36″ wide over-the-toilet etagere plans

Parts

Cut list

Kerf 1/8″ included. Every cut runs edge to edge.

Steps

• Tape measure
• Speed square
• Pencil
• Drill/driver
• Clamps
• Safety glasses
• Hearing protection
• Dust mask
• Circular saw or miter saw
• Stud finder
• Level
• Table saw or track saw for ripping
• Jigsaw or handsaw (for the notches)
• Table saw or circular saw with a rip guide
• Sander, 120 and 180 grit

Underlined words have a short explanation: hover or tap them. All of them are on the glossary page.

1. 1Before you start

   Read every step once, start to finish, before you buy or cut anything. Each step names the parts it uses by letter; the parts list gives their sizes.

   Set up somewhere flat with good light. A pair of sawhorses with a sheet of plywood on top makes a fine work table.

   Wear safety glasses whenever a tool is running, hearing protection for saws, and a dust mask for sanding and for cutting treated wood or sheet goods. Tie back long hair and loose sleeves. Keep children and pets out of the work area.

   • Tip At the store, pick straight boards: hold each one up to your eye and look down its length. Skip boards that bow, twist or have big knots near the ends.
   • Tip Measure twice, cut once. Most mistakes are a misread tape, not a bad cut.

2. 2Cut and label the parts

   Cut every part on the cut list. Cut the longest parts first: if one goes wrong, it can still become a shorter part.

   To mark a cut, hook your tape on the end of the board, make a small V with its point exactly at the measurement, and draw a square line through the point with a speed square. Put an X on the waste side.

   Cut on the waste side of the line, so the blade's kerf (about 1/8″) comes out of the scrap, not your part.

   Write each part's letter in pencil on a face that won't show, and stack the parts by letter.

   Sand the faces before assembly while they're flat and easy to reach: 120 grit, then 180.

   ✓ Lay the parts out and count them against the parts list. Measure a few: if one is off by more than 1/16″, recut it now.

   STOP. Let the saw reach full speed before it touches the wood, keep both hands clear of the blade's path, and never reach under a board you're cutting. Support long boards on both sides of the cut so the blade doesn't pinch.

3. 3Measure the toilet first

   Measure the widest part of the toilet (tank or bowl) and the height to the top of the tank lid. This plan uses 21″ and 30″: change them in the options if yours differ.

   Look at where the water supply line and shutoff valve come out of the wall. The legs stand 33″ apart inside, centred on the toilet; nothing in this plan goes near the pipe.

   ✓ There is at least 1″ between each leg and the toilet, and 9 3/4″ of room above the tank lid to lift it off.

   STOP. Never move, bend or screw near the supply line or valve. If the valve would end up behind a leg, change the width.

4. 4Build the two side frames

   Lay two legs (A) on the floor, 5″ apart inside. Mark the tops of the side rails on both legs at 43 1/4″, 57 1/4″, 71 1/4″ from the bottom, and the stretcher (C) top at 5 1/2″.

   Set the rails (B) and the stretcher between the legs on their marks. Glue the ends and drive one 2 1/2″ screw through the leg into each end, predrilled.

   Build the second frame on top of the first so the two come out identical.

   • Tip The back rails also screw into the back legs later, near the top side rails. Put each side-rail screw 1/2″ below the rail top, and later the back-rail screws 1 1/4″ and 2 3/4″ below theirs, so screws can't meet inside the leg.
   • Tip A 2×2 splits if a screw goes in near its end without a pilot hole. Drill the pilot slightly smaller than the screw, all the way through the leg.
   • Tip Pick straight 2×2s: sight down each one at the store and leave the bowed ones.

   ✓ Each frame is square: its diagonals match within 1/16″.

5. 5Rip and notch the shelves

   Rip the 1×12s to 8″ wide and cut 3 shelves (D) 36″ long.

   At each of the four corners mark a 1 1/2″ square and cut it out with a jigsaw or handsaw, so the shelf wraps around the legs.

   • Tip Cut just inside the line, then pare to it with a chisel or sandpaper: a notch can be made bigger, never smaller.

   ✓ Press a 2×2 offcut into each notch: it fits snugly without forcing.

6. 6Join the frames

   Stand the side frames up 36″ apart outside. Clamp the two back rails (E) between the back legs, flush with the back faces: one with its top under the lowest shelf, one under the top shelf.

   Drive two 2 1/2″ screws through each leg into each back rail end, predrilled, with glue.

   ✓ The frame stands without rocking and measures 36″ wide at the top and at the bottom.

7. 7Fit the shelves

   Slide each shelf down over the legs onto its side rails. Drive two 1 5/8″ screws down through each end of the shelf into the rail below, predrilled and countersunk.

   Seal every piece before it goes in the bathroom, including the cut ends and the bottoms of the legs: end grain soaks up water from a wet floor and swells.

   • Tip Bathrooms are damp. Use a water-based polyurethane or semi-gloss enamel paint, two or three coats, and let it cure a few days before it goes in.

   ✓ All shelves are level side to side and front to back.

8. 8Set it over the toilet

   Lift it over the tank and set the legs down beside the toilet. Push it back until the back legs touch the wall.

   Fasten the anti-tip strap from the upper back rail to a stud at least 60″ up, well above the tank.

   ✓ The tank lid lifts off without hitting anything, and the unit doesn't move when you push on the top.

   STOP. Fasten the strap only above the tank. The wall right behind and beside the toilet hides the water supply pipe.

9. 9Anchor to the wall

   Slide a stud finder along the wall behind where the piece will stand and mark the studs.

   Fix the anti-tip kit's bracket to the back or top of the piece, then screw its other end into a stud with the screws supplied.

   Do not load the piece until it is anchored.

   STOP. Confirm the wall type first. Drywall on studs: use the studs. Plaster or masonry: use the kit's matching anchors or ask a pro.

10. 10Finish

    Ease every sharp edge and corner with 120-grit sandpaper so nobody gets a splinter.

    Sand all over with 180 grit, always along the grain (the direction the wood fibres run). Scratches across the grain show through stain.

    Wipe off the dust with a barely damp rag and let it dry.

    Paint, stain or a clear coat (water-based polyurethane is the easiest). Apply thin coats with the grain, let each dry fully, and sand lightly with 220 grit between coats.

    Let it dry for the time on the can before using it.

    • Tip Try your finish on a scrap of the same wood first: stain looks different on every board.