Laundry Room Makeover: Case Study of a DIY Project

by Matt Weber

On this cosmetic laundry room makeover, the lady of the house took the lead on the design ideas. It was a multi-phase project that entailed new paint, new lighting, new appliances and new storage. The result was a decorative and functional enhancement of the room on a modest budget.

Total Color Change

When most people repaint a room, they consider the walls, but this makeover included the walls, the ceiling, the trim, the closet interior, closet shelves and the entry doors—all coated in a monochromatic shade of light blue. This gives the small room more of a light and airy feel like an outdoor space, and also ties the elements together with a cohesive theme. We chose latex paint with a satin finish to reduce water spots and so the walls clean easily.

From the ceiling and trim to the closet and doors, the laundry room got a new monochromatic coat of light blue.

Unexpected Challenges

Every remodeling project seems to include unexpected challenges. This project included installation of a new washer and dryer, but we encountered a leaky water valve when disconnecting the old appliances. We tried to tighten the threaded valve connection, but that worsened the problem by cracking an old CPVC fitting which had been coupled into one of the water lines.

A homeowner should never let a water leak go unaddressed. We called a pro from Magnolia Plumbing of Gardendale, Alabama to replace the CPVC with copper pipe and install new water valves for the washing machine.

Pro tip: Fortify all threaded plumbing joints by brushing thread sealant onto the threads. The sealant fills microscopic gaps between male and female threaded connections to prevent leaks.

The Bubble Light

The old, industrial fluorescent ceiling light had to go, and the lady of the house chose a “bubble light” as a replacement fixture. This funky-looking fixture installs like a normal

ceiling light with a central LED light source, but the bulbs then get surrounded by a cluster of glass bubbles which hook around the center to create interesting lighting patterns.

The new “bubble light” consists of a cluster of glass bubbles arranged around a central LED light source.

How to Hang a Wall Cabinet

This interior upgrade included enclosed storage to conceal detergents and laundry accessories. To install a wall cabinet, first locate and mark the wall studs to show where to drive the fasteners. Don’t assume all the studs are on 16-in. centers; use a stud finder to confirm their location. We marked the stud locations with bright green Frog Tape for easy visibility.

Next, draw parallel lines on the wall to mark the location of the top and bottom of

the cabinet. The traditional tools for marking cabinet layout are a straight edge, hand level, measuring tape and pencil.

Remove any drawers from the cabinet. If your cabinet is any larger than the small unit shown in this article, then you should remove the door as well to reduce weight before installing.

Pro tip: Whenever removing a cabinet door, unscrew the bottom hinge first and then remove the top hinge. This will prevent the door from falling away from the cabinet and potentially tearing the screws out of the bottom hinge.

To hang the cabine­t, you need to align its bottom edge with the corresponding mark

on the wall and screw the cabinet into the wall studs.

However, it is important to understand the construction of your cabinet, because

fastener placement is critical. The mounting screws should be positioned 3/4-inch away

from the inside top and 3/4-inch away from the inside bottom of the cabinet. Furthermore, the screws should come no closer than 2 inches to any inside vertical edge of the cabinet. Stock cabinets generally have mounting strips along the top and bottom edges that are reinforced with wood blocking for a strong, secure hold. The reinforced mounting strips should be the only areas where you place any fasteners. The cabinet backs are often made of thin plywood that is insufficient to hold the cabinets to the wall, meaning the cabinets could tear away from the fasteners if driven into the wrong spots.

The best approach is to drive a single mounting screw in the cabinet’s top mounting strip, then fine-tune the cabinet’s position for level and plumb before driving more fasteners.

When mounting into wood studs, we recommend hanging cabinets with No. 10 x 2-1/2-in. screws. Choose a screw with a washer-head to press against the cabinet surface for the best holding power.

Either use self-drilling cabinet screws, or drill pilot holes through the cabinet back into the studs with a 3/32-in. diameter bit about 2 inches deep.

To mount cabinets in cement, block, brick or tile walls, you will need concrete anchors

or toggle bolts.

We encountered another unforeseen challenge on this project: When we positioned this narrow cabinet in its desired location, the fastener locations fell between two studs. As a workaround, we installed 1x horizontal mounting boards on the wall behind the cabinet’s reinforced strip locations, along both the top and bottom. The mounting boards were fastened into the studs on each end, then we fastened the cabinet to the mounting boards with a series of 1-1/2-inch cabinet screws (rather than mounting the cabinet directly into the wall studs).

