This week has been a series obstacles, roadblocks, and challenges. Yet, what do they all have in common? They can be conquered. We’re feeling the heat as we enter week 6 of the One Room Challenge. Only 2 more weeks to go, eek! This will be a brief post because we have so much to do! Recap of week 5.
If you came here from the ORC site, hello! I’m Sanju Patel. By day, I work behind a desk, typically crunching numbers. By night, you can find me in a garage. My wife and I purchased a home in Texas 2 years ago – a quick close without costly bells and whistles. As lifelong fans of DIY, we’ve decided to invest into our home as our family grows with an open invitation to see our process from start to finish.
Backorders. All Day Long.
With most Americans moving past covid (thankfully) and the economy picking up, there’s a HUGE supply/demand issue for specific raw materials and synthetic goods. We’ve known about soaring wood prices due to a # of factors.
Paint is another area. Common wall paint is plentiful, but some niche paints that are usually available have been out of stock in the entire region for weeks. We called several Sherwin Williams locations for Urethane Modified Acrylic Extreme Bond Primer with no luck. We’ll keep trying, but we may have to use a back up option with BIN Shellac to prime our Ikea Pax doors.
We previously mentioned that specialty cabinets have also been out of stock. Our order for (2) 42″ tall wall cabinets were originally scheduled to arrive this week, but have been pushed back to mid-July! For an arm and a leg, there are a few places locally with these cabinets. But, we really want to wrap our laundry project within budget and on time.
Taking the Plunge
A few great plans were found online to build economical cabinets. A modified version of plans from FixThisBuildThat will be our guide. We’ll feel a ton of relief if we can crank this out over the weekend (and of course we’ll share the complete plans once finished). Here’s an overview…
The biggest concern will be squaring out the units. Though time-consuming, the frame shouldn’t be too difficult to construct with Kreg screws. Doors might be the biggest challenge because we’ve never built doors and so many folks have struggled to build perfect doors.
A combination of blonde plywood and particleboard will result in a total of $150 in raw materials. Though not our preferred choice, the materials will be a significant upgrade from our previous MDF construction. If this fails (crossing fingers that we don’t), then we can always install prefabricated cabinets down the road (like July down the road). Despite the sunk cost, we will have LEARNED A TON.
Other Tasks
- We experimented last night with a tile cutter – relatively easy to use. So we plan to fill out the spaces over the next few nights and wrap up tiling.
- Pax Cabinet doors will also be primed and painted.
- Pax Cabinet topper will also be built out, primed, and painted.
Wish us luck!
As always, send us any questions and don’t forget to follow our Instagram stories. By the way, there are 20 SUPERB featured designers participating in the One Room Challenge with Better Homes and Gardens as a media partner. These guys and gals totally rock and will not disappoint. Check it out!
I’m feeling your pain with the obstacles this week…we’re experiencing it too! But…the good news is that we’re in the home stretch now. Y’all have done an outstanding job, and I know it’s going to come together beautifully! Can’t wait to see it! Hugs, Kristi