Size Does Matter!

When it comes to simply replacing the doors of your old upper cabinets with some new doors, one size does not fit all. Maybe we should have just painted out the pine strip on the old doors and then rehung them with new handles. I've seen that done on TV. But I thought that it would be easier to get new doors. What I learned is that most people don't want to sell you just doors, or at least that's what an IKEA staffer told me. Their doors are all just slightly off, so we couldn't go with their line. We tried both Rona & Home Depot for the DIY options. I wanted to go with Rona to support the "Made in Canada" option, but unfortunately, they did not make the near-useless 6" base cabinet that we needed. After many trips to measure, I had decided that the HD doors would fit our existing upper cabinets, although I did realize that the round countersunk hinge holes were in a different location from our current doors, so all the hinges would have to be moved. As usual, I figured this was no big deal, and as usual, I was wrong.

At first I planned to reuse the old hinges, but they wouldn't line up with the pre-drilled screw holes on the doors. So, we went to HD on Xmas Eve morning to get a whole bunch of hinges, thinking that they were the exact same ones that came with the Mills Pride cabinets. Bad assumption. They were not. And the new hinges did not line up with the pre-drilled holes either. In fact, they were just millimeters away, so it was very easy for the screw to shift into the neighbouring pre-drilled hole making the hinge crooked! Not fun. So we devised this method with a square and some clamps to keep the hinge square with the door while we drove in the screws. Then we had the same problem with the cabinet side. The new hinge needed to be placed a few inches lower, but one of the holes was only a few millimeters from the old one, so again, same potential for crooked hinges and crooked doors. Sigh.

Like all parts of this kitchen project, once it is complete (see photo on the left) it didn't seem that difficult afterall. With all the cupboard doors on last night, I spent today moving all the dishes and food from the dinig room table into the cupboards - a much less cluttered look. We just have one more upper cabinet to hang but it is a custom job, as we have to cut out a wedge for the heat duct to pass through. That we shall leave for another day. There's been enough swearing for one week!

Open Concept Shelving: You will also note that the centre cupboard does not have a door. This is because the door was 3/16" too wide. HD does not make a door that is 14 1/8" wide, so I'm afraid that we are out of luck. So, until I take that woodoworking class at Central Tech and learn to make my own doors, I guess we'll have to live with this open shelving idea. And if asked, I will explain that it was all a part of the original plan.

Oh yes, and the dishwasher is now working. We did a test cycle tonight and no more drips.