Converting a False Drawer Front

Over a month ago we started to give the cabinet a little facelift.  We planned to paint it, and change out the hardware- nothing serious.  It should have been a weekend’s work at the most, and had we stopped there it would have been, but instead, we decided to be clever.

When I was little, my sister and I shared a fairly small bathroom with very little countertop space, and no drawers.  At some point my Dad installed a tilt out drawer behind the false drawer front in front of the sink to add a bit of storage, and since then, every time I see a false drawer front (like the large one on the kid’s bathroom vanity)  I feel like it is a waste of valuable storage space.  It seemed like an ideal time to remedy the wasted false drawer front space when we began working on the bathroom vanity.  We bought a kit by Rev-A-Shelf on Amazon that could convert false drawer fronts into tilt out drawers for $20 (enough for two), and that is where the trouble began. 

Rev-A-Shelf - 6572-14-11-52 - 14 in. White Polymer Tip Out Sink Front Trays and Hinges

While we were waiting for the kit to arrive we got ready  for it.  Removing the false drawer front from the cabinet was surprisingly easy.  I expected it to be securely attached to the vanity, but when I got under there  wasn’t much holding it in at all, just a couple of pieces of wood screwed to false front that fit snugly against the cabinet frame.  The wood swiveled out of the way releasing the front.

The false front had been painted to the front of the cabinet at some point, so I also had to use a razor blade to separate the false front’s paint from the rest of the cabinet.  Then the front popped off – easy as pie.  Note the raised bit of wood on the back of the false front, that will become important later.

When the tilt out drawer kit arrived the cabinet was otherwise ready to go.  We thought it would take 30 minutes to an hour to install the kit, and then we would be done.  Hubris, pure hubris. 

I calculated the placement of the tilt out hinges to within 1/32 of an inch based on the instructions provided with the kit, then, being very confident of my measurements, we quickly screwed everything in and closed the door ready to start on our next project.  The drawer front was too high, much too high.  We were a full 1/4 of an inch off (enough that it was noticeable), despite very careful measurement and direction following.

We took everything off, repositioned, reinstalled, and reclosed.  This time the drawer front was the correct height, but the raised piece of wood on the drawer front hit the cabinet frame before it closed.  The next time the hinges hit the raised piece of wood on the back of the drawer front.  We had to cut off a chunk of the raised portion to make the hinges fit correctly.  After several more attempts our cabinet was doing a very good impression of Swiss cheese, and the drawer front was no longer hitting the frame, the hinges were no longer hitting the drawer front, and everything was at the correct height, but the drawer did not close all of the way, it stood out from the cabinet about as far as the raised portion on the back of the drawer front was thick.

It was now obvious that the makers of this kit had assumed that the false drawer front that the hinges are attached to would be flat.  To compensate for the raised portion of our cabinet front we needed to install the hinges father back in our cabinet than the instructions indicated.  However, there was no space to install them further back, so we had to improvise.  I came up with the plan, and Firebeard implemented it.  The basic idea was to attach additional blocks of wood to the drawer glides to either side of the tilt drawer opening that could then be used to screw the hinges in place.  We got two lengths of 2x4, approximately 6 inches long, routered out a channel on the backs of each block that would fit over the drawer glides (and still allow the drawers to slide in and out) and allow the wood to sit flush with the cabinet opening, and then glued (and Screwed) the wood blocks in place.  We were then able to install the hinges farther back in the cabinet, allowing the drawer to close all of the way.

So now we finally have the new tilt drawer in place, and I will admit I really like having it.  It is a great place to hide the toothpaste and toothbrushes, it can be taken out easily and washed, and the countertop is less cluttered as a result.  Would I put another one in?  Even though I have another kit ready to be installed I haven’t decided if I will actually install it yet.  It was just such a giant waste of time and energy that I am not sure if it was worth it.  If you decide to put one in yourself, here is my advice;

• Use the instructions to get a general idea of how everything is installed and where everything should go
• Don’t use the actual measurements in the instructions, there is just too much variations in cabinets for the measurements to be completely accurate
• Get a helper (or two) to hold things in place while you mark where all the holes need to go
• Expect to install the hinges more than once, and for the installation to be a far bigger pain in the butt than the helpful kit indicates

If you have any helpful tilt drawer installation tips, or just want to share an installation horror story tell me about it in the comments.

This post contains affiliate links.  All opinions are my own.

