Finished Laundry

We finally put the finishing touches on our laundry closet!

You might remember what the area looked like before we even started the project or since I last posted about it:

To flashback and see the process it took to create our laundry room- click here for the full post

To build the countertop:

First, we screwed 2" strips of MDF onto the walls to support the countertop- making sure to screw into the studs.  We put them at the height we wanted the bottom of the counter to be [machines required >1" space above them] and made sure the supports were level.  The side supports were cut 3" shorter than the depth of the countertop so they set back visually a little bit.

[In hind-sight, this step would have been much easier before the machines were here.  It was very tricky to get the drill at the right angle to screw them in without the machines being in the way, but we didn't have much choice since the washer/dryer were on special and had to be delivered by a certain date]

I also used this time without the countertop in to paint the supports the same color as the wall since you will see the front of them!

 We measured and cut a large piece of 3/4" MDF plywood for our countertop to lay on top of the supports (just did a dry-fit to make sure it was the right size)

 We also cut a notch into the countertop to allow for the hoses.  We had the plumber install the water valves above the machines so it was easier to reach them if we needed to turn them off.  It would have been very difficult to get to them if they were directly behind the washer and under the countertop! 

Next, we laminated the countertop with Formica.  I didn't think about taking any photos of the laminating process...whoops  :(

 To laminate: we took the top outside and layed it on two sawhorses.  We glued the gray stainless-steel-like formica onto our MDF countertop using DAP Weldwood non-flammable contact cement.  You roll/paint it onto the wood and the back of the formica then let it dry for 30-40 minutes.  Then we carefully laid our pre-cut formica [an inch bigger than the wood on every side] over it- making sure to roll out any air pockets from the center outward.  

After that, we borrowed a friends' router and used a laminate flush trim bit we bought to rout the excess formica off of the edges.  Then we did the same steps all over again for the front edge of the countertop and used wood glue to glue the whole top to the wall supports!

 

We used the old cabinet from our bathroom [pre-remodel], painted it white, added new hardware, and hung it for laundry detergent etc...  Then added thin pre-primed trim around the cabinet to finish the edges, caulked, and painted it.

I desperately needed a space to hang clothes to dry, so we added a pole from the cabinet to the wall

 I also created this sign for hanging "lost socks" by using a metal sign I found at World Market and gluing little wooden clothespin clips to it!

 Ahhhhh... Finally done!