So after Thursday's tiling post, I was supposed to follow up on Friday with a post about grouting. But I'll be honest, I forgot to take photos. No big loss really, if you're looking for tips on how to grout you can just type grout in the search bar. We've certainly done it enough. So let's just move on to the fun part- #69 on The List, installing the vanity.
To get started, and make sure that everything was symmetrical, I thought it would be easiest to install my mirror frame directly between my two lights, that way I could line up the vanity directly underneath it. You may be wondering why I didn't just plan to center my vanity on the wall, but I couldn't because I had to account for the barn style door that will be hanging in front of the wall on the right side. (In a rare moment of thinking ahead!) I already accounted for the barn door in my lighting placement, so getting everything perfectly placed between the lights was my most exact method. How awesome is this Ikea mirror that you hang securely on the wall first, and then slide in the mirror through a tiny slit in the top? Very handy during construction time.
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| Here's a look at that grout. I want to pet it. |
I had planned for this mirror to sit directly on top of my back splash way back in the cement board install stage. I love how the little ledge provides us with a place for a candle or cup without cluttering up the sink counter top.
To get the correct height on my floating vanity, I used a couple of buckets, as well as wood scraps until I got it to the perfect, level height.
Here's a closer look at my jimmy-rigged handy work:
The vanity has 6 brackets with which you attach it to the wall, so once I achieved the perfect height I marked the spot for each on the tile with a pencil.
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| Remember our genius moment of placing green tape where the studs were before we tiled so we'd know where to hang the vanity? I'm thanking my lucky stars about now. |
Then I removed my little set-up, and used a tile bit on my drill to carefully drill through the tile at each of the 6 spots. Here's a little tip I learned- if you are working with thicker tile, keep a squirt bottle of water handy to dampen and cool down the area, and it will drill much cleaner. My little giggling boy was my apprentice and carefully crazily squirted the spot (as well as my head, the wall, and his mouth) with water as I drilled. Other people may find doing home improvement with a three year old is chaotic, (it is), but it is my idea of total happiness.
Once all my holes were drilled I reconstructed my little apparatus and got the vanity perfectly lined up over the pre-drilled holes. This time my little paparazzi snapped photos while I worked yelling out, "Say cheeeese Mama!" every 5 seconds.
Then I started the insane task of attaching all the water. Ikea has this ingenious system of keeping the water pipes high and to the back of the cabinet before they go down to allow space for the drawers in this vanity, but it took a bit of time to install it all, as well as the two faucets and the water lines.
Of course when it was done I was exhausted and crashed before I realized I didn't shoot an after pic for you all, so stop back tomorrow and I promise to give you a look at the finished piece. We're in the final stretch now. Must. Keep. Going...
As a reminder, here's what we've done so far:
Where is the trap to prevent sewer gas from coming up in through the sink's drain?
ReplyDeleteyeah! you absolutely need a trap!!!
Deletedid you make the mirror and frame or was that something you bought as a set at ikea? it seems like a great thing to have in my eventual bath remodel!
ReplyDeleteThey sell it at Ikea!
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