Completed Cabinet

I hope everyone had a wonderful July 4th, whether you celebrate American Independence or not.  I am happy to say that in my house we took a little break from the home remodeling projects and actually did a bit of relaxing.  We decided to stick with tradition this year, and did all of our normal 4th of July activities.  First was dinner - burgers/veggie burgers.  I make a cake that the kids refused to eat.  Then we moved on to the annual Nerf war, which, as dictated by tradition, only ends when the losing child begins to cry.  Finally the combined blood sacrifice to the mosquitoes (lest they suck out our souls), and fireworks.  It all ended at about 10pm with all of us literally dripping sweat (Florida), and smelling strongly of exploding gunpowder.  Good times.

I actually felt good about relaxing this 4th of July rather than guilty for slacking off because we are nearly at the finishing line in our mini bathroom remodel.  Today I finally get to reveal the last of the big items in the remodel, the bathroom cabinet. 

Before: Dated, dreary, and dirty looking

Now:  Brighter, and whiter yet more colorful

The bathroom cabinet has been nearly complete for quite a while, the only thing that was stopping us from completing it was the installation of a tip out drawer in the place of the cabinet’s false drawer front.  This sounds easy enough, but it was a complete nightmare.  I will go into the tilt out drawer a bit more next time, but for now, bask in the pretty completed cabinet.   

The color is Everglade Green by Clark + Kensington, color matched to Valspar’s Interior Satin wall and trim.  We wanted to match the dark blue of the shower curtain and actually took the curtain to several stores before we found Everglade Green.  Initially wasn’t completely sure of the color (while it was the closest I could find it still wasn't a perfect match) so I just got a small tester can.  I ended up painting the entire cabinet with just the tester (total cost $4).  I may eventually polyurethane over the paint if it starts to wear a little too fast, but for now it is holding up pretty well.

Franklin Brass P15510-SS-B European Steel Bar Style Cabinet Pull Handle, 3-inch (10 Pack)

We also changed out all of the cabinet’s hardware.  The old stuff was just a bit too frumpy for our sleek new look.  The hinges are super basic chrome hinges from home depot similar to these.  They were about $1.50 each, or $6 for entire cabinet.  The European Steel Bar Style handles, by Franklin Brass were another Amazon steel.  We got 10 for $16.99, about a $1.70 each (as of this writing they are currently $26.00 for 10, or $2.60 each).  I am pretty happy with the quality of these and would definitely get them again, however, they were not as shiny as I expected them to be.

Total exterior transformation cost $18.50, not too shabby.

This post contains affiliate links, all opinions are my own.

Mini Bathroom Remodel - DeCaulking

After removing the shower doors we were left with a much more open, inviting bathroom, and a crap ton of caulk that needed to be removed.  I think I need to start by emphasizing just how bad the caulk was in this bathroom.  I have only once ever seen caulk applied more poorly than it was in this bathroom (the worst I have seen is our Master Bathroom).  It looked as if a person that REALLY loved caulk, but had no idea how to apply it decided to try their hand at caulking in the bathroom by literally smearing it in the general vicinity of a corner.  But they didn't try just once, oh no.  It looked they they kept coming back to try again without removing the previously applied caulk.  In other words it was really bad.

Caulk Removal - Surprisingly Interesting

Since we already had to remove the caulk left behind by the shower doors, we decided that it would be a good time to re caulk the entire bathroom the right way, and got to work removing the old caulk.

We started with layers and layers of peeling caulk.

Removing caulk really isn't hard, you basically just scrape it off, but having the right tools can make the job even easier.  My tools of choice are a caulk removing tool, a scraper, a razor blade (in a holder) and caulk softening spray.

My caulk removing tools.

We started by removing most of the caulk on the flat surfaces with the scraper, then moved onto the corners using the caulk removing tool (it's strangely shaped blade is perfect for getting into the corners).  There was still a lot of caulk left after our first pass (see smeared caulk above), so we went back in with a razor.  

Scraping,

scraping,

and more scraping.

Since there were still a few stubborn pieces left we followed the razor blade up with the caulk softening spray.  The spray really didn't spray for me, so we painted it on with a cheap foam paint brush (which was pretty well disintegrated by the end), let it go to work, and then made another pass with a razor blade.  

Caulk Removed.  Tub Cleaned.  Looking Pretty Good.

The tile is looking pretty good following the caulk removal.  A good scrub down did wonders to remove any remaining residue,  and once it throughly dries we will be ready to re-caulk.