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NJguy99
Citizen
Username: Njguy99
Post Number: 9
Registered: 3-2006
| | Posted on Monday, April 24, 2006 - 2:01 pm: | 
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I'm in the process of buying a nice house with a really awful kitchen. Good size, but poorly laid out with cabinets in pretty bad condition.
I'm not ready to do a full kitchen remodel yet, so I don't want to start tearing down tile and replastering. For now, I'm going to put down a simple new vinyl tile floor and replace the cabinets.
I know it's easy to pick up some inexpensive base cabinets at Lowes and install them. Where the current cabinets are, that should be easy - just take the old ones out and put the new ones in.
The wrinkle is on the perpendicular wall. It's an L-shaped kitchen. Along one wall are the old cabinets, sink, etc. The other side of the L, though, has very heavy mudded 1/4" tile up to a height of about 4 feet. It's similar to the kind of thing you'd do in a bathroom. There are no cabinets there now - just dead space.
I'm perfectly happy with leaving the tile in place (for now) and putting the cabinets in front of it, but I wonder how I can then attach the cabinets to the wall. There's no way I'll be able to find the studs on that wall through the tile - and I definitely don't have a drill that will go through it either.
I also wonder about the cabinets along the untiled wall being out of alignment (i.e. not sticking out as far) as the cabinets on the tiled wall.
And no, removing the tile is definitely not an option at this juncture.
Any ideas? |
Jennifer Pickett
Citizen
Username: Jpickett
Post Number: 205
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Monday, April 24, 2006 - 2:14 pm: |
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We have the same type kitchen. We did not replace our cabinets, though, just spruced them up with new hardware. Along the tiled wall we put up a stand alone cabinet from Ikea. You can see part of it in this picture. We also were frustrated with not having cabinets on the wall, but to move the dishwasher plumbing and also remove that tile would have been more than we wanted to spend.
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NJguy99
Citizen
Username: Njguy99
Post Number: 10
Registered: 3-2006
| | Posted on Monday, April 24, 2006 - 2:28 pm: |
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That's a sharp looking kitchen!
Unfortunately, our existing cabinets aren't nearly that nice. But, I do like your idea - picking up a stand-alone cabinet to fill in the dead space. If we only replace the existing cabinets, that should save quite a bit and spare us the headache of having to drill through the tile.
Do you remember the model name for the cabinet you got at IKEA? |
george H
Citizen
Username: Georgieboy
Post Number: 174
Registered: 8-2005
| | Posted on Monday, April 24, 2006 - 2:31 pm: |
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Masonary bit,hammer drill and Tapcons,which are a coarse threaded,hardened steel screw,which are ideal for fastening to masonary surfaces and also work well through tile and a mortar bed.Can be found at the despot or at most lumber yards.They do make a Tap-Con tool which consists of a holder for the bit and a sleeve that slides over it with a tip for running the screws in. |
Jennifer Pickett
Citizen
Username: Jpickett
Post Number: 206
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Monday, April 24, 2006 - 2:48 pm: |
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It's the Varde drawer unit- varde has a whole line, we love the big drawers, but the steel shows a lot of fingerprints. It holds all our silverware, pots, pans, and baking tins. Thanks for the compliment on the kitchen (always appreciated after the blood sweat and tears of even a small renovation), here's a before pic just for fun: Good luck with the new house!
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Bob K
Supporter
Username: Bobk
Post Number: 11304
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, April 24, 2006 - 6:13 pm: |
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Sometimes removing old cabinets isn't as easy as it seems. A lot of the old kitchens around here were built in place and are nailed, not screwed, to the wall. You many end up with more damage than you expected.
I would take Jennifer's approach if I could, and I have in the past. Painting old cabinets after a light sanding, repairing dings with wood putty and new hardware can be a good short to intermediate term solution.
If you go ahead with removing the existing cabinets, and since you seem to like Idea design, I would consider their cabinets which are pretty inexpensive, strong and stylish if you are into Swedish design. |
mim
Citizen
Username: Mim
Post Number: 581
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 25, 2006 - 11:18 am: |
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How true, Bob K. I did a mini kitchen re-do and few years ago and planned to remove a couple of cabinets to make some additional stock cabinets fit better. No way. Although they were ugly, I discovered they must have been custom site-built and weren't going anywhere without extreme damage. So, I had to re-work my plan around them. |
NJguy99
Citizen
Username: Njguy99
Post Number: 12
Registered: 3-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 25, 2006 - 11:47 am: |
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Thanks for all the advice guys. The more I think about it, the more I realize Bob K and Jennifer are right. I'll probably paint the cabinets, put in some new hardware and a new countertop, and buy a stand-alone cabinet to put in front of the tile wall.
If nothing else, it should make the place look a lot snazzier, without blowing the bank. |
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