds, so I planned for 40 but still made sure that the anchors I used in the wall could handle twice that amount.
The depth of the counter still had a small gap in the back to allow for the cord for the washer.
There you have it! More details about other features in the laundry room makeover, along with more DIY projects, coming your way shortly!
The post Laundry Room Makeover: DIY Plywood Countertop appeared first on The Ugly Duckling House.
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Laundry Room Makeover: DIY Plywood Countertop published first on https://noambouzaglou.wordpress.com/
Laundry Room Makeover: DIY Plywood Countertop
I’ve gotten a few questions so far on last weeks’ big laundry room makeover reveal, and to no surprise, many of them were about the DIY wood countertop. So, I figured the first post I would put up this week should include some answers!
Note: some links to products are affiliates, which help to support the maintenance of this site. See my disclosure page for more info.
About the Plywood Counter
The laundry room’s wooden countertop is made from 3/4″ Purebond maple plywood. It’s pretty heavy, so I had a beast of a time getting it to fit on my walls, which were also wonky as hell (the back corners were just slightly wider than the width of the wall where the front of the washer and dryer are… oh, the joys of working on an old house!) :) Remember: measure twice, cut once, and hammer to fit. In my case, I also used an electric hand planer to knock off 1/16″ widths at a time until things weren’t getting stuck on the drywall anymore.
Before installing, I did a little research and spied that Mandi from Vintage Revivals uses a nifty trick to save on the cost of a thick piece of plywood by gluing a more expensive one underneath, and I love that idea! If I’d had more time than an extended weekend to finish mine (I was under a pre-Christmas deadline), I might have tried this same trick, too; I think it would have made the plywood counter even stronger and less likely to bend under any weight (it’s not doing that now either, but in time with use, that could be something I go back and try to reinforce even more). Perhaps if/when I upgrade the front piece of the counter to look more substantial (even though the supports are offset from the edge of the counter by a few inches, you can still see some of the support along the wall, which could be hidden with a longer decorative piece of lumber attached to the front), I’ll see about adding another piece underneath. The plywood is actually just wedged into place and doesn’t move, so I can easily take it back out again if I needed to with a few swings from a mallet.
Cutting Plywood to Size
I bought a full sheet of plywood, but I took my measurements to Home Depot before the purchase and asked them to cut it for me (which they’ll do for free unless you have a lot of cuts to make… I only had 2, and they also loaded the pieces for me into my SUV).
Tip: When having a big box store cut the wood for you, it’s important to inspect the full sheet of plywood and make your cuts strategically so that you can get as smooth of a cut as possible and wind up with the section of the plywood you like the most. Their saws can handle the cut with ease, but there’s a lack of control and speed that you’ll have as a customer (compared to, say, cutting it yourself with saws you’re more familiar with using at home) and it’s good to be observant when they’re cutting things down.
When the saw was cutting with the grain (along the length of the plywood), the wood had very little splintering. This was important, since this would be the cut along along the front edge, where it meets the front of the washer and dryer (as in, the most noticeable front lip of the countertop once installed). But on the pass for the crosscut (when you cut the wood perpendicular to the wood grain), I was worried that it would splinter a lot. Even though these edges would be on the left and right side walls in the laundry room (so, not as noticeable as along the front edge), the concern was that these areas would not take stain as evenly if I had to patch it up with wood filler (even when it’s a stainable filler, the texture looks different, and I wanted to prevent/minimize the obvious parts that were patched). Using the first cut as a guide, the clerk and I both noticed that the wood splintered slightly more on the front of the cut than the back on the saw. So, I used that as a way to plan which side of the plywood would be the top and bottom so I could hide the splintered side underneath.
Countertop Support
As far as installation goes, I treated the countertop similar to how I installed the floating shelves on the right side: as one large shelf in need of support along three sides. However, given the narrow space, the room’s dimensions were a little tricky to work around. For one, everything I did along the back wall had to be done around the washer and dryer; moving them out of the room through the hallway and into the kitchen would result in both units getting off balance (it’s important to keep them from knocking around), so I made the choice to keep them in the room and simply climb over them to install the supports along the three surrounding walls.
The supports were created mostly out of some inexpensive 2x2s (be sure to inspect them carefully at the store for warping). I would have used 2x4s, but the height of the lumber would have created a huge gap between the counter and washer and dryer, and I didn’t want that much clearance on top (while you do want to leave some space for air flow around the units, I wanted things to still look like a more snug fit). Measurements of the room are far from square, so it was a lot of trial and error to get things level. It helps in these situations to mark everything down on the wood itself so you know which end is up, where the studs are, etc. Given that the room is also surrounded by the garage on the left, an exterior wall with masonry along the back, and a closet and bathroom along the right, I was very careful to use a stud finder and heavy duty drywall anchors to put each support in place.
Figuring out how to support the middle between the washer and dryer was a little tougher; with the entire length a little less than 5 feet wide, I was reluctant to try to build support from the floor (I already had so little wiggle room to move the washer and dryer around, any structure in the middle would have been very snug!). So, I settled on a heavy duty shelf bracket — the largest I could find in store boasted a 600-lb weight capacity — by attaching it to the back wall.
Stain and Seal
As for the stain color, I pretreated the wood with wood conditioner for an even coat and then used a couple of coats of ZAR in Modern Walnut along with a few topcoats of poly to seal.
