Step By Step Instructions To Turn A Vintage Dresser Into A Bathroom Vanity
You can customize any bathroom space if in case you use a vintage dresser or buffet instead of vanity. All you need to do is get a piece of the vintage dresser that is exactly the size that is required. To start the process of turning a vintage dresser into a bathroom vanity, you first need to gather the required items & then go through the step by step instructions carefully & achieve the desired result of your work:
Items Required
- Dresser Or Buffet, Drop-In Sink & Faucet
- Table Saw Or Circular Saw, Jigsaw & Clamps
- Drill Equipped With Drill Bits & Wood Glue
- Brad Nailer And Nails, Measuring Tape & Safety Glasses
- 1/2" MDF Or Cabinet-Grade Plywood Board
- Chalk, Pencil & Silicone Caulk
- Caulking Gun & Clean, Damp Cloth
Step 1: Select Dresser And Sink
First of all, choose a perfect dresser as well as a sink that will be suitable for your bathroom. The selected piece should be well-built and ideally solid wood so that it can support the weight of the sink and faucet. Make sure to get a drop-in sink that will easily get fixed inside the fixture of the dresser or buffet. Position the sink overturned on the dresser top and take a measuring tape to center.
Step 2: Mark Cut Line For Sink
As soon as the sink is centered, detect the outline with the help of a pencil immediately on the dresser top. Sketch a line roughly one inch inside the detected line to show where the cut should be made.
Step 3: Cut Sink Hole
Now, drill a large hole at each corner of the sink, just on the innermost side of the cut line. If in case your sink is round or oval-shaped, then proportionately space 4 to 6 holes around circle. Put the jigsaw into one hole and then trim to the next hole. Keep going until the entire piece is trimmed out. Examine the sink whether it has fitted perfectly or not and made any modifications necessary. If in case you want to refinish the dresser top, do it after the hole is trimmed, so finish isn't spoiled. Be absolutely sure about the measurements before cutting. It's a good idea to make the hole too small, to begin with, than too large.
Step 4: Disassemble Drawers
Firmly decide what parts of drawers will restrain with the sink as well as plumbing and shift measurements to drawers. For the drawers that are directly under the sink, trim off the back of the drawer with the help of a table or circular saw. It may be required to finish the trim with a jigsaw if in case the blade is not big enough to trim all the way through. In this dresser case, the inner side of two top drawers needs to be detached. Detach the drawer bottom and keep it aside. Smoothly loosen tongue and groove to get rid of the side that needs to be trimmed.
Step 5: Cut Drawer Bottom And Side
The bottom as well as the side of the drawers can be used again. Trim the eliminated side so that it can fix perfectly behind the drawer front. Trim the bottom as well as the back of the drawer to the size needed in order to accommodate the sink.
Step 6: Reassemble Drawers
Now put together the drawers without using the glue in order to make sure that it fits properly. Compress wood glue into a channel for drawer base and slide bottom in. Put back as well as sides and then glue and/or fix into place with the help of a brad nailer or a hammer and small finishing nails. Fasten together unless & until the glue dries. Use a scrap piece of wood between the drawer front and fasten to avoid a denting finish. The drawer front has not been affected, so it will seem like a full drawer when closed. Since the drawer is small than it was, at first, built to be, it may be important to add a runner just under the new inner edge of the drawer for support.
Step 7: Create Recess For Plumbing In Lower Drawers
Measure as well as point the area on back and bottom that need to be eliminated. Trim out with the help of a jigsaw. Trim pieces of 1/2-inch MDF or cabinet-grade plywood in order to produce new inner sides and back. Put together drawer by fixing sides and back of plumbing recess with the help of a brad nailer. Glue and fasteners may also be used for extra support. Repeat the same process with all the other drawers.
Step 8: Cut Back And Bottom Of Dresser
Put the bottom drawer into the dresser frame. Detect around the corner with a pencil onto the dresser base as well as back. Detach the drawer and shift measurement to outside of the dresser or you can also drill holes at corners so that you can detect where cuts need to be made. Turn over the dresser on its front side and trim out the marked area on back and base with the help of a circular saw or jigsaw. Insert the drawers and sink in the dresser to make sure that everything is fixed properly and there is sufficient space for plumbing pipes.
Step 9: Install Plumbing
Attach the plumbing pipes to sink and faucet. Make it dry-fit only, so that everything lines up perfectly and further modifications are not necessary to the drawers or the back of dresser.
Step 10: Install Sink
Detect the outline of the sink with the help of a chalk piece. Detach the sink from the dresser and move a bead of silicone just to the inner side of the chalk outline. It is very important that the silicone is applied around the entire sink boundary without any gaps. This will come up with a water-resistant seal around the sink. Smoothly drop the sink in place. Press down and move marginally to distribute silicone. With the help of a damp cloth clean the excess silicone and chalk line. Rejoin the plumbing as well as the faucet and put it in the dresser drawers. Always make sure to wear safety glasses when you are using power tools during this project.