Kitchen Cabinet - Planning

[btam]

Hi All,

New to this forum, going to be attempting to build my kitchen cabinets as part of a reno going on....but carcass first
Also have a thread going at the moment to scope out the equipment needed but thought i'd post a separate one specifically about the cabinets...


A couple more fundamental questions I was hoping people would be able to give some opinions on:
1. I was planning on using Ply wood 3/4" sheets 19-20mm which ever I find and then paint. Thick enough?
2. Is there any downside to using ply? Do i need marine ply for a kitchn area since it could get wet especailly on the floor tiled area?
3. I have a free standing cooker, gas top and electric oven.... I was going to us villaboard at the back, do i need to do the same for the sides against the cabinets as well?
4. Should i tile the whole kitchen first or install cement sheeting and the cabinets first? Understanding tiles would be wasted under the cabinet... but i do that for toilets that have the pipe goign into the wall.. and that way i have one less thing to worry about in terms of height adjustments with and without tiles areas?
5. Also if i'm going to get a 20mm stone benchtop with a 40mm lip, whats the furthers i can space the... "partitions" inside the cabinet using 3/4" ply/marine ply?


I should draw out what I'd planned to do after these and hopefully i can ask a few more questions with a reference at some point.
Will try take some pictures of the space i'm working with at some point.

Appreciate any help in advance.


Cheers,

btam

[Big Shed]

As far as planning goes, have a look at both Bunnings and Ikea for kitchen planning ideas and sizes etc, both are a very good resource.

[Kuffy]

You can use 3/4" ply for the carcasses and then paint. I personally would use MR melamine particle board, and depending on price I might even pay for pre-edged 600mm wide sheets. I would do it this way because....painting sux!

I also have a 900mm freestanding gas top/electric oven in my kitchen. Its just 10mm plasterboard behind it, and it has two kitchen cabinets either side of it made from MR melamine. The plumber didnt take issue with it, neither did the sparky.

I tiled under my cabinets first. not covering 100% of the kitchen floor, just enough to cover the exposed areas of the floor. My cabinets sit on adjustable feet with a removable kicker so it was easy to compensate for the different floor heights between concrete and tiled sections. I tiled the splashback after both lower and upper cabinets were installed.

[david.elliott]

There may be a multitude of reasons that you wish to cut and build your kitchen yourself. But, I've done a few now for myself and others for money. My comments below are based on that experience.

Hi All,

New to this forum, going to be attempting to build my kitchen cabinets as part of a reno going on....but carcass first
Also have a thread going at the moment to scope out the equipment needed but thought i'd post a separate one specifically about the cabinets...

A couple more fundamental questions I was hoping people would be able to give some opinions on:
1. I was planning on using Ply wood 3/4" sheets 19-20mm which ever I find and then paint. Thick enough?
That's exactly what the Americans use for their kitchen cabinetry. Over there the cost of ply (so far as I can find out) is around half what we pay here, hence why we use melamine here. Plus the fact that it already has an impervious surface. I would encourage you to use melamine.
I have all the kit to make cabinets from scratch, 12" sliding panel saw with scribe etc. By the time you buy the components and board the B or M kits are great value.
I have found the quality to be good as well. The melamine supplied in the flatpacks is moisture resistant. When faced with odd size cabinet requirements, I simply buy the one size bigger and trim the 4 pieces that make up the width to the new size...
2. Is there any downside to using ply? Do i need marine ply for a kitchn area since it could get wet especailly on the floor tiled area? Marine ply's not really needed and even more expensive.
3. I have a free standing cooker, gas top and electric oven.... I was going to us villaboard at the back, do i need to do the same for the sides against the cabinets as well? If these are modern appliances no, as the sides/back do not get hot. Just installed a 900 wide Smeg cooker in the kitchen I'm finishing off and the instructions state no clearance is required.
4. Should i tile the whole kitchen first or install cement sheeting and the cabinets first? Understanding tiles would be wasted under the cabinet... but i do that for toilets that have the pipe goign into the wall.. and that way i have one less thing to worry about in terms of height adjustments with and without tiles areas? I would tile under the cabinetry. Then should a refit/redesign of the kitchen happen in the future there's no restriction on where the new cabinets can go...
5. Also if i'm going to get a 20mm stone benchtop with a 40mm lip, whats the furthers i can space the... "partitions" inside the cabinet using 3/4" ply/marine ply? ??????????

