All Forum Posts by: Lynn Harrison

Pat L, thanks! I like the retrofit Idea very much, I'll look into that. Problem is I am not touching that box myself and in this remote rural area I can not get an electrician to work on a trailer's box. I don't trust a handyman to do the whole box either. Box looks fine though- no corrosion inside or out.

Robert, faucet hole leaks and supply lines are not a concern. The box is up off the floor and about 2 1/2 feet away from water junctions and where the sink will be.  I rebuilt the cabinet so that it has a slight slope away from the box on both planes- back and width. The supply lines are at floor level under the cabinet & I've used Jedd's idea of loosely skirting with good air flow in front of the back of the box with pond liner. 

Yes, basically I'm looking at the type of water barriers that showers have, and am going to ask a forum of professionals how to do that right, This is a trailer, not a house, and things are crammed up against each other- that's how they are built. I hope my next project is a house, trailers are a PITA.

I just found a good tile and stone forum and am going to ask them how to do this. I want to be sure the underlayment and caulking are compatible. Or find something that is.

Re-doing it, it came like this. I didn't put that box there.!! Can't move it without rewiring 6 or so runs OR putting 6 junction boxes under there. Which would be worse. It had a formed plastic counter top before this which was cracked and not safe. Originally the plastic top was backsplash, counter and sink cast all together and not prone to get water anywhere.

Thanks guys. I found the answer- pretty sure I can. They make 100% rubber soundproofing mats for stone tiles that are 40mil. Pond liner is 45mil, and a 3/4 inch slab should be more stable than a marble tile. They make a latex mortar for the adhesive, so I'll use latex caulk. This is a small piece- 4 ft x 16 inches, yet heavy enough to not want to move much. So I think it will be fine.

I would tear out the fake tile before putting up the wainscoting. It will look better. Also, it may be cheaper to buy wainscoting panels and trim separately rather than a kit. It's very easy to do. It's also called bead board. In a bathroom I would use stainless steel brad nails on the wainscoting. Easier than galvanized and rust proof. Countersink the nails, and caulk the seams and gaps and nail holes with painters caulk (NOT bathroom caulk or silicon).

And a lighter blue on the wainscoting- that particular blue isn't very good with the brown on the floor.

A small cabinet will be much easier for you than a pedestal sink.

I love the linen closet and drawers. A door would look good on the shelves of that unit but then it might be a pain to close the main door every time you wanted to open it.

Oops, guess I was writing while you posted. No, my concern is that caulking eventually fails. Not usually much of a problem. Unless the leak is directly above the main.

I could use lexel insted of caulk but it's messy and could still fail.

Good idea and I'll do that.

My thought was to put the pond liner over the vanity top and under the marble slab. Then curl the edges slightly to raise it above the marble on the back and sides and hide that with a backsplash. I'd like to do both but not sure if the PL is a good underlayment for the marble.

Hello, I need a solution for making darn sure a bathroom vanity top is waterproof. It is in a small trailer. The main electrical box backs out under the vanity. The sink will be 2 feet away from it but I am still concerned in case of too much spillage on the countertop.

I have a nice piece of marble cut to fit the vanity. I am wondering if I can use pond liner under the marble or if it needs a completely stiff surface. The pond liner would be sitting on a rough plywood surface. The marble is about 4 feet by 16 1/2 inches and is 3/4 inch thick. Fairly heavy- I can't see it moving much once sliconed down, but I suppose the rubber pond liner might accentuate any vibration.

It's either that or hardiboard, but I'm not too keen on the hardiboard idea as a seal on the edges might fail over time.

Anyone know the answer on this one? Or have a better idea? And no, I can't move the electrical box.

Roof first, then electrical and plumbing, then windows if they need replacing, walls and floor. Of course you can't do ALL of the plumbing first if you need new fixtures, so it goes however it needs to go depending on what's needed.

Not sure if you are willing to cut them yourself or if you are wanting to have someone do it for you ?? If it's the second one, it should be less expensive and much safer to have a granite contractor do it than your regular contractor. 

If you want to do it yourself then it's not that hard to actually cut with the right blade. The hard part is moving it around and building a table to the size of a wet saw in order to slide the slab. Much better and safer method than using a circular saw. There are also hand held wet saws for trickier angles. Depending on the size of the slab it may take 2 or more people to carefully slide it into the saw blade. I redid a very small kitchen in a combo of butcher block and granite. I happened to have a couple of scraps with 2 bullnosed edges which worked well. Very heavy stuff. A good blade is key. If you are going to work the edges look on utube for how to do it and try to do it outside. 

I believe the slabs sold on the east coast are a bit thinner than what is sold on the west coast. If so they will need a plywood sub structure, Any shimming should be done to the substructure- not the slab.