This is my first posting, so am a novice at this. I am a semi-retired engineer/executive who has done a lot of home projects and have had people say that my work is as good or better than the pros -I do my research and take the time to do it right. I have a well equipped shop with a table saw, radial arm saw, 6″ jointer, 13″ planer, drill press several routers, sanders and lots of hand tools. And I still have 100% of 10 fingers. <!—-><!—-><!—->
Here are 2 jobs I have not done before and would like advice.<!—-> <!—->
My wife and I are planning to remodel our 18 yr old kitchen. The kitchen area is U-shaped, 12′ W x 14′ L. The cabinets are traditional oak face-frame, with frame and raised panel doors, including an island. They are still in very good shape. Altogether, there are 60 doors of various sizes, including a bank of cabinets 3 x 3′ wide x 7′ tall x 12″ deep and 11 drawers of various widths and depths. I thought that the finish on the cabinets was lacquer, but lacquer thinner does not soften it. I would like to refinish the cabinets. I guesstimate that replacing them with similar quality would sting by 20 to 30 grand (Canadian).<!—-><!—->
The floor is 12 x 12 ceramic tile laid on thin-set over a mud bed and 2 layers of 5/8″ plywood screwed down every 4 to 6 inches. No squeaks in 18 years although a few tiles have cracked, some due to impact and some due to in-adequate covering (back-buttering?) of thin-set. A lot of grout has simply dis-integrated. The floor must be replaced. We plan on ceramic or stone tile 16″square.
1. My wife is tired of the medium walnut cabinets and would like a light color; say a pale cream with a darker glaze in the recesses and grooves. (Naturally, she wants new counters and appliances). I expect that I will have to de-grease the cabinets, sand lightly, one or two coats of a good primer, sanded to smooth out grain pores of oak, then two coats of top quality alkyd paint followed by glaze. I expect to remove the doors and spray paint them as well as replace all hinges and pulls.<!—-><!—->
An alternative is to hire a painter I know who has a superb crew that does “high-end” work (e.g. million $+ homes) – with commensurate rates. <!—-><!—->
Has anyone attempted something similar and if so, what were the results. Am I nuts?<!—-><!—->
2. Regarding the floor, is it acceptable to just strip off the old tiles and lay the new on a fresh layer of thin-set? Is there a grinder that will smooth out the old thin set, or do I have to apply more mud to level the base?<!—-><!—->
I expect it would be tough to get the old tiles out from under the edges of the base cabinets. Should I remove the base cabs and do the whole floor? What do professional tile-setters do? If I have to rip out the old mud coat and wire mesh, it will be a horrendous and dirty job. The total floor area is 12′ x 28′ including the breakfast area.
Advice will be greatly appreciated.<!—-><!—->
Tanasija
Replies
Tanasija,
I had similar distress with kitchen cabintes in a house I bought over the summer. Although only 7 years old, they were a pickled/peachy color that we hated (either oak or maple cabs, with a transparent wash/stain).
Based on feedback from this forum I took a shot at painting them and we are very pleased with the results. Basically, take off door/drawer fronts, remove hardware, clean cabinet body,door and drawer fronts well with a de-glosser/de-greaser, prime with a shellac based primer, sand lightly, and two coats of Benjamin Moore Satin Impervo alkyd paint.
For a fairly large kitchen, 48 door/drawer fronts (painted fron and back), 42" top cabinets, it takes about 40-50 hours with a roller/brush combo. One challenge is that it takes about 3 days for the first coat of oil based to dry sufficiently for the second coat to be applied. So, all in all it takes about a week, start to finish. It helps if you can get out of the house for the first 12 hours after each coat is applied (slow to dry and tacky).
The impervo goes on glossy, but dry's to a nice satin finish that is rock hard. It also levels out fantastically, so much so that brush strokes disapper entirely.
Hope this helps. It can be done, and looks great, just takes time and patience.