To hide the plywood layers along the front lip of the counter, I again used 3/4″ iron-on veneer edging like I did with my entryway closet. Again, since I can see some of the supports still, I’ll probably cover this over at a later date with a stained piece of wood instead.
To my surprise, it didn’t take much effort to get the plywood level (pictured is my 4-foot level that I inherited from my grandfather). Phew.
Once in place, I tested it out a couple of times, and it’s very sturdy. While I don’t think it would be wise to stand on top of the counter itself and put my full weight on it, I planned for it to handle at least two full laundry baskets full (though the hope would be not to leave things in the laundry room anymore!). Estimates online said a full laundry basket could be around 18 pounds, so I planned for 40 but still made sure that the anchors I used in the wall could handle twice that amount.
The depth of the counter still had a small gap in the back to allow for the cord for the washer.
There you have it! More details about other features in the laundry room makeover, along with more DIY projects, coming your way shortly!
The post Laundry Room Makeover: DIY Plywood Countertop appeared first on The Ugly Duckling House.
Website // Subscribe // Advertise // Twitter // Facebook // Google+
Laundry Room Makeover: DIY Plywood Countertop published first on https://noambouzaglou.wordpress.com/
Win Big with a Space Dedicated to Watching Sports
By Seve Kale The Super Bowl is fast approaching and whether you’re more concerned with the best team or the best commercials, the following tips will ensure that you score a prime seat to the action without having to pay … Continue reading
New Home Source Blog - Buying a New Home, Working with a Home Builder, Designing Your Custom Home
One of Atlanta’s Most Important Luxury Homes
This 15,000 sq.ft. artisanal French Provincial home is made up of slate and concrete, custom-made doors and windows in the Loire River Valley.
This luxury home is constructed by artisans from France. The detailed craftsmanship represents the apex of home building in southern America.
ONE OF THE SOUTH’S MOST IMPORTANT RESIDENCES HAS HIT THE MARKET
Designed not only to reflect the quality of lifestyle of a forgotten age, this home was also carefully crafted to house a modern family. This is an heirloom home designed to last hundreds of years and represents a seldom available opportunity to secure what is certainly one of the… See more at Luxury Portfolio Blog
Billed as “one of the South’s most important residences,” which is hard disagree and ignore when you look at some of the features of this artisanal luxury home. And the pool is just amazing!
Exquisite Buckhead Manse 5th Priciest in Atlanta Market
Before glancing at the sky-high cost to live in this 15,172-square-foot Buckhead mansion, it’s quite clear this home stands out in a big way. Featuring seven bedrooms, eight and ½ bathrooms, and all the absurdly opulent trappings of the filthy rich, at an even $10 million this property is the fifth most expensive listing on the… Read more at Curbed Atlanta
The following blog post One of Atlanta’s Most Important Luxury Homes Find more on: Arie Abekasis
One of Atlanta’s Most Important Luxury Homes syndicated from http://www.arieabekasis.com
One of Atlanta’s Most Important Luxury Homes published first on https://noambouzaglou.wordpress.com/
Monday, January 23, 2017
What Comes First with a Bathroom Remodel?
However, what we tell them is different than they may expect. You might be curious about whether your bathtub will go in first, or that vanity you’ve had your eye on. But as you will see, there are a lot of “first steps” that need to be completed before you move on to the exciting installation—which is just another reason it’s so important to hire a licensed and bonded contractor!
The First Steps: Planning
The very first steps of a remodel involve careful planning of what you want to do. Before any demolition is completed, before permits are pulled, and before you even talk to a contractor, we recommend taking some time to have a general idea of what you want.
This means that you should go through images you like, snap and clip photos where you can, or save a folder on your desktop. Have a list of priorities so that you’re ready to discuss them with your contractor.
The First Discussions: Your Contractor
The first step in any major bathroom remodel is to talk to a contractor. If you’re making a major change—something more drastic than adding shelving, replacing a showerhead, or painting the walls—a remodeling contractor will make sure the job is completed properly, safely, and in accordance with local codes.
Most likely, you’re going to need a permit before you start any of the work. (You can find more information about permit requirements in Los Angeles here.) A contractor who knows the ins and outs of permits in your area will be able to see that you follow through with permits and more.
You can get a good idea of costs, timelines, and much more, and you’ll know that there are qualified people on the job from beginning to end. The contractor can order all of the necessary supplies so that the work is organized and less stressful overall.
The First Task: Demolition
When all of the paperwork is in order (which may take some time), it’s time to start the work. And what else could come first aside from tearing the old components of your bathroom apart? In most instances, it will take quite a while before any actual installations can be made.
Demolition may reveal some problems that should be addressed before work proceeds. For example, you may need to address a mold issue behind the old shower tiling, or there might be a plumbing leak.
The First Install: Plumbing, Electrical, and More
Now, finally, it’s time to start installing things. Of course, that doesn’t mean that you’ll see the new bathtub or sink in place right away. Plumbing connections must be made, electrical wiring completed, exhaust fans and more must all be hooked up properly.
As you can see, the beginning steps of a remodel are not exactly glamorous. It will take you a while to see the results you want, but with the right contractor on the job, you can feel confident the completed bathroom remodel will go smoothly.
The licensed and bonded contractors at Advanced Builders & Contractors are here to help with your bathroom remodel in Los Angeles, Ca. Call us today!