P8riot
Active Member
All that shopping with the wife you speak of is exactly what I'm living right now. The only time I get peace is when I'm installing what was picked out! 
TOO Projects Thread
- Thread starter bowhunter1023
- Start date
Sure thing. I’ll try to keep it brief. Lol
First thing I did was measure the location of my drain pipe and water supply lines, and drilled corresponding holes in the back of the cabinet with holesaw bits.
Once the cabinet was in place, I used wood shims under the front corners to level the top of the cabinet both front to back and side to side. When I was happy with it, I ran 3” screws through the back of the cabinet and into existing wall studs to really lock it in. I put shims between the cabinet and the wall where my screws were located.
With the cabinet mounted, I test-fitted the solid surface top. I discovered I needed to take a 1/2” off the back edge and 3/8” off the right side edge in order to get it to fit just right. There was some bowing on the back wall, which I expected, that created a bit of an issue with fitment.
Once I was happy with the top, I installed the sink drains in typical fashion… plumbers putty, a little Teflon tape, tightened up snug. Then I started measuring and planning out my plumbing. After about an hour in Lowes I had everything I needed to finish the plumbing. Dumbass me ran the cold and hot lines opposite of where they should be through the wall for some reason… so I had to drill some extra holes for my supply lines, but no big deal.
Next was drilling holes through the solid surface top to mount my faucets. This was one of those measure twice, cut once sort of deals… except I measured like 20 times, and measured again, then sat back and contemplated to myself, “ok… how can I make sure to not fuck this up?” My track record of getting in a hurry to finish a project had me nervous about this step. Thankfully, my measurements were true and all of the holes lined up perfectly. I really did NOT want to buy a new solid surface top because of a screw-up on my part. Last step for the faucet was hooking up the drain plungers. I hate this kind of tedious, tight-space little-finger preferring crap. My patience (lack thereof) is not made for those tasks.
With all the plumbing ran I made sure to confirm there were no leaks or issues. I did have a slight leak at the exit pipe of the p-trap, where it inserted into the main drain pipe, but a quick swap of a new Keeny gasket saved the day. I was happy with all that so the next step was to run screws up through the cabinet frame and into the bottom of the solid surface top (rather, into the wood frame on the underside of the top).
The backsplash and sidesplash fit pretty well, so I just adhered those to the wall with a high quality 100% silicone. Same thing for caulking the inside corners.
Finally I test fitted the front doors, drilled some pilot holes in the cabinet face frame, and carefully screwed the hinges in. I was nervous I would crack/split the oak face frame but thankfully that didn’t happen either. A quick adjustment of the hinge alignment and the closing speed and bada bing bada boom, that’s a wrap Jack.
Man, it’s the worst. Especially if you two have any sort of difference in taste. My wife and I don’t have a huge issue with that… but she tends to lean towards cheaper products and I tend to lean toward the higher-end stuff. That is where our friction begins. LolAll that shopping with the wife you speak of is exactly what I'm living right now. The only time I get peace is when I'm installing what was picked out!
P8riot
Active Member
My wife likes old things. She always wants to hit Goodwill and the Antique malls. She will pick out something old and want it. I tell her that won't fit with the "look" we are going for. Ding Ding - Round 1 begins
Sgt Fury
Sgt. Spellchecker
I spent last weekend building a box blind back in my woods to expand shooting opportunities. Had several sheets of 3/4 inch marine grade plywood sitting in the building. Came up with a quick design and build. Went and picked up 4 12 foot 4x4s and rented an auger to drill some holes. Added concrete to each hole. Pre fabbed and cut the sides and installed the windows in the building and then hauled all the parts back on the 4 wheeler and assembled it fairly quietly in the woods. Ended up using sheets of plexiglass for windows and took cut 2x2s out of treated lumber and cut a groove in each one and made sliding glass windows in all directions. Hand built some stairs and assembled that. Added pro rib metal roofing from menards to make it last longer. The metal came in 8 foot lengths so I decided to not cut it and just use it as extra overhangs. Added some brand new carpet to the inside from what was leftover when we built the house and picked up a new Mr heater from TSC. Its all ready for business this weekend.
That is awesome Chad! And the brown color blends in great within the woods like that.
Sgt Fury
Sgt. Spellchecker
I cut 3 shooting lanes in different directions. About 80 yards each.
Big_Holla
Senior Member
Love these updates!! @jagermeister that wall in front of the pipes is a GREAT idea! Never thought of doing something like that!
P8riot
Active Member
That looks fantastic! I think that marine grade plywood is worth more than its weight in gold these days! It is great stuff.
Thanks! I can’t take complete credit for it. It was suggested by the cabinet maker. But it’s amazing how big of an improvement in aesthetics it makes for being something so simple.
P8riot
Active Member
Is it removable to monitor for leaks? I love the idea of hiding it, but every now and then I like to peek under to check for a moist situation. That sounded like I'm not talking about drains!
Great question. And don’t worry… I share your concern as well. So the back panel is not fastened to anything at all. It just rests inside a rabbit-groove on each side, and the shelf itself holds it in place from the front. By simply removing the shelf, that panel falls out (forward), and provides access to all of the plumbing. Since I absolutely hate water damage in nice wood cabinets, I will probably lay and old towel or something in there behind the panel, just in case I don’t catch a leak right away.
Just completed a long overdue winter project. We had an antique cabinet that I repurposed into a wine cabinet. Here are a few pictures.
