Made out of old pallet wood.
Our bathroom shelf fell down again this week; the vacuum ‘suckers’ just don’t want to ‘stick’ to our tiles no matter how I do it. The metal wire cage is going to break something one of these times. Time for a re-think. So, what material do I have to hand? Really, you couldn’t guess!? Pallet wood of course, what else?
I figured a narrow wooden shelf wouldn’t exert much leverage and therefore wouldn’t need a lot of support. Hmm, that half tube of ‘marine’ sealant I have leftover from a job will be more than man enough to hold up this little shelf; especially if I build a few ‘right angles’ into the design. Triangulation is the key to strength in construction after all. Here’s what I came up with…
I ran a length of pallet wood bearer through the saw, cutting it down to 80mm (3″ or so) and then planed it up real smooth. I cut it into 4 pieces to form the two sides of the ‘dog leg’ and two short pieces to form the vertical ends or supports. I cut mitres for the joints but you could cut them square if that’s easier for you. I also needed to plane a little off one leg to make the shelf sit square into a slightly out of square corner….
I’ll let the pics take over here…
Glue up the parts and set aside until well dried. Check the shelf for fit and plane off any wood causing any rocking etc. Varnish it to within an inch of its life. A bathroom is a harsh environment for dry pallet wood…
Extend each arm to fit the space you have and the size you need to get all your stuff on. Mount the shelf at a height to suit everyone. ‘Stick’ the shelf to clean tile and support it until set.
Seal around all edges to hold the shelf in place. Cut a small 45 degree angle across the corner to allow any water to escape.
And there you have it, a sturdy ‘invisibly’ supported bathroom shelf made just from a piece of scrap pallet wood beyond cheap! Now if only I could convince my other half to ‘need’ less bottles…
Stay well
Ian
