First off, I had to move the electrical outlet that will go above the back splash. To meet code and pass inspection, we had just screwed a plastic double outlet box to the wall and got the wiring connected for an overhead light and a ground-fault protected outlet. Not knowing the configuration of the cabinets last May, this was all we could do. However, it wasn't too hard to move the box. I just cut a channel upwards in the wall board, found a cross stud and cutout a hole for the box. Now it will be a few inches above the back splash and under the overhead, hanging cabinet. I unwired the box, feed the wires up, and rewired it, about a 30-minute job. A little drywall mud filled the channel, which will be mostly behind the back splash. Some spray on texture, and we'll be good to paint.
The cabinets were ordered from Discount Cabinets of Washington, who we used for the pantry and mudroom. Order their best quality and you get good plywood cabinets, top quality hardwoods and hardware at 1/2 the normal (showroom) price. For this bathroom we went with their Omega cabinets, shaker style doors and quarter-sawn white oak (natural lacquer finish) to match the new flooring in the bedroom. The picture on the right shows the 5 cabinets, unboxed but still wrapped in plastic. I think the net cost for the cabinets was about $2k plus tax (about $400 for each box on average). I also bought two 8' pieces of oak trim (1x3 x 96", $50) to make a mirror frame. We did this downstairs and the matching mirrors and cabinets look great. With glass, the mirror will only cost about $125 or a quarter of a custom-made one.
Next step was to figure the cabinet spacing and make filler strips from a 6"x36" piece of prefinished trim the company supplies. The bank of 4 lower cabinets are 84" wide and their parking place is about 87". So there is 3" to work with. I put a 3/4" spacer on both ends (for door out-swing clearance against the wall), then took up the remaining 1.5" with three 1/2" spacers between the four cabinets. This way all the drawers and doors will have equal spacing between them and it will look good. In the photo to the right, the spacers are cut, clamped in place and the cabinets are ready to be screwed together with 3" finish screws (#10 bit). Above the bank of 4 cabinets their will be a single wall-mounted cabinet with doors (linen cabinet). This will go up against the left wall with another 1" spacer.
One tricky part, and there's no room for screw ups, is to drill the back of the sink cabinets for the hot, cold, and drain pipes. I used a 1" Forstner bit for the water pipes and a 2.5" hole saw for the drain. Measure carefully and you won't get any surprises. When you screw the cabinets together, be sure to clamp the fronts of the cabinets to align everything and shim the bottoms to the top of the cabinets form a nice flat place for the counter top (400 pounds). Three screws in each cabinet will hold things fast. Then fasten the cabinets to the wall through the backer plate in each cabinet using cabinet screws (square drive with wide lip to hold plywood). Next, I'll scribe one of the 1" wide fillers and attach that end to the side wall. Almost done. Scribe and cut the other 1" wide filler and attach that end of the cabinet to the other side wall. Shim out the backs and the sides of the cabinets so the whole unit is square, and screw them to studs with 2-3" cabinet screws.The final thing to do is to rip another filler piece for the side wall side of the hanging cabinet so that it will be perfectly aligned with the cabinet beneath it. Repeat the fastening procedure and you're all done.
