Cover The Eyesore Of A Laundry Room Water Heater With A Faux Cabinet DIY

Water heaters not only take up a lot of space, but many people also don't find them visually appealing. If you keep your water heater in the laundry room, it won't match the sleek designs of modern washers and dryers. There's also a good chance it will be visible from the kitchen. The various pipes and peeled labels don't help either. Fortunately, there are many ways to hide your water heater with style. You can cover up this eyesore by disguising it as a cabinet. All you need is a little bit of lumber and hardware.

This project requires a little more technical ability and labor than most House Digest DIY projects, but you should be able to complete it in an afternoon if you have some carpentry experience. You'll need a ½-inch by 48-inch by 8-foot medium-density fiberboard, three Reliabilt 1-inch by 4-inch by 8-foot primed MDF boards, a four-pack of Reliabilt 4-inch by 0.875-inch galvanized steel corner braces, a nail gun, a power drill, a tape measure, wood glue, oil-based enamel paint, and a cabinet handle. When it's time to access the water heater, you'll simply pick up this facade and move it aside.

When you purchase your fiberboard, ask the employees wherever you buy it to cut it in half length-wise. The resulting long and narrow boards will make up the cabinet walls. To get the proper measurements, measure the sides of a right angle that makes a square with the corner of the room where the heater is located. Screw the two pieces together with the braces ― you should need at least four. It's important to remember that you're creating the illusion of a cabinet, so you won't be able to use the handle or "door." Now you should be able to slide the cabinet into place.

Cut your 1-inch by 4-inch by 8-foot trim pieces so that they are equal to the height of the cabinet. Then coat one side with wood glue and attach them along the vertical edges of the forward-facing side, reinforcing them with nails afterward. Next, measure and cut horizontal pieces of trim to attach to the top, middle and bottom of the cabinet's forward-facing side. Then paint your cabinet. Once the paint dries, screw the handle into place.

Also, if your water heater is instead in the garage, you can say goodbye to the eyesore with a sleek DIY pegboard you can use to store hammers, screwdrivers, and wrenches. While you're working on this project, you should check for signs that you need to replace your water heater, such as leaks or rust on the tank.