Bath cabinet mod

[Pahaska]

I became tired of having nowhere in the bathroom to stow stuff. On my 2014.5 AI, there is a gray plastic shape that goes floor to ceiling to cover the vent pipe from the black tank. The shape flares out at the top to contain a semi-useful catchall that usually ended up holding our WBAC badges and some papers. I decided to sacrifice the catchall and use the 4" of space for a small bathroom cabinet.

In addition to the 4" gained in the shape, there is about another 2" in the plywood wall and free space between that wall and the bathroom plastic liner. The cabinet will be above the ledge that runs across the bathroom wall, so it can extend into the bathroom slightly without being in the room.

In the Container Store, I happened upon a counter top garbage can with a nice looking hinged flip top. The can is about 7" wide, 14" high, and 8" deep and is of white plastic that matches the bathroom liner nicely. I'll install a shelf halfway up to make a compartment for each of us. I'll install a magnet to hold the door closed while under way.

When I converted to twin beds, I sold the couch, but I was left with the jack knife seats. One seat was accidentally torn, so I decided to sacrifice that Ultra Leather seat. to make a cover for the area of the catchall. The cover matches the chair below and adds a rich touch to the area inside the door.

So far, I have made and installed the Ultra Leather cover and cut the opening into the bathroom. I can not glue to the material of the garbage can, so I will have to use other methods to hold the cabinet invisibly in place.

The photos below show the catchall and the Ultra Leather cover.

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by Pahaska

The cover matches the chair below and adds a rich touch to the area inside the door.

So far, I have made and installed the Ultra Leather cover and cut the opening into the bathroom. I can not glue to the material of the garbage can, so I will have to use other methods to hold the cabinet invisibly in place.

JOHN - Nice job in ultraleather. Looks like the flip down jumpseats in airplanes (duh, it's WAS a jumpseat in prior life)
Why can't you glue the garbage can? Is it because you don't want to make it permanent or the glue(s) won't stick? I can visualize the garbage can and location and how it will fit in cutout. But having a hard time visualizing the glue'ing issue. Maybe another pic or 2 might give me some ideas.

[Pahaska]

I tried some solvent glue that I use for Lexan. It did not work. I'll try some other options. If nothing sticks well, I have other ways of adding a shelf and securing the can.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

These don't look anywhere near as good. They do hold stuff that otherwise bounces around the bath area:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you decide they aren't needed, the command stuff comes off pretty easily.

Bob

[Lily&Me]

Very nice!

Maggie

[Pahaska]

I spent part of the morning fitting a shelf and a piece across the bottom of my new cabinet, using pieces of 1/2" laminate salvaged when I converted to twin beds.

The photos include my helper. I can do nothing right without her help and inspection, all 13# of her.

The lid has a small overlap at the bottom that serves as a grip to pull it open. I think the lid should stay closed without any mechanical help. Braking forces will pull items stored in the cabinet away from the lid. If the lid needs help staying closed, I will put a steel screw in the center of the wood piece across the bottom and bond a magnet on the lid. I can adjust it by turning the screw to just touch the magnet.

When I opened the hole in the bathroom liner, I found that there is a piece of thin steel sheet bonded into the liner as reinforcement for the clothesline spool and the latch for the swing-out section of the wall (not there on later years). That steel was really tough and required a lot of work with aircraft shears to cut away. My Rockwell tool with metal cutting blade just bounced off of it.

Some photos of the cabinet-to-be. I went to the Container Store to look for something waterproof I could use as a cabinet. I was blocked from the aisle I wanted to go down and detoured through the garbage can aisle. That is where I found the container I used here. It is intended for counter-top use for food scraps to be mulched.

[Pahaska]

I took my morning's work to the storage yard and installed the cabinet. I padded the cutout in the plywood and drove 4 screws through the bottom into the 3/4" ply I used to cover the catchall.

I sealed around the cabinet with bathroom seal. I still need to do some trimming on the seal.

We each have an area 6.5" W x 6" deep x about 6" high for our things. My area will hold all the things I kept popping in and out of the bath to access on the galley counter, such as deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush, etc.

The lid closes firmly and I don't think I will need to add a magnet.

I spent a bunch of time reinstalling all of the gray-headed screws that hold the cover over the vent pipe (and now, the cabinet). I have hand cramps from using a stubby on the screws facing the sliding door. Easier to use the stubby than to move the door stop.

[Alex AVI]

JOHN - very nice work. Once you have area to put stuff in bath, hard to imagine how inconvenient it was without it.

[Pahaska]

I found that the cabinet did not reliably stay closed when under way, so I added a magnetic catch.

The knob is one I had in my parts boxes and looks good in this use. It is attached with a machine screw to a cup holding a 1/2" magnet. I put a big-headed screw in the wood behind the door as an adjustable target for the magnet to attract. It stays nicely closed now.

Our roughly 2000 mile trip showed me how nice it is to have some cabinet space in the bathroom.

[Alex AVI]

JOHN - Looking back at knobless pic, looked more like an access panel than a cabinet. Knob was a nice finishing touch, now a proper cabinet looking door. All about the look, right