Need advice on repair of bathroom vanity with water-damaged particle board

[Stan Tillinghast]

We are in the process of getting our house on the market. One needed repair project is the master bathroom vanity. The sink was cracked and dripping water damaged the floor and one side of the cabinet under the sink. Water damage is localized, so I am trying to repair it.
I’m thinking my options are:
1. Use 1/4 inch prefinished maple plywood to cover the damaged area (I have this already)
2. Use my Vecturo to cut out the damaged particle board; either all of it (floor and one side) or 1/2 the floor and the lower side; replace with either 3/4 inch prefinished maple plywood or melamine MDF (the latter would match the rest).
3. For a purely cosmetic “cover-up”, get white laminate, cut to size and use contact cement to fasten in place; would need to sand down some of the raised part of the particle board.
I would appreciate FOG members’ advice on the best way to deal with it. Not trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear; it’s very likely future owners would rip it all out and put in better vanity.

 

[Sparktrician]

I'd suggest remaking the base to match the rest of the cabinet - but - build a second base made from Azek vinyl trimboard that will fit inside the base that will be seen and have the Azek trimboard extend 1/4" below the rebuilt base. The Azek will not wick or hold water and the rebuilt base will sit up out of any water that gets on the floor. Also the white Azek will not be visible. YMMV...

 

[Stan Tillinghast]

So the Azek would consist of a box to support the floor of the cabinet?

Here's a photo of the area with water damage. It's a face-frame cabinet, as you can see.
It seems to me it might be easier just to remove the left side of the floor and the lower side, rather than replace both entire pieces.

 

[luvmytoolz]

Given you're trying to sell the house, would it not be easier and better, and add more value, to just replace the unit, even with a cheap one?

 

[Stan Tillinghast]

We looked at that; this unit matches all the other cabinets in the house, and is clearly better quality than the cheap replacements. That was my wife's decision; I think it a good one. Validated by real estate agent and designer.

 

[Sparktrician]

Here's a photo of the area with water damage. It's a face-frame cabinet, as you can see.
It seems to me it might be easier just to remove the left side of the floor and the lower side, rather than replace both entire pieces.

The photo gives me a much better sense of the damage. In this case, I would remove the cabinet and replace the left side and floor with plywood panels as you had suggested, then apply a decent finish. I have a cabinet in my house that is made of particle board, and was installed (before I bought the house) directly on the tile floor. When the prior owners washed the floor, some of the water got into the particle board which is disintegrating. That is where I would use the Azek base to hold the cabinet up out of any wetness.

 

[Stan Tillinghast]

Thanks again, that's very helpful. I'll post a photo after I complete the repair.

 

[Packard]

Notwithstanding the fact that this cabinet is of higher quality than any that you might replace it with, my experience is that soft close hinges changes that entire equation.

That’s the whole “perceived quality” factor.

When offered a high quality vanity with conventional hinges or a lower quality one with soft close hinges, the balance goes to the soft close hinge cabinet.

I would replace the cabinet with one with soft close hinges. I don’t believe that the existing hinges can easily be replaced with soft close hinges without replacing the doors.

If they can, then add the soft close hinges to the other cabinets. It will have a far greater impact.

I would note that soft close drawer slides amount to a similar upgrade, but without removing the existing cabinets, that upgrade can be quite difficult, unless you have very long and very thin arms able to work within the confines of an already-installed cabinet.

I would also note that the high quality cabinets I’ve encountered are rarely made from particle board.