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Bathroom wall cabinet
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Build some extra storage space in the bathroom
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By Dave Bond, photos by Tracy Cox, illustration by Len Churchill
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This classic cabinet makes good use of overlooked space in the bathroom, providing storage without eating up floor space.
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Most bathrooms are small and don't have enough room for all the products and gear used in the daily routines of the entire family. Make room for clutter and keep it organized and behind closed doors by building this attractive cabinet. This project looks best when made with thicker-than-standard materials. Anything thinner than 7/8" looks flimsy running up the side of a six-foot-tall piece, and that's how a thickness planer and jointer come in handy. Although it's possible to build the project from standard, 3/4"-thick lumber (with a few adjustments to part sizes), I recommend you follow my heftier lead.
Begin by selecting material for the two sides and five shelves. Cut these parts to rough size, leaving two or three inches of extra length before dressing them to finished thickness. Joint one edge and rip the sides and the bottom shelf to 7 1/2" wide. The wide shelves need to be 7 1/8" wide and the narrow shelf 6 1/8". Crosscut the two sides to 72" long, but don't make the bottom ends quite square. Instead, angle these back 1º from square, so the front edge of each side is slightly longer than the back. This tilts the completed cabinet backward slightly, making it more stable. When the cabinet's done you'll also anchor it to the wall as another safety measure.
Lay Out the Sides
Next, place the sides on your bench, inside face up, and prepare to mark shelf locations. Before you begin, check that both sides are exactly the same length and that you have the front edge of each side clearly identified. Remember, the front is the longer edge.
Start at the top and measure down 2 1/2". This marks the bottom edge of the top shelf, allowing 2 1/4" for crown moulding with 1/4" of the shelf revealed below it. Scribe a line across both sides with a square, then mark an X on the upward side of this line to show where the shelf will land.
Next, measure 11 1/2" down from the top. This marks the spot for the bottom edge of the narrow shelf. Again, mark another X on the upward side of this line, also making note that the narrow shelf is set back one inch from the front edges of the sides to make room for the doors.
It's time for another mark now, this time 21 1/2" down from the top. Scribe a line across the sides and draw an X above it. This is where one of the wide shelves will go; this shelf's top edge defines the bottom extent of the door opening.
Mark a spot 37" down from the top, for the location of another wide shelf piece, then mark another line 42" down. This last mark locates the bottom edge of the bottom shelf, leaving 30" to the bottom of the sides. This dimension allows the cabinet to straddle most toilets, but if any adjustments need to be made to accommodate an unusual toilet height, make the changes now. Tweak the distance between the doors and the drawers, or upper and lower middle shelves as needed.
With your shelf lines drawn, rout a 3/8" x 3/8" rabbet along the back inside edges of both sides. Rout from the top down to the middle of the bottom shelf position, the place where the back slats stop.
This project is held together with #20 biscuits, so mark their locations and cut slots for them. To boost accuracy, avoid measuring and marking individual slot locations. Instead, hold the shelf in place against the sides and make one continuous pencil mark across both side pieces. Position biscuit slots about 1 1/2" in from both front and back edges. When you've finished all the pencil work, cut the biscuit slots.
Lay both sides on your workbench again and insert biscuits into the slots without glue. It's not unusual for complex biscuit-joined assemblies such as this project to run into snags as parts come together, and you don't want that to happen with glue complicating the issue. Fit shelves onto the biscuits and dry-assemble the entire framework with the help of some clamps. Mark the shelf locations on back edges to avoid confusion during final assembly with glue. Check that the corners are square and make sure all pieces are easily aligned. This is also a good opportunity to lay out and cut the central drawer divider. Mark this on the bottom and lower middle shelf. Measure the distance between the two shelves and cut this piece with the grain running the same way as that on the sides. Take apart the framework and sand all the interior surfaces with a 120-grit abrasive in preparation for final glue-up.
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