Vanities/Office Desk/Built Ins

[Leo G]

Been working on this job for a while now (to long) and it is finally coming to the point of install. I was suppose to start the install tomorrow but put a call into the HO to find out where the painters were at and it seems that they aren't ready. So I will be installing on Wednesday.

Most of the stuff was delivered to the house on Friday. But the built ins were still being finished. So today I looked at a kitchen and took some measurements and got the downpayment. I got one of the built in cabinets ready for delivery. Had to put the backs on, the drawers in and the drawer fronts on. Here is the result:

http://fototime.com/979F2A2A52B1093/orig.jpg

http://fototime.com/D15D540081484B5/orig.jpg

http://fototime.com/6EEFE41B326B1F7/orig.jpg

http://fototime.com/89967339B30DBCD/orig.jpg

Paint color is Ben Moore White Dove, done in MLC Resistant and top coated with Krystal. The drawer slides are Accuride full extension w/a 150 lb rating. The Pendeflex folder rails were made by me using 1/2" "L" aluminum that I cut to size and rounded the edges and drilled mounting holes.

The Molding will get a cap that isn't shown in the picture, it was wrapped up and I didn't want to unwrap it before delivery.

[naptownCr]

Sweet
What's up with the crown the bottom edge miter looks open and not tight to the casework.

Just being an a hole looks good

[Leo G]

Thats what you get when you use a lacquer based paint. It has no filling properties and any little gap, no matter how small may show up. If it is a problem I will use a wax crayon to fill it. But the top of the cabinet is 63" so most people will be looking down on it.

[Silvertree]

You got a trick on getting that nice fit for your inset drawer fronts?

[Blue]

You call that finished?

[Blue]

Gotcha.....How mad were ya!! Looks awesome.

[Leo G]

My normal cabinet is an inset style. This is what I have done for 15 years. It is harder for me to do an overlay than an inset :laugh4:

My usual process is to make the FF and the make the door/drawer front. I lay the FF on a table and use two shims, either 5/64" or 3/32" depending on what it is I am working on/with. I will then take the slightly oversized door to the edge sander and grind down 4 edges and bring it back to the FF and drop it in. Take the shims and see if they fit, if not sand a bit more. I do this until the shims slide in with a snug fit.

When it is time to mount the drawer front on the drawer I mount the drawer and use the same shims to support the drawer front in the opening. In this case I used some double sided carpet tape to hold the drawer in place because I had no top access like I would usually have in a normal kitchen cabinet. Push the drawer front tight against the drawer to set it in the carpet tape and remove the drawer. Then I put the screws into the predrilled holes and screw them down. The I have to take them out, remove the tape and reinsert the screws. Do a test fit, usually I have to use a clamp to tweak the drawer front into perfect position and then batten down on the screws to keep it in permanent place.

[Leo G]

You call that finished?

It is a built in and goes into a hole in the wall. All surfaces have a seal coat on them and what you see is finished. No use of spending time/money/materials/effort on something that will never be seen again after the install is completed.

[Leo G]

Gotcha.....How mad were ya!! Looks awesome.

What you talking bout Willis?:mad2:

[WarnerConstInc.]

I have a question.

On a finish like that where all the joints are smoothed/filled/leveled with the paint, after a while they will get a hairline crack on those joints, from humidity changes and what not?

Ok that is more like a rambling sentence question.

[WarnerConstInc.]

Leo is catching up, post whore!!:laugh3::laugh3:

[Leo G]

I am not sure. This is a Pigmented Conversion Varnish which is very hard and brittle. The joints are nailed and glued. There is no filler, just wet glue sanded into the joint. Then it is primed a few coats and then painted and cleared. It should hold well, but it has the posibility to get a hairline crack.

[WarnerConstInc.]

I am not sure. This is a Pigmented Conversion Varnish which is very hard and brittle. The joints are nailed and glued. There is no filler, just wet glue sanded into the joint. Then it is primed a few coats and then painted and cleared. It should hold well, but it has the posibility to get a hairline crack.

Just wondering. Most I have seen have a little hair line there after a while.

I didn't think there was anyway around it.

Built-ins are about my favorite pieces.

[Leo G]

That is one of the reasons I really like to use a pre cat lacquer. It is not as brittle as a conversion varnish. But it has a problem with yellowing, hence the use of CV on a white pc. I don't need an off white to become an off yellow.

[WarnerConstInc.]

Seen them yellow before, it really looks like crap then.

[Bender]

Looks great Leo, as always.

You should look into some of the newer waterborne products.

[Leo G]

They aren't there yet. Slower to dry, not as tough, staining systems aren't quite there yet either. ICA has the best staining system, it is almost ready to replace the solvent base finishes.

Don't worry, the democraps will force the waterbornes on us soon enough.