The screw locations of the narrow cabinet fell between two studs, so we mounted horizontal support boards into the studs and then mounted the cabinet into the boards.

Pro Tip: Whenever placing a fastener within 2 inches of a board’s end, we recommend drilling a pilot hole to prevent splitting the wood.

When preparing for the installation, keep in mind that cabinets are heavy. Recruit an assistant or use a cabinet jack to help handle the weight. We supported the cabinet with a

T-Jak, which has a threaded shaft to make easy height adjustments.

If you don’t have a cabinet jack, use a temporary ledger board. Mark the bottom of the cabinet on the wall and screw a temporary ledger board to the wall aligned below the mark. The temporary board should be perfectly level and fastened into at least two wall studs.

Rest the cabinet’s bottom rear edge on the board to support it while you drive the installation screws.

Install Floating Shelves

Above the new washer and dryer, we incorporated three levels of 1x12 floating wood shelves which extend from wall to wall, or between the cabinet and wall, depending on shelf height.

The floating shelves were supported by 10-inch powder-coated steel brackets. A pair

of these brackets will support 100 lbs. At the time of publication, these are available online for about $40 per twelve-pack.

We opted for the “floating” style to eliminate angled shelf brackets and leave more unobstructed storage surface between the shelves.

The shelves were simple rectangular pine boards stained a dark walnut tone. We attached 1x nosing (a 2-inch board the length of the shelf) flush along the front edge of each using wood glue and trim-head screws. The nosing gives the shelves a bolder look and strengthens the front edge.

The shelves were made from 1x12 pine with a 1x2 nosing strip, all stained a dark walnut tone.

Use a tape measure, level, and pencil (or painter’s tape) to mark the placement of your shelves. When determining the space between shelves, be sure to account for the height of specific items you wish to store there.

Make sure to anchor the floating-shelf brackets into the wall studs using 2-1/2-inch screws. (We used drywall anchors to fill the pair of bracket-screw holes that fell outside the stud framing.)

The L-shaped brackets are screwed to the shelves from the underside.

A laser line generator makes a handy tool for laying out and marking shelf locations.

At least one pair of shelf bracket holes should be anchored into a stud. In this photo we are drilling a pilot hole.

We used self-driving plastic drywall anchors for the bracket holes that fell outside the stud framing.

The brackets are screwed to the shelves from below. Note that we decided it was easier to fasten the brackets to the wall first and then mount the shelves on top.

When fastening the shelf brackets alongside the cabinet or alongside the newly painted wall, we used a driver extension and taped up cardboard masking to avoid marking up the surfaces with the power tool.

Décor and Accessories

The lady of the house was pleased with the cosmetic upgrade and embellished the

laundry room with lots of decorative baskets, knickknacks and artwork.

One interesting functional feature is a retractable clothesline. A stud-mounted line spool on one wall corresponds with a stud-mounted line anchor on the opposite wall (which is hidden behind artwork when not in use). Whenever it’s needed, just remove the artwork, extend the clothesline, and clip it in place to hang laundry. When not in use, the line retracts, and the artwork conceals the anchor.

Pretty neat, if you ask me.

Additional enhancements included lots of artwork and knickknacks, hand-painted electrical plates, and a retractable clothesline.

SIDE NOTE 1

Tip for a Clean Cut

Due to variations in the wall, you might need to trim wall-to-wall shelves to fit. However, a circular saw blade can chip the wood for an unsightly cut. To prevent this, first score the cut-line along the front, top and bottom with a sharp utility knife to neatly slice through the wood fibers at the surface of the board. Then, make the final cut with the saw blade for a smooth cut with no chips or splintering.

SIDE NOTE 2

Handy Tool for New Appliances: The AirShim PRO Steel XL

Have you ever used an AirShim? The HIR team has become a big fan of these inflatable prying tools for plumbing and leveling doors, windows, and floor cabinets during installation. For this project, we needed to level the feet of a new washer to prevent it from rocking and wobbling during operation. Lifting a heavy appliance to adjust the feet can be a cumbersome job, but an AirShim makes it easy—just slip it into wherever you need it and pump it up. For the washer, we used the contractor-grade AIrShim Pro Steel model, which includes a steel plate on one side to maintain rigidity and prevent the tool from pillowing or wrapping around narrow edges. This improves lifting stability and transfers more power along the flat plate. It's highly recommended and available now at Home Depot!

Find out more at www.calculated.com!