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Hi everybody:
We just recently bought a house. The kitchen is small and ugly.It is almost at the entrance and has only two cabinets.Yesterday I went to Homebase to buy Hampton pre-made cabinets. Then I called my husband to help me bring them home and try to install them ourselves(He doesn’t know anything about building)and he told me, he doesn’t know how to anchor them to the wall (top ones) and how to glue the counter top in the bottom one. Do you guys have any advice for us or should I just talk to contractor (I don’t want to discourage him or hurt his feelings) Do you guys know by any chance how much would cost to build a new kitchen(a new addition)I live in Southern California. Hope you are not asleep after you finish reading my long letter. 🙂 Thanks
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My last two houses were 1930's vintage, and they had the typical, minimal built-in-place cabinetry in a dinky kitchen. They just weren't anticipating a dishwasher or large refrigerator back then. The solution in both cases was custom cabinetry, and this was simply because the standard home improvement store boxes seem to be designed for more modern surrounds where space is not as big a problem. To get the most from a small kitchen, you need to fit the cabinetry to the space, not the other way around. I found custom cabinetry to be about the same price as pre-made (a big surprise, initially). Local contractors should be able to give you ballpark estimates based upon your material choices. When you use the term "addition," do you mean that you'd be expanding the room? If so, you should consider paying someone to prepare a design and cost proposal. This isn't something one can legitimately "ballpark" for you, and paying for a proposal is a reasonable thing to do.
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Bless you for your honesty. You're going to have to get some professional help here. Regarding your husband's possibly bruised ego: There is no shame in admitting ignorance, only in denying it. Talk to friends, neighbors or family members nearby. Get the names of cabinetmakers or contractors who have worked reliably for other people. Give them a call and go from there.
It's impossible to talk about prices without discussing specifics. In general, kitchens can get to be fairly expensive. And working on them can be complicated because many different trades come to the task--cabinetry, carpentry, plumbing, electrical work, flooring, etc.
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To anchor the top cabinets: 1) locate and mark the studs by tapping or using a magnetic or electronic stud-finder. Mark above and below cabinet height. 2) Screw a 1x4, perfectly level, at the bottom of the upper cabinets to align them and rest them on as you secure them - this is a very helpful trick, 3) start at one end and secure with 3-inch screws into the stud - 4 screws per unit. The screws look something like sheetrock screws but are heavier and have coarser threads. 4) Line up the fronts and clamp together. Drill pilot holes and secure the face frames together. 5) Fill in the far end with a ripped-to-width bit of trim the same color (available from the cabinet vendor) and remove the 1x4. At every step, stand back and check visually for plumb, level, planar alignment.
Base cabinets: similar procedure, but scribe a level pencil line at the top of the cabinets for aligment and use shims (look like skinny shingles) to level the base units front-to-back AND side-to-side. Once all the base units are in and you've done all the plumbing for the fixtures that you can, mount the countertop (laminate on particleboard?) on top. Shim if necessary and secure with screws from underneath. The base cabinets have little 45-degree supports in the corners with predrilled holes for this purpose. I don't used glue, but if I did, would use yellow wood (carpenter's) glue.
A kitchen addition (new foundation, walls, roof?) could cost from $25,000 to $50,000. Specifying the square footage, type of cabinets (custom, semi-custom, etc) and fixtures and appliances would help narrow it a bit, but without seeing the existing structure and lot, any estimate is just a WAG.
There are lots of books on kitchen remodeling, even a few good ones. Look for instructions that you understand and design aproaches that you agree with.
*Ditto David T. on the glue. My sister's home was built with construction adhesive (the PL400, Liquid Nails type) holding down the counter-top. They all but destroyed the cabinets when they later replaced the top.
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Thank you very much everybody , I printed all the replies and showed them to my husband (Now I'm singing "Dreaming oh, oh, keep dreaming). I thought I could use our income tax return and savings to biuld a new kitchen; $25,000.00 is way to expensive for us right now. I think we will follow your advice and try to install the cabinets ourselves. Hopefully we will do it without having to go to the hospital. ;)
We will probably asking for your help if you guys don't mind. We are just trying to make our house a "Home". God bless you all.
Cori
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David's got good advice. If you are a Do It Yourselfer, then it might pay to pick up one of the videos from Hometime or This Old House for installing cabinets.
Installation of Cabinets is a DIY project, if you go very slow, get everything plumb, level and square, and have the right tools. I would recommend a 14-18 volt cordless driver drill, a 3-4'level, some clamps, and some basic hand tools.
Additions? I work here in SoCal, and the "average" price is about $100 per square foot. This is could be high, if you addtion is simple (single story slab on grade, shed roof, with cheap carpet)or very low, if the project is more involved. Kitchens are generally very expensive add ons, due to the intense plumbing, electrical, flooring, lighting, appliances, and cabinetry that are installed, compared to other rooms.
My suggestion is to return the Home Depot Cabinets. They have a very liberal return policy. Talk to several contractors, and get a feel for someone you trust that has the time to do your project. Then decide for yourself the answers to the following questions:
1. Do we remodel or do an addition?
2. If we remodel, do we move walls and relocate the kitchen, or just spruce it up a bit?
3. What quality of kitchen are we looking at?
4. If it is an addition, will it just be a kitchen, or should we borrow some money and make a major remodel?
5. What will be the total budget for each option?
6. Should we vent the attic? (sorry, its an inside joke here at Breaktime)
Hope this helps....
*Counter tops are not generally glued in place...Just screw up from cabinet into counter...Readers Digest makes a great DIY book and there are so many more...Browse through these books and buy the ones that seem to make sense to you....And the videos are getting pretty good now too.Good luck with the project and ask as many questions as you need to. Maybe you could put the computer online in the kitchen to start with.Near the stream,JSean, we need a loanable web camera and web tape measure.