[naptownCr]

Sweet
What's up with the crown the bottom edge miter looks open and not tight to the casework.

Just being an a hole looks good

Couldn't resist bustn chops
Painted Cabinets ALWAYS show cracks on glue joints. I'm sure stained cabinets crack too but it is just more noticeable on painted stuff

[Blue]

It is a built in and goes into a hole in the wall. All surfaces have a seal coat on them and what you see is finished. No use of spending time/money/materials/effort on something that will never be seen again after the install is completed.

No,No,No!! I was messin which ya. (thats why my next post says'gotcha') I know it's finished and ready for delivery LOL.

[Leo G]

It really isn't cracked. The paint just doesn't bridge the gap. When I paint with the CV I have to put filler on all of my joints or something will show no matter how tight the joint is. On crowns I usually put glue on the joint and then use sandpaper to make a glue/sawdust slurry that goes into any of the open joints. The bottom of the crown is something I usually don't snad because it will put a gouge in the face frame.

Thanks for being an a hole. :laugh4:

[neolitic]

As usual, a piece of art.
Curious about the offset back though.
Is there duct work or plumbing crossing
back there?

[Leo G]

Originally this pc was going to go into the wall that had a sloped roof line on the backside of it. After they opened the wall up they found the wall they wanted to cut into was a supporting wall and the HO didn't want to pay to have it engineered or redone. So the pc went into the original hole that the older built ins came out of. But it was easier to just build it like it was designed instead of redesigning it all over again. Plus it makes it easier to attach the back on the upper section (bookcase). It has a dado in the middle shelf to sit in and the gets stapled to the back on the other three sides.

[Absolute Basements]

I use the blue tape to open flush drawers too. Homeowners are easily impressed because they love seeing that. Very nice, BTW.
Darren

[Leo G]

And then there were two

http://fototime.com/0AE8E3DE1B30CB1/orig.jpg

[Absolute Basements]

what else to say, except..
That is twice as nice as the one before.
I always dread making more than one of anything.
The first one is fun to make, but then the ADD kicks in and I have a hard time getting motivated to...oh look, a birdy.

Darren

[J F]

:laugh3::laugh3::laugh3:

[J F]

I think leo came outta the womb being able to make nice stuff...he probably built his own cradle/crib.:laugh3:

[Leo G]

what else to say, except..
That is twice as nice as the one before.
I always dread making more than one of anything.
The first one is fun to make, but then the ADD kicks in and I have a hard time getting motivated to...oh look, a birdy.

Darren

Built them at the smae time one after another.

[Leo G]

Making headway on the installation of the job. 1st day we got the vanities and the two built in cabinets set. The vanities were a challenge to get in. Lots of thing running against me. 1st the floor was sloped 7/8", high on the left and low on the right. You can't really shim this type of a cabinet, only scribe. So I have a left scribe, a bottom scribe and 6 plumbing holes to keep aligned. Plus I have to keep the vanity in check so I can get the floor to ceiling linen cabinet in place and tight against the wall.

Took, way longer than I expected. I figured about 3 hours, well it took about 5, with me and a helper to get it to this point. A few things you don't see, on the left and right of the center cabinet on the vanity are to be framed mirrors and they needed to be fit to the wall and that was pretty quick, but time never the less.

The built ins went in as planned. About an hour for both of them.

The desk was another pain because of the floor. It too sloped about 7/8". What should have been a very easy start of a day turned into another long install. Because there is a carpet going into the room we were able to do a bit of shimming. Had to take a 1/4" off the right file cabinet and shim the rest. The left cabinet was shimmed about 1/2". Then the fun of putting in the 3 sided coped desktop. I had a pc of large corragated cardboard and used that as a square. We started on the right corner and it was pretty simple, almost square from the back to about 10" in and then zero to 1/8" as you got to the front. To scribe for the back we cheated. Ran a string and put marks every 6" and measured back and recoreded it. The transfered it to the desktop and cut. Then put it in place and took about 5 smaller scribes to finish up on the left side. Fit very nice on the left and right sides and pretty good on the back, one spot was about 1/2" but got hidden by the center cabinet.

The rest was pretty easy, just painstaking, had to be really accurate with the scribes. We planned on installing it from the left to the right because there was a large 2" scribe pc on the right cabinet and we figure we could angle it in. But because of the window trim it wouldn't fly. So we did the left side (upside down "L"), then the right side (number "7") and slide the center cabinet in place. Worked well and the scribes were perfect.

Attached the cabinets from the bottom, screwed into the wall and it was secure. Put in all the drawers.

