When we bought our camper, we ordered it without a microwave. We knew that storage would be at a premium and the space above the stove (see #4 below) would be better used if it were shelving for pots and pans.
Why did we forego a microwave? We grew up in a time before microwaves. We know the OLD-SCHOOL WAYS of preparing and warming food.
I thought that creating these shelves and installing them would be much simpler than the shelving we put into cabinet #8 (to the left of the stove – see More Shelving Please). I noticed the sides of the microwave cabinet were made from at least 1/2 inch particle board. I assumed I would be able to install the shelf hangers by screwing them directly into the walls.
Using the careful measurements I had made earlier (measure twice, cut once), I cut the shelves from 1/2 inch finished plywood. Like the shelving I made before, I first stained and then applied urethane to the shelves. After the urethane dried, I used steel wool to make the shelves smooth. I did a much better job finishing these shelves than the ones before.
I was wrong about the simple/easy part. I missed one very important detail that didn’t become apparent until I tried to get the perfectly finished and sized shelves through the cabinet door. The shelves were too big to fit through the opening.
I cut one shelf. Once cut, I tried to fit it through the opening. It fit.
Cutting the shelves introduced another problem. When the shelves are narrower, then the shelf hangers can’t be mounted directly on the cabinet wall. More wood, more finishing. At this point, it became apparent that the same method used in More Shelving Please would be needed.
I cut all the pieces and positioned the pieces in place in the cabinet using tape to hold the parts together. I had to make some size adjustments in the shelving width. Initially, it was a bit too tight. Thank goodness for power tools.
Knowing that the pieces will all fit at installation, the next step was to finish (and refinish) the all the parts.
One difference between this installation and the More Shelving Please is I can screw through the shelf hangers into the supporting wood and through that into the cabinet walls. I’ll still use double sided tape to hold the upright wood supports in place while I drill the screw holes.
Without loading the pots and pans into the cabinet, we couldn’t tell if using both shelves or just one shelf would be the best way to organize the space. We settled on…
Hope to see you on the road ahead!