# Forum Home Renovation Laundry  Laundry reno in prep for kitchen...

## Savvas

Hi Folks, 
Having greatly enjoyed using the large deck over Christmas that I built with the Forum's excellent assistance, I'm now turning my attention for 2022 to a kitchen reno - with rebuilding my laundry as an intermediate step!  
Why the laundry first? When I subcontracted the rear addition to our derelict 1920s purchase about 28 years ago I had ambitions for a compact 2nd bathroom. A drywalled & plumbed enclosure for such was built into the corner of the 3 x 4 metre laundry space on the plan. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) this was never finished - the renovation budget dried up and was overtaken by need for storage space, paying school fees, work commitments etc etc.  
Son has now left home & 'competition' for the bathroom is much reduced. Combined with the 'wisdom of years', plans have changed & I now intend demolishing the half-finished internal timber-frame walls & rebuilding this area of the laundry as an open, multi-purpose utility space - somewhere for ironing & folding the washing, storing larger & less used cooking utensils, storing house-hold tools & consumables, maybe some pantry space or an extra food prep area (using noisy food appliances etc). And it's been a long while since I built our now very-tired kitchen so I need a project to re-establish my somewhat basic carpentry skills & test out a few of the ideas I have for kitchen cupboards, benches etc. 
My idea - once the demolition has been done - is to build an 'L-shaped' set of cupboard boxes out of 18-19mm pine plywood (not sure of the standard thickness) set on a separate plinth or even some sort of adjustable feet. I'm not yet sure how I'll build the doors or drawer fronts, but I suspect that I'll just use either ply sheets or maybe old Oregon (I have access to a large quantity that can be planed & sawn to size). I'll probably also install overhead cupboards &/or shelves as well. The 'L' shape will start next to the washing machine, extend about 1.7 metres to the corner where the shower was to go & then about 2.2metres at a right-angle along the next wall. My brother has a carpentry workshop with a large table saw I can use so cutting the panels is taken care of. 
Because this area was originally designed as an additional bathroom the floor is sloped towards drain grates & in the corner where the shower was meant to go. Hence the possible need for some sort of adjustable plinth. I'd be very keen to know what strategies or products others have used in such situations & what you'd recommend? I should also mention that I'd like to keep costs down where possible... 
This area will also need to maximise storage space so I plan to build big, deep drawers using those space-saving, metal-sided drawer frames with integrated runners - I think they may be made by Blum or maybe Hettich. Ease of use will also be a priority as my wife has significant problems with Mr Artheritis. I'll also be using hidden, adjustable hinges. Again, I would appreciate advice of which brands of metal sided drawers & hinges people have found best & easiest to install/use? 
And as I've said, this will be a dress-rehearsal for a new kitchen. I used melamine chipboard in the original kitchen build & while it all still works, it has also proved fragile & easily damaged & hasn't really aged well. Aesthetic score is 'zero' and I hate working with the stuff anyway (mdf too)!  Does the forum generally approve my choice of plywood over mdf or melamine-covered particle board & is there a particular type of ply I should look out for?  
I also have a large laminated Jarrah bench top left over from another project that I plan to cut up and use in this laundry reno. I may end up making use of some of the existing bathroom plumbing to install a small utility sink in this top. I also have a number of old Huon pine boards that I can cut up to make facing strips for the front edges of the ply boxes & I may even splash out & get some nice doors made in something similar - maybe Kauri or Celery Top if I can find it. Again, as a rehearsal for the kitchen! 
Your advice & guidance is much appreciated! 
Sam, Adelaide.

----------