Still have to do the moldings and all the pulls and handles. The client is estatic.

http://fototime.com/02B93B12711733E/orig.jpg

http://fototime.com/0ADDAD13F747812/orig.jpg

http://fototime.com/6752F764B65549A/orig.jpg

http://fototime.com/F52A5A57EED39EF/orig.jpg

[KitchenSync]

Gorgeous. I can see why the client would be ecstatic.

[WarnerConstInc.]

Man Leo, you hang out with some real classy guys.

Did you get to ride around on that CT?

[Leo G]

Shut up you. :laugh4:

[TulsaRemodeler]

The first one is fun to make, but then the ADD kicks in and I have a hard time getting motivated to...oh look, a birdy.

Wow the voices in my head are on the internet too. I so relate to that.

[WarnerConstInc.]

Shut up you. :laugh4:

Did you at least get to use it?

I like the vanity.

[Leo G]

I used it to vacuum out the vanities you like so much.

I like my Oneida better, but it won't fit in my truck.


The vanity will look some much better when completed. Only about half way done. Still need a ceiling molding that will wrap around the linen cabinet. The two mirrors w/frames and then a different molding that will go from the left wall, wrap the mirrors and center cabinet and terminate on the linen cabinet. Still need a countertop, plumbing fixtures and pulls.

[WarnerConstInc.]

I used it to vacuum out the vanities you like so much.

I like my Oneida better, but it won't fit in my truck.

That would be too funny!!
Pull up to an install and run a 220 extension cord out to the Oneida!:laugh3:

I like the built in's as well.

Desk is nice, verdict is out on the color though.

[Leo G]

The camera didn't get it right. I tried several white balances. The shot was taken with the WB set on tungsten using the quarts halogen light, hand held with a shutter setting of 1/6th second and an ISO speed of 1600.

I tried using a flash but I was getting to many hot spots and the desk was dark. I gotta do some shooting while the sun is out. I think tomorrow is gonna rain around here so not to much sun.

The color is a chocolate brown with an orange undertone. It's a nice color.

[PA Woodbutcher]

What did you use for the desk top? Full glue up? I was recommended to build a conference room table from cherry. They have had a full skid of cherry in various widths and thickness for 3 or 4 years now air drying and now want something done with it. I do have access to a 40" glue up rack and 50" drum sander. 2 years ago I would have avoided it like the plague, but now it "interests" me. The finish I think will be the hard part.

[Leo G]

I used a plywood top with a thick birch edge that was glued up to the ply.

I would avoid air dried, I just don't trust it. If it is air dried inside a conditioned building them maybe. If it is air dried outside in someones garage or shed or unheated building - forgetaboutit, just trouble waiting to happen. Put it in your contract that you have no liability about the wood cracking, checking or warping. CYA.

[PA Woodbutcher]

I used a plywood top with a thick birch edge that was glued up to the ply.

I would avoid air dried, I just don't trust it. If it is air dried inside a conditioned building them maybe. If it is air dried outside in someones garage or shed or unheated building - forgetaboutit, just trouble waiting to happen. Put it in your contract that you have no liability about the wood cracking, checking or warping. CYA.

I've heard and had a couple of conversations wrapped around the kiln/air dried lumber thing. Had one older fella tell me the best way to "cure" hardwood was to sticker it and set it in a hedgerow and throw the top couple of layers out. Another guy tells me the theory behind kiln drying was to shrink the cells in the wood so that it won't absorb as much moisture from the air as something that was air dried...dunno. I did a butcher block counter top out of air dried hard maple last year with good results and that went into a house where the woman has a wood stove CRANKED all the time.

Adding it into the contract about cracking and checking very sound advice....Thank you. If it means anything the "keeper of the wood" and the guy that recommended me for the job actually has a saw mill, kiln and mill work shop, it's where I buy all my hardwoods, http://www.newoods.com/. Also not sure what they were doing for kilns for the furniture that they were building centuries ago...any ideas?

[Leo G]

Well centuries ago they used air dried wood and their homes were more or less the same humidity as the outdoors was. Today indoors and outdoors is a totally different thing.

Air dried wood can be used and is used. But, it can be troublesome at times. Just as long as you explain it to them and have it in your contract, do the job. Shouldn't be anything to be afraid of.....Unless it's lawyers.:rolleyes3:

[PA Woodbutcher]

Well centuries ago they used air dried wood and their homes were more or less the same humidity as the outdoors was. Today indoors and outdoors is a totally different thing.

Air dried wood can be used and is used. But, it can be troublesome at times. Just as long as you explain it to them and have it in your contract, do the job. Shouldn't be anything to be afraid of.....Unless it's lawyers.:rolleyes3:

Thanks, didn't mean to high jack your thread.

As I said the material is in all sorts of dimensions. 5/4, 8/4. It is actually for the local township. Some special tree that they had logged off, kind of a sentimental thing.:rolleyes3: