DIY ADA Stand

[gotplants]

I was looking for stands and the good looking ones were $150+. I decided that I wanted to make a DIY ADA Style Stand..

CAUTION - Do not make a toe kick!! The front of the tank is really unstable because of it.. Since it was the first diy stand I made, there were many mistakes, this being the biggest one. When building an ADA stand, build it normally and put a 3/4" piece of plywood underneath so the door will be able to open. Don't make the toe kick! I now have to put a piece of wood to support the front end in case the thing gets shaken so it doesn't fall and create a huge disaster..

Do what this guy did - http://www.projectaquarium.com/plant...riumStand.aspx

Tank - Mr. Aqua 17.4 Gallon

Dimensions: 24x12x28+2 for Toe Kick

Materials -
2x 3/4" high quality plywood
1x 8x4 sheet of Formica

Tools -
Table Saw
Circular Saw
Power Drill
Router
Laminate Cutting Router Bit

Extras -
Contact Cement
Wood Putty
Wood Glue
Screws
European Hinges


Drill holes a little deeper than the screw. Put glue on the plywood. Screwed the screws in a little deep in the wood.










Added the Top and bottom!








Close up of the Toe Kick!







Put putty over the screws. Going to sand off to be smooth for the formica tomorrow.





The door is done being cut out.




UPDATE 4/18/12

Added the formica today.












Toe Kick again!



Back of the stand


Door is finished. It's a bit blurry..

Here's a mistake I made on the door. I wanted it to look better so I put formica on BOTH sides of the door. Big mistake.. Now the door overlaps the front of the stand by about 1/8 of an inch. It would've been 1/16 of an inch without that mistake because forgot to put the measure of the formica when cutting the sides of the tank. 1/16 of an inch off wouldn't be that bad but 1/8 is pretty noticeable. I have OCD so I might have to make another door in the future..



UPDATE 4/20/12

Finished stand!!



DIY Garden Mat - Kitchen Cushion Mat. The top is waterproof and it's just like a giant mouse pad. It's about 8mm thick I believe. I cut it to be exactly the dimensions of the tank and stand then colored the sides with sharpie. I didn't think of this idea. I saw it in a thread on SCAPE.


Close up of the mat..


Side view. Made 2" holes on both sides. I might put 2" grommets as well. Just have to order it off amazon or something.


Inside of the stand.


Drilled 2" hole in the bottom right of the inside of the tank for the wires. Also siliconed the corners/cracks for extra protection.


Put everything inside. I also put a tool rack in. It's an 18' magnetic holder that I got on sale $4.00!!


Put on the tank Going to fill up this weekend after almost 3 months!

[Hoppy]

How much will this cost, including the formica? My guess is about $75-$100. But, it will be a higher quality than most purchased stands, and can be just the color and size you want. Plus, the satisfaction of making it is a big factor.

[gotplants]

Formica was $67 for an 8x4 sheet. They don't have grey at most large stores like Home Depot in my area but I was luckily able to get the grey shade I wanted at a wholesale supplier that had pretty much any color available. The higher quality plywood was around $40-$50 for 2 sheets. The contact cement was around $15.

[James (Western Canada)]

That looks like good quality plywood. The stuff they sold me was "good one side".....should really be called "one side not as bad as the other". Good job it was going to get covered in Formica/arborite, as it would have been a TON of work to get it nice enough for paint on the outside.

Anyways, nice work!

James

[Hoppy]

This is a very good instructive post showing just how simple a stand can be made, but still look like an expensive one bought from an ADA supplier. I'm looking forward to next steps in the construction.

[vincenz]

This looks great, want to see how it looks like after it's all covered up.

[sc91006]

Excellent post, looking forward to more updates.

[GraphicGr8s]

Looks nice. Couple of things I noticed. You have all butt joints, no dadoes to support the bottom shelf all the way around. Also no glue I can see just the screws to hold it together. I've also never really seen a stand with a toe kick. Except for the "fun" of it would it have been cheaper to just buy a kitchen/bath cabinet?

[vincenz]

Originally Posted by GraphicGr8s

Looks nice. Couple of things I noticed. You have all butt joints, no dadoes to support the bottom shelf all the way around. Also no glue I can see just the screws to hold it together. I've also never really seen a stand with a toe kick. Except for the "fun" of it would it have been cheaper to just buy a kitchen/bath cabinet?

You mean to say you don't brush your teeth in your aquarium???

[sockfish]

Sleek and clean looking. Nice job!

sox

[gotplants]

Originally Posted by GraphicGr8s

Looks nice. Also no glue I can see just the screws to hold it together. I've also never really seen a stand with a toe kick. Except for the "fun" of it would it have been cheaper to just buy a kitchen/bath cabinet?

There is glue supporting everything. Holes were screwed where the screws will be placed. Then the pieces were glued together and screwed in to hold. I didn't have any clamps so the screws sort of acted like clamps.

Also, if you look at the ADA stand, there is a toe kick on it. People usually just put a piece of plywood under the stand. Without the toe kick, the door would have a hard time opening properly, especially on carpet because the door is supposed to go down all the way to the end of the stand.

I'm not sure if it would have been cheaper or not to buy a kitchen cabinet but I wanted an ADA style stand. I don't think they make kitchen cabinets looking like ADA stands..

[gotplants]

Updated today!

[GraphicGr8s]

Originally Posted by gotplants

There is glue supporting everything. Holes were screwed where the screws will be placed. Then the pieces were glued together and screwed in to hold. I didn't have any clamps so the screws sort of acted like clamps.

Also, if you look at the ADA stand, there is a toe kick on it. People usually just put a piece of plywood under the stand. Without the toe kick, the door would have a hard time opening properly, especially on carpet because the door is supposed to go down all the way to the end of the stand.

I'm not sure if it would have been cheaper or not to buy a kitchen cabinet but I wanted an ADA style stand. I don't think they make kitchen cabinets looking like ADA stands..

Sorry. When I first posted I didn't see wood glue on your list. I saw the contact cement but not wood glue. And lo and behold there it is on the right side of your build in the very first photo. Did you change that photo?

Yeah I had to google ADA style stand to see what it looks like. Basically just a simple, nondescript box. No embellishment whatsoever.

[wastedtime]

Great job on the stand. I really like it , the toe kick was a nice addition.

[gotplants]

Originally Posted by GraphicGr8s

Sorry. When I first posted I didn't see wood glue on your list. And lo and behold there it is on the right side of your build in the very first photo. Did you change that photo?

Yeah, I added wood glue on the list when you mentioned it haha. I forgot to put it there. And no, the picture was there since I first put this thread up.