From Before to After- The saga of the hole

This post is going to be long.  I will attempt to describe how I created my shelves in my bathroom.  I am by no means advocating my steps as proper or correct, only this is my solution.  I have tried to make it as clear as possible, but it is one big mess on top of another and at times it seems as if I was bouncing all over the place.  If you have any questions, or want me to be clearer on any step, just send me an email and I will try to clear it up.

You all know the story by now of how I got carried away and tore out part of my bathroom wall to see if I could find any space, and how we lived with this hole for 9 months.

I wanted shelves, but I was stumped on how I was going to actually build them.  You see, once I got a closer look at the inside working of the wall, I got scared and wasn't sure how to pull this off.

My biggest stumbling block was the angle of the stud to the wall, and how to deal with the edge of drywall that was exposed.  If I was to just face it with trim, I would be left with all sorts of weird miter joints when it came time to install the trim.  And I was not willing to tackle that.  So I was left to think about it a little longer.  I will admit, that I got so frustrated I almost just put the drywall back up. 

I wanted to eek out as much space as possible, which meant I would be using paneling and just cleaning up as much as possible.  But the existing studs were not located where I wanted them.

This is the right side of the opening (previous picture is the left).  

I had studs to attach paneling on the left side, but nothing to attach them on the back.

Initially, I wanted to use bead board for the cubby.  I bought a package of bead board sections.  The left side went up easy.  I used liquid nails and paneling nails and attached the boards.

To get the wall for the back of the cubby, I purchased a strip of wood about 3/4" square and attached that to the paneling I previously installed on the left side.

This gave me something to attach the back paneling to.

Here is when I decided to flip the panels around, for a couple of reasons.  I figured it would be easier for me to install the panels if I flipped them on their sides.  That way I could use the notch and groove function to my advantage.  If I did this, I would not be able to continue having the bead board facing out.  So from here on out,  I flip the boards (back side facing out) and will have to cover the existing bead board with drywall mud.

To start, I installed a shelf strip at the height of my lowest shelf.  I cut the panels down and with liquid nails I set them into place.

The gray lines show each panel section.

I decided to leave the right side as it is.  It is the back side of the exsisting dry wall, and since I was not using the bead board side, I could just paint it.

Now, the other major issue with the cubby is how to size the shelves.  The shelves were obviously going to be some strange triangular shape, and I figured I would have to play around with templates until I got them right.

I will admit- This was no fun.

I started from the bottom.  I had to build up the floor to the height that worked best.  I then used some left over laminate to create a sub-floor of sorts.

A very crude sub floor, but it does what I needed it to do.  I then pulled out a large piece of cardboard and took lots of measurements and just figured out the shape I needed.  (I wish I snapped a picture of this)  I transferred the template to a section of very thin mdf, and cut until I got the correct shape.

My first attempt was not so good...

My second attempt was better.

For the other 3 shelves, I needed the material to be thicker, but I needed a template for each shelf to create the shape to cut out.  I used my first attempt as my template.

I think, at this point, I realized I needed to tackle the stud on the right wall.

I needed to create my finishes edge, covering this stud, to ensure the shelves get cut to the proper size.

I figured, I needed to find out how to create a 90 degree angle from my face wall and the stud. (I am sure I am going to be unclear here, I apologize, I tried to take pictures, but I am not sure that is even going to help, but I will proceed).

From fiddling around, I thought I could use a 1/2" square strip of wood to help make the 90 degree angle I needed.

I attached this with a lot of liquid and regular nails.  I attached a 1" flat trim (again with a lot of liquid nails) to the stud and the strip, making sure I allowed for the front molding to over lap.

I didn't attach the front molding at this time, but it allowed me to go back to sizing the shelves.  I did attach a flat trim to the right side at this time as well (again to help size the shelves).

So back to the shelves

I decided on my spacing, and attached my shelf support strips (liquid nails and regular nails where I could).

Then working with my template and jigsaw, I puzzled out the correct shape of the shelves.

I wish I could say there was a magic formula for this, but there wasn't.  It was all playing around with a template, straight edge and ruler.  I was able to get the shelves pretty close, but I did need to use filler and caulking around the edges.  One tip I can pass on is, use the straight edge of the board for the front of the shelf, unless you have a table saw, which I did not- I used my jig saw.

Under the bottom shelf, I had another issue I needed to address.  That being access to the plumbing.  Now before I opened the wall, there was no access, but since I had it open I might as well address it.  It was a simple as creating a panel that could be removed.

Initally I wanted to have hinges and such, but I opted for the low tech version of velco.  I figure I can always go back and install hinges if I desire.

Next, the front trim was installed.

And I, caulked, primed and then painted the whole she-bang.

 Dress it up and called it done.  Then did a jig!

That is how I did it, correct?  I am guessing, probably not.  Oh well.

Thanks for hanging in there with me, as I rambled through it all.  If you have any question fell free to either leave a comment or contact me through e-mail.

-Laurie