Workshop Wednesday: DIY Bathtub Cover for Storage

​text by Vicki     Sign up to get Mother Daughter Projects updates in your email!

On Workshop Wednesday, we featured a Fast DIY project. This project came about because Steph uses her tub for storage, rather than bathing. She came up with an idea to hide the storage, but still provide access without permanent damage to the tub.

Materials:

• 5/8 in. x 48 in. x 8 ft. White Melamine Board (Home Depot)
• 
  
• 3/4 in. x 25 ft. White Iron On Edge Tape (Home Depot)
• 
  
• Double Edge Banding Trimmer (Home Depot)
• 
  
• 3M Double Sided Extreme Mounting Tape (Home Depot)
• 
  
• Continuous Hinge (Home Depot)
• 
  
• Magnetic Door Stop (Home Depot)
• 
  
• Makita Brushless Cordless 6-1/2 in Plunge Circular Saw (Home Depot)
• 
  

Yeah, it looks like a tub, but Steph considers it a big waste of space! She stores paper goods in it.

We headed to The Home Depot to pick up supplies, including a piece of white melamine and iron-on edging. We had it roughly cut to size so it would fit in the car. Note: be sure you measure your car to be sure it will fit. We may or may not have had to go back in and cut the pieces further!

Back at home, Steph made further cuts to the boards. Melamine will chip, so be sure to use the correct saw blade for cutting.

The edging is applied with an iron and a brayer is used to further adhere it. I used a press cloth because the iron sole plate was dirty and I didn't want to transfer the dirt to the edging.

This really cool tool is a must for nice even edges on the finished banding. There is a link above to the tool.

We used a long piano hinge to connect the two pieces of melamine.

We used double stick tape on the narrow piece to keep the hinged board in place with no damage to the tub.

The hinged board is in place. We already like the clean look the white melamine gives to the space.

A couple of screw in bumpers keeps the weight of the board up off the tub's jet controls.

We added a magnetic door stop to the wall and board to keep it in place when the board is in the 'open' position.

The wall portion can be used as a hook for bathrobe or towel when not holding the cover up.

​Is there anyone else out there that uses their tub for storage? What do you do, if anything, to cover up what you've stored? Please share your ideas in the comments.