I
hope you all are having a great weekend so far. We did indeed got
some snow, but not nearly what they expected. Our bathroom is almost
finished with the project I have been working hard to keep from you.
Today I am going to show you the first half!! WOOTWOOT! This has
become a project that has taken longer then expected. Mostly because
I haven't gotten my rear in there for the final coat of paint. I am
going to show you what all we did so you can do it in your home too!
We
have been working on.... drum roll
please.... In wall
shelves with faux board and batten.
I
am SO EXCITED! I have been wanting to add this to my
bathroom from day 1. Our bathroom is vary small and lacks counter
space. I love decorating and I wanted a nice place to embellish for
the seasons.
This
plan is for 2x4 stud walls. If you have 2x6 stud walls you will want
to use 1x6x12 boards for your shelf depth.
Materials
Used:
1x4x12
for the board and batten as well as the trim around the shelves.
¼
Hardwood Plywood (your choice of wood)
Wood
Glue
Painters
Caulk
Primer&
Paint
Sandpaper
2
inch Finish Nails
Tools
Used:
Miter
Saw
Table
Saw
Finish
Nailer
Air
Compressor
Caulk/Glue
Gun
Tape
Measure
4
ft. Level
Paint
Roller
Paint
Brush
Drywall
Knife
The first thing
you will want to do is measure out in your bathroom where you want
the shelves in consideration of the studs (because your boxes will be
set between the existing studs). Make sure you also take into
consideration of wiring that may be running in the wall. Check the
room your working in and the room on the other side for outlets. If you do have outets on either side there will be wiring, but you should be able to adjust your measurments and tuck it in.
Once
that is completed mark the height of where you are wanting your
shelving. Now is time to grab your level and make sure your lines are
running level. Once everything looks good and measures up go ahead
and get to cutting those holes out for your boxes you will be
building.
I
tried to get pictures of this, but my camera battery was dead :(
Once your holes are
cut for your shelving you will want to measure and draw up a cutting
plan.
Measure
the height, width, and depth of your holes. Measure the depth to the
stud and the depth to the drywall. This only needs to be done
on one inner stud of where your shelving will be. You are taking
these two measurements because your interior side boards are going to
be recessed compared to the exterior boards when finish. This will
give you more of a custom finished look. The depth should be the same
on the rest of the holes. Your bottom boards will be the same depth
as your interior side boards. These measurements will be the same so
you have a slight surface to attach your ledge.
I
recommend measuring all of your widths as some stud spacing could be
off. When you are drawing up your plan, take off the thickness of the
boards. You can do this on either your side boards or top board
measurements. If you do not do this step your box will be to big.
Follow your cutting plan and lay
out your boxes somewhere where they can be constructed. Use your
table saw to cut the 1x4 boards to the correct depth for the walls.
Once your boards are
ripped to the correct depth, you will follow your cutting plan to cut
your pieces for each box. If you do not have a miter box, other types
of saws can be used. You do want to achieve the straightest most
accurate cut.
Lay out each
piece before construction.
We lightly sanded the
cut edges before assembly, although you can skip this if you wish.
Anytime using a pneumatic nailer make sure to oil before using. Go
ahead and nail those babies together!
Now that you have
your boxes together take them in and CAREFULLY make sure they fit
into your holes. If you drop those bad boys into your wall they are
gone forever :) or at least cause a lot of unecessary work.
Hopefully all will
turn out well and you can move onto cutting your backers. This is
where your plywood comes in. Simply measure your boxes and shorten
them a 1/8 inch on each side. This will guarantee a nice fit with no
excess.
You will also attach
your backers will your nailer. Do this carefully and try not to shoot
your nails through the inside of the box. If it does happen carefully
rip the nails out and it can be filled once installed.
Your almost there!
Once all the measurements and cutting is done I have to say it does
come together pretty quickly. Now we are going to install the boxes
into your wall. This is pretty easy.
Put
the boxes in until they are flush with where are they suppose to be.
Nail them into the studs. We used the same finish nailer for this as
well.
After all your boxes
are in place you will be installing your ledge. Once again we will
simply nail it into place. I am going to explain a technique called
toe nailing. This is when you angle your nail to attach it the
anchoring pieces. We nailed into the stud as well as the boxes. Nail
from the bottom and the top your shelf.
Underneath your shelf
we will add the top rail to our board and batten. This will be
attached by glue and nailing to the studs. Once you have this up and
secure, reinforce your ledge by nailing through from the top, to
secure it into your top rail.
Grab
your tape measure because you will be measuring for your shelf trim.
Start with the interior studs. Measure from the bottom to the exact height
of where you want your top trim piece to start. Cut accordingly. Install by
nailing into place.
Finish up your trim
by taking proper measurements of the side pieces. Install those and
continue with taking a simple measurement for your top trim piece.
Install.
Well, that's it for
today folks.
Check back tomorrow
to see how to finish this project by adding the beautiful faux board
and batten. It is amazing how much this will add to your space!!!!
See
you tomorrow :)
