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Hello Internet DIYers!

I'm in the process of remodelling our bathroom. The floor is done and I have installed the vanity (I screwed it to the studs in the wall). The vanity side walls arrive nicely to the walls.

However, I had to shim the front-bottom to get to that point, so there is a small gap between the floor and the base of the vanity (~2 mm). The shims are not yet glued.

What's the generally accepted way to 'finish' this spot? I've thought about a couple but they won't look nice:

  • Quarter round (There are none of these anywhere else in the condo, so I'd try to avoid it.)
  • Caulk (I think it would be hard to find the proper colour.)
  • Leaving it like that (The best approach I've thought about, but I'd like the shims not to be visible.)

Would there be a way to make the shims not visible and finish it with transparent caulk? (Or just making the shims not visible and not putting anything else..!?)

Thanks!

P.S. I've added a picture to illustrate.

enter image description here

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  • Is there a reason you used the shims?
    – DMoore
    Commented Jan 15, 2015 at 20:37
  • Yes: the wall and the floor do not form a 90° angle (it is a bit wider that 90°), so I had to raise the front side of the vanity so that the back side would arrive flush with the wall.
    – Bob R. Shake
    Commented Jan 15, 2015 at 20:41

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If you can mark the shims at the face of the cabinet, remove them temporarily, cut them slightly shorter than the mark, use a black marker to "paint the visible sides of the shims and set them back in about a 1/8" behind the face of the cabinet. Using a tube of clear water cleanup caulk, with the tip cut really small, say about 1/8" at the tip, draw a line around the bottom of the cabinet, filling the gap. Wipe the excess flush with the edges of the gap, leaving nothing on the adjacent surfaces of the cabinet or tile, the residue will show up in the glare from the lights in the bathroom.

FWIW, sealing the bottom with caulk may be good if the sink, waterlines or drain does not leak in the years to come. I would do a little here and there with the clear caulk at the escutcheons to keep the potential leaks in visible places, rather than running under a cabinet and collecting there. If the toilet floods, it is a good thing to caulk there, it is a bad thing if the drain or something else at the inside of the cabinet leaks. That is why I suggest the caulk here and there wiped with a damp sponge or cloth to keep the caulk in the joints only, and force a leak to show itself.

I see you have no base there yet, I would caulk the gap at the wall to the floor before you install the base. Just my 2 cents worth...

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  • Thanks for the answer! The drain and the pipes go to/from the wall behind, so there is leakage no possible from under the vanity.
    – Bob R. Shake
    Commented Jan 15, 2015 at 21:20
  • You would caulk all the gaps? That would require a lot of caulk, wouldn't it? I thought about caulking the bottom of the wall base to the floor, though...
    – Bob R. Shake
    Commented Jan 15, 2015 at 21:23
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    In a bathroom, I typically caulk at the floor level, anyplace I see that a toilet that overflows would get to. Yes I might expect 2 or 3 tubes of a 35 year warranty painters caulk to be needed. In the bigger spaces, it may not need to fill the whole gap, just enough to create a dam. In side the cabinet may not be necessary if the cabinet is accessed often. Main thing, don't let water set, no matter how it get around.
    – Jack
    Commented Jan 16, 2015 at 17:54
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I would cut off the protruding shims, insert additional filler material to give the base more support and then caulk it which would keep everything in place. I would then use other molding, there's plenty to chose from, not just 1/4round, paint it black and run it flush to the floor, covering the caulk and newly inserted filler. The corner right angle miter will not be true 45s because the base is lifted but with a little trial end error a nice tight corner can be achieved. If you really need to, a thin bead of clear caulk could be applied to the moulding where it meets the floor.

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