A downside of using ply is that you will need to do face frame doors, which can be a challenge in themselves, or find a way to edge the exposed edge of the ply. Another skill to master.

Rough photo's of what can be achieved with flatpack and hand made doors...
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I should draw out what I'd planned to do after these and hopefully i can ask a few more questions with a reference at some point.
Will try take some pictures of the space i'm working with at some point.

Appreciate any help in advance.


Cheers,

btam

[elanjacobs]

+1000000000000000 for flat pack carcasses. I'm a furniture/cabinet maker and even I wouldn't bother making them myself without a CNC router and some fancy software to do all the thinking and cutting for me. It's just not worth my time to work out a cutting list, cut the board, edge it and bore all the shelf/drawer runner/hinge holes.

Do them in 16mm white melamine - it's easy to clean, doesn't need to be painted and is a fraction of the cost of plywood - and save your money and effort for nice doors, drawer faces and benchtops.

There are many companies that provide this service. We've used MadeCo many times at work for this sort of stuff and I can highly recommend them; just send off a list of the carcase sizes and styles (base cupboards, corner units, drawer banks, etc) you need and wait for them to rock up on pallets all perfectly cut, bored and labelled for assembly. They also use Blum hardware which, in my (not so humble) opinion, is the best you can get. I also did a Kitset kitchen for a friend a few years ago and it was just as convenient.

[gdf26562]

A few years ago I built my own kitchen using melamine for the carcasses and then used tassie oak veneered onto MDF for the cupboard/drawer fronts, took me a long time and would never do it again.

I have just installed a flat pack kitchen, Principal Range, which you can get through Masters and all I can say is "What was I thinking the first time" Everything went together very easily and the end product was fantastic. If you have some sense of DIY it's a breeze.

Graham

[btam]

Ok.. based on what i'm hearing (and thanks for all the help so far).. here's what i'm doing..


1. Tiles first - check! (putting down cement sheet tomorrow but most likely won't get through it all in one go)
2. cabinets won't need cement sheeting on the sides next to cooker - check!
3. I'll still put a cement sheet at the back of the cooker. But for the purposes of tiling all the way up so it joins to the tiles as well above the bench.
4. I've had a fair few people reply saying i should get things pre-cut for myself etc... i've pretty much set myself on the path of doing the fully DIY... being able to say i built it is a must :)
5. If all else stuffs up then i think i'll be visiting the places recommended here :)
6. Still need to draw up my plans but will use Ikea and Bunnings as a reference ... Hopefully everyone won't mind commenting on my plans if i get to it and figure out how to post it up here..


Cheers...Thanks all


btam

[Lappa]

Kaboodle, which Bunnings sell, have a program where you can design your kitchen, put cabinets in place, move them around, change colours etc. I used it when I redid my kitchen 2 years go. Sure, it's not as good as some professional packages as your working with their cabinet sizes (which are fairly standard for the industry) but it really gives you a good idea of what fits where and how it looks.

[adrock]

Hi, I know hell of a lot less than most people on here, but I just finished a bespoke floor to ceiling, wall to wall, wardrobe with veneered tas oak doors. I see you're committed to a full DIY and for mine, I hand cut all the melamine sheets with a circ saw and jig, so "fully DIY'd" I suppose.

It can be done, but if I had to do it again, I'd definitely design up your carcass panels and get a company to do the cuts (e.g., $3 each cut at my supplier).

In the end I was averaging about 15 mins per cut, by the time I set up my horses, marked, set the jig, re-measured and cut. This is still a substantial amount of time, and you need a lot of care to get the final boxes right.

There's been comments already, but I reckon HMR melamine would last longer than ply and be cheaper, given the water exposure potential.