*All good advise, I like to draw the plumb lines for the cabinets on the wall. If the cabinets have face frames they will have little over hangs on the face that you need to account for in drawing the plumb lines, or you could just remember not to hold the back to your plumb line.With all the cabinets drawn on the wall and all your studs located, it is easy to measure the stud location and predrill some holes for the screws. When drilling from the backside go slow so you don't blow a big hole in the finished inside (use an 1/8" bit). 2 screws for every stud, one top and one bottom. If you only have one stud in a cabinet that is fine, screw it to its neighbor (all cabinets should be screwed together at the front for support and to keep everything aligned). Also, I'm sure this is re-hash but, take the doors off and store out of the way, they are just extra weight and in the way. Number them if you think it will help.Oh yeah, start in a corner and work your way out, as was said,you can use a filler strip to fill in where you need to, (walls the cabinets doon't reach, sometimes in a run to make tops and bottoms line up). You can hold the flush with the cabinet face and use screws to attach them just like you were screwing to a neighboring cabinet. If the gap between the wall and the cabinet is really skewed and you don't think you can caulk it easily, scribe the filler strip. This is easy. Rip a strip as wide as the widest gap you are filling. Take a $.59 compass from the drug store and spread it so that point touches the wall and the pencil just touches the cabinets outside edge the widest point of the gap. Clamp or hold the filler so it is flush with the inside (door)edge of the cabinet. Now carefully run the compass up or down the piece to transfer a cut line. Keep the compass flat and if there is a thumb screw to tighten it do it or be careful not to disturb the spread. Rip down the piece leaving the line and you should get a nice fit.If you are tool poor, go rent them. For filler strips it really helps a small table saw, you should be able to rent a small one and just about everything else you need.
*Pleeze refrain from purchasing Hometime tapes. Those folks tend to gloss over a way too many details,(not to mention the shoddy methods) in the hopes of making it look easy. Doing a proper job is never easy. Lets just keep this a DEAN FREE Forum!
*Taunton has a video, I found it surprisingly under videos at the bottom of the messages. I have ordered many of their videos and found them to be great. I really like to see how other people do things. I even watch Dean, still beats most other crap on T.V.
*... and don't forget to caulk! I suggest clear Polyseam seal, just my current favorite. Particleboard goes to heck quickly with moisture.Before you go to the trouble of installing the cabinets, take a step back and speculate what you will likely do with the kitchen. Because you have a small space, ingenuity is especially important. Our kitchen started at 7'x12' ... we converted the pantry to a wing of the kitchen with power and bar sink, then removed the wall to the dining room to get a kitchen the size that current design books call a "small" kitchen. There are alot of things that can be done to make a small kitchen work great.Though i despise Steve Thomas, "This Old House Kitchens" is a decent book -- thanks to the cowriter. Lots of useful measurements, etc.Be sure to secure those wall cabinets well! It is critical to hit a stud. And there's nothing wrong with hiring someone to help (and this is a guy speaking!).
*Cori,Make sure when you screw the counter top down that the screws are short enough that they don't come through the top surface.Jerry
*Cori, All of the advice the other respondants have provided is excellent. Here are a couple of additional tips from my own experience.First have a plan for your house. By this, I mean knowing what your overall long term intentions are. Is this a place you will live in for a few years or a lifetime? If the answer is "This is a starter home, a place to build a little equity so we can afford to by up" then your goal should be to improve livability and marketablity with a minimal investment. If your answer is "We love it and want to stay here for ever" then you should develop a plan to make it all that you want. No matter which way you go you should only do things once. Kitchen, bathroom, landscaping, etc. Nothing is more frustrating than ripping out something you did because you did not know what you really wanted in the first place.With reguard to small kitchens, I agree that custom cabinets may be part of your solution. If space is very tight you can find valuable inches by narrowing the counter tops and using sinks and appliances designed for mobile homes. Plumbing and appliance manufactures have these in their catalogs but you will not see them in your typical Homebase type store. Also, consider running your upper cabinets to the ceiling. You can get stock 42" tall uppers for a small premium or a custom cabinet maker can size to fit the exact space that you have. A lot of valuable storage space up there. You will need a step stool to get the turkey roasting pan but then, how often do you roast a turkey. The big cost in kitchen remodels involves alterations to your house's structural, plumbing, and electrical systems. With a little inginuity you can come up with a plan that does not impact these systems and produces a real improvement in functionality and resale value. Good luck!
*... if you hang those wall cabinets, use a nailed-in ledger or permanent trim to locate the bottoms. It makes it SO much easier to hang the cabinets plumb and level. Beware overstuffing the kitchen -- you have a galley? -- or it will get very claustrophobic -- make use adjoining space as pantry & storage.You'll be horrified by how much things cost at first -- kitchens have a lot of stuff and are very, very labor-intensive -- but prioritize the things that will make the biggest difference. Kitchen renos are VERY good for resale -- no one else wants the hassle!
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Hi everybody:
We just recently bought a house. The kitchen is small and ugly.It is almost at the entrance and has only two cabinets.Yesterday I went to Homebase to buy Hampton pre-made cabinets. Then I called my husband to help me bring them home and try to install them ourselves(He doesn't know anything about building)and he told me, he doesn't know how to anchor them to the wall (top ones) and how to glue the counter top in the bottom one. Do you guys have any advice for us or should I just talk to contractor (I don't want to discourage him or hurt his feelings) Do you guys know by any chance how much would cost to build a new kitchen(a new addition)I live in Southern California. Hope you are not asleep after you finish reading my long letter. :) Thanks