Sometimes it is about looking at the quality materials you already have and replacing what is necessary instead of throwing everything in landfill and starting again. It is about assessing each project individually, and weighing up the pros and cons. Consider inconvenience, aesthetics and cost.

For example this bathroom vanity was forty years old, the cabinet carcass made of chip board had seen better days. But, the bench top, sides, doors, drawers and drawer fronts all made of Celery Top were in great condition. That is the thing about using quality timber, it lasts.

The homeowners commissioned me to:

Dismantle the vanity.

Build a new cabinet carcass from structural plywood, to replicate the exact measurements of the cabinet before it was dismantled.

Deliver the vanity back to the homeowners and install the vanity.

Realign the doors.

Re-tile above the bench. (The homeowners had spare tiles).

The homeowners were happy with the timber finish and didn’t want me to adjust it eg. sand it.

Photos 1 & 2 Dismantling the vanity. Photo 3 Vanity after I made a new cabinet carcass and installed the vanity.

Benefits of reusing the Celery Top:

Cost effective.

Saved perfectly good Celery Top timber bench top, cabinetry sides, drawers/drawer fronts and cabinet doors from landfill.

Little disruption to the household. Easy to clean up the area once the vanity was removed.

If you were replacing the vanity with a completely new design the costs may increase such as a new floor may have to be installed or the floor repaired, a plumber employed to install new fittings, painting, more to clean up, relying on multiply tradies to align their work schedules, more expense.

Employed a local craftsman. I could do the quote and make all necessary repairs and reinstate the vanity within a week.