Adapting furniture to become washstand

[MortarThePoint]

The boss has asked for the arrangement below in our en-suite. Once installed the detritus on the top will be replaced with hers, but hopefully less. It's an 1150 x 450 console table with two drawers and an Ikea Tornviken basin on top. I have already cut the required hole in the top and adapted the drawers to accommodate the trap and tap tails. Given the arrangement, I am concerned about water splashes going on the table top and ruining it. We've thought of various options to address this:

1. Sticky furniture vinyl [d-c-fix], but I worry it would peel in time and look bad
2. Liberal coats of yacht varnish, the wood may still move in the humidity and crack the varnish
3. A glass table top with hole cut in. If see through (~£50), I wouldn't be able to seal between the glass and the wooden painted top. If the glass itself is painted on the back (kitchen splashback, ~£125) it could be sealed.

 

My preference is [3] and I am thinking 8mm or 10mm thick toughened clear glass with a 10mm overhang to try to stop water tracking back and between the glass and the table top.

 

Does anyone else have a good suggestion or experience with a glass top in a bathroom?

 

 

 

[-rick-]

14 minutes ago, MortarThePoint said:

Once installed the detritus on the top will be replaced with hers, but hopefully less.

 

🤣

 

14 minutes ago, MortarThePoint said:

1. Sticky furniture vinyl [d-c-fix], but I worry it would peel in time and look bad
2. Liberal coats of yacht varnish, the wood may still move in the humidity and crack the varnish
3. A glass table top with hole cut in. If see through (~£50), I wouldn't be able to seal between the glass and the wooden painted top. If the glass itself is painted on the back (kitchen splashback, ~£125) it could be sealed.

My preference is [3] and I am thinking 8mm or 10mm thick toughened clear glass with a 10mm overhang to try to stop water tracking back and between the glass and the table top.

 

Definitely not 1. Glass is a good protection surface, not sure I've heard it done in a bathroom and fear water getting underneath (which would likely be a worse problem than not having the glass if you didn't notice it - and it's a pain to get at once everything is finished).

 

My initial thought was a good application of latex type paint. Not waterproof but kinda close if you are good at keeping things relatively clean and hopefully moves with the wood. However, given your first statement, if you expect a collection of objects to accumulate and therefore maybe spills to get missed in the clutter I doubt it's a good idea.

 

I've no practical experience doing something like this so just thinking aloud.

[garrymartin]

It's not just water getting underneath; it's the temperature differential too. Just think about what happens to a mirror without a demister. Do you want that for your flat surface?

[-rick-]

An idea:

 

How about removing the top wooden surface and putting something like quartz or corian on it? Keep the rest of the unit as is. That's about as bomb proof as you are going to get. Pricier than glass but you might find a keenly priced offcut the right size. Something like Corian can be cut easily.

 

Does change the look though so maybe not what you are going for.

[MortarThePoint]

1 hour ago, garrymartin said:

It's not just water getting underneath; it's the temperature differential too. Just think about what happens to a mirror without a demister. Do you want that for your flat surface?

 

That's a though for water condensing on the basin and running down onto the top as well.

[Russdl]

I did that in our previous house. I got a piece of glass cut to the exact size of the top with a central hole cut, sealed the edges with silicone (handn’t heard of CT-1 at that stage). Never had any problems with condensation or water tracking underneath in the 10+ years we lived with it. 

[MortarThePoint]

5 minutes ago, Russdl said:

I did that in our previous house. I got a piece of glass cut to the exact size of the top with a central hole cut, sealed the edges with silicone (handn’t heard of CT-1 at that stage). Never had any problems with condensation or water tracking underneath in the 10+ years we lived with it. 

 

Was that coloured glass then or did you manage a neat job with the sealant?