Refurbish/Replace kitchen units

[Arbu]

I've got some old kitchen units in my flat which some years ago I painted. I painted the doors in gloss and they look OK, although some of the drips show. Also a lot of the hinges are now badly aligned so the doors don't close well - when I've tried to tighten up the screws on the hinges it hasn't really helped. I painted the shelves below the doors in a matt paint which now looks pretty bad because it's starting to peel off. But they do contain strip lighting which is useful.

Any suggestions as to what to do to improve the units now? I suppose I could just replace them altogether. Or maybe I can get a carpenter in to fix the hinges and paint the shelves myself with something that looks better. I also wouldn't mind having something that allows me to hang my wine glasses upside down, because at the moment they collect dust and always need washing before I use them.

I use the storage space on top for DIY materials because I don't have anywhere else.

Grateful for any advice.

 

[Arbu]

I'm thinking that the main units are OK, it's just the shelves for the glasses which aren't so good - there's just too much yellow. Plus I have a kettle under one of them, the vapour from which causes the paint to peel off a bit. Would wood effect paint http://www.diy.com/departments/ronseal-paint-grain-rustic-oak-special-effect-paint-15l/127864_BQ.prd be any good? If it looks realistic then fine, but I'm wary of anything that looks fake.

 

[foxhole]

I think the only way to improve those units is with a match and a pint of petrol.

 

[anonymous123]

Hi arbu, don't listen to that bell**d, bit of a pointless comment really. If you like them then you should do anything you can to preserve them. They may not be to everyone's taste but there's nothing wrong with them. I'm a carpenter and I'd recommend getting a chippy in just to sort out any of he practical defects, I.e hinge allingments etc; then you should sand them down to a bare state, prime them, then paint them again as a start over. Maybe with satin this time instead of gloss, it's a much better paint for timber, very easy to work with, very easy to clean, dries very quickly and is also slightly glossy.

 

[Robbox]

If you can afford it, have the doors spray painted in two pack. Very tough finish, any colour you want and no drips...

 

[JohnD]

you can get used kitchens for next to nothing if you are able to collect, see Ebay, Freegle and your local paper. Not all of them will be very good, or to your taste, so take your time when choosing, but it may be cheaper and better than trying to improve your old ones. Units from a bigger kitchen will give you spares in case of damage to any of the units (sink units are usually cut about and often water damaged). If your cabs are standard sizes you could even collect a used kitchen and swap the doors.

BTW you mention paint drips on the doors. If you do it again, take the doors off, sand them in the garden, and paint them lying flat. Do the edges first. Kitchen items accumulate a film of greasy dirt from cooking, so degrease with sugar soap or white spirit.

I would be very reluctant to spend much money or effort on your old units when replacements can be so cheap.

 

[Arbu]

Thanks. As anon123 suggested I got a carpenter in to align the hinges and that helped a lot. I decided that a lot of the problem was an excess of yellow. So I spray painted the lower parts a dark brown and I think it all looks a lot better now. I also put in a wine glass rack so that I could hang my wine glasses upside down and keep them cleaner.

The expense of new units would not have been a problem, it was just going out and finding them, making sure that they fitted, and getting them fitted, bearing in mind that there's strip lighting in the existing units which might have been a job to retain.

 

[Arbu]

The one obvious improvement I could make would be to remove the DIY stuff from the top. But I'm running out of space in my flat. I did notice that there is some unused space (6.5 inches high) behind a plinth under the kitchen cupboards at floor level. Is there any way that a carpenter could fit some sort of sliding door here to allow me to make use of this space? It might seem unusual but space is at a premium in central London...

 

[SFK]

Arbu,
here are some plans for "Under Kitchen Unit Storage" << the google search I did.

http://www.familyhandyman.com/kitch...net-drawers-increase-kitchen-storage/view-all

Sfk