Kitchen Cabinet Makeover

If your kitchen is ready for a makeover, you'll probably have a few worn or bowed shelves. Replacing them with melamine-covered shelves is faster and easier than repainting the old ones. You can purchase the plastic-covered shelf material in a variety of widths and lengths at a home center. You might also consider adding some intermediate supports for heavily loaded shelves so you won't have a repeat problem with bowing or sagging.

It's easy to assemble drawers that are shipped as components. Brush water-resistant glue into the joints, then clamp. Make sure that the drawer is flat and square while the glue dries.

In some cases, you may be able to simply remove the existing drawer front and screw on a replacement. Or you may be able to salvage a drawer by performing some minor corrective surgery. But total replacement has a powerful allure, especially when you're already replacing other parts.

If you have a woodworking shop, consider making your own drawer boxes. Or subcontract this job to a company that specializes in drawer boxes. Depending on the amount of money you're willing to spend, you can purchase knocked down or fully assembled hardwood boxes with dovetailed corners, plywood or laminate-clad sides, and rabbeted or doweled corners. You can even purchase metal sides that have built-in drawer slides -- you complete the box by cutting front and back panels and sliding in a plywood bottom.

Drawer slides dictate side clearances and influence the maximum box height, so it's a good idea to choose the style of slides before ordering the drawers.

The economical drawer slide shown in the photo is often called epoxy-coated because of its durable and low-friction finish. It requires 1/2 inch of clearance on each side, so order a drawer box that's 1 inch narrower than its opening. The 1/2-inch clearance is also standard on many side-mounted drawer slides. These ball-bearing units are more expensive, but you can choose full-extension and even over-extension models that allow easy access to the back of the drawer.

Bottom-mounted slides require precise dimensions between the bottom of the drawer and the lower edges of the sides. After installation, these slides are virtually invisible, and that can be an important consideration if you want to show off the dovetailed sides.

Simply screw the drawer members to each side of the drawer box. Screw the cabinet members to the side of the carcass or utilize a socket for mounting to the cabinet's back.

Joining the drawer box with its new false front is a relatively easy process. Install the drawer box into its opening; make certain that the hardware works smoothly. Put several strips of cloth double-face tape onto the drawer front.

Draw marks on strips of tape applied to the cabinet's face frame to position the new false front. As you hold the false front in position, reach inside the cabinet, and press the drawer box against the false front. Gently remove the assembly, then drive screws through pilot holes to permanently join the pieces.

Gauge the installation spot for an overlay hinge at the width of one hinge leaf from the end of the door.

Here's a Euro hinge for a 3/8-inch overlay door with a baseplate that allows face-frame mounting. The hinge has three-axis adjustability to ensure a great fit.

There are two broad categories of door hinges you can choose from: overlay hinges and Euro hinges. Overlay hinges screw to the back of the door and to the surface of the face frame. Installation requires no fancy tooling or jigs. Euro hinges also are called 35-millimeter hinges because that's the diameter of the hole you need to drill to mount the hinge cup. The mounting screws require pilot holes that are precisely positioned. Instead of resorting to tedious marking for each hinge, you can purchase a drilling jig. If you do, shop around because some jigs are relatively inexpensive and others cost up to several hundred dollars. Be sure to pair your hinges with mounting plates designed for face frame application.