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Should I install Cabinet Lighting?

Sunday, September 14th, 2003

This depends on several factors. If you have a fancy cabinet with objects that need illumination, such as expensive china or trophies, then you should definitely install some additional lighting. Also, if you find that during evening hours your one kitchen light is too inferior to provide safe lighting and working conditions then perhaps it is time to invest in some additional light sources.

There are four main types of lighting you can choose from, Rope, Puck, Recessed and linear strips, as well as options for hard-wiring or plug in. First and foremost, you should always consult with a licensed electrician and be sure all power is off to anything electrical that you decide to work on. Secondly, be sure to follow all instructions and safety guidelines.

When you hard-wire something you are essentially tapping directly into an electrical source as opposed to simply plugging something in. This eliminates wasted outlet space but does require at least a limited knowledge of electrical components. Standard practice when installing lights is to place them about 30 inches apart in order to decrease shadowy areas. Another important thing to remember is to install a transformer. Typically cabinet lights run off of a 12 volt direct current whereas a typical household is powered with 120 volt alternating current. It is important to have the right size transformer when transferring DC to AC or vice versa. Usually the more lights you have installed the larger the transformer needs to be.

For safety reasons never place a transformer behind a sealed wall or anywhere out of easy reach. During the manipulation of alternating current to direct current heat is given off. If the transformer is enclosed or packed with dry materials this could become a fire hazard and a danger to your home and family. For this reason transformers should always be left out in the open where they can properly ventilate.

Cabinet lighting also has the great benefit in that it can showcase a backsplash or if your countertops are made of granite or some other stone they will sparkle and shine.  Now that you know why you should install some cabinet lighting, and even a little bit about safety precautions, you can competently choose and install your own do-it-yourself cabinet lighting.

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Cleaning Cabinets

Friday, August 22nd, 2003

After a few good years, maybe even months of use, cabinets can begin to look grimy, dirty and disgusting. Cleaning cabinets regularly can keep them looking brand new. Depending on what has been housed in your cabinets you could have anything from food crumbs to rust stains and water spots from canned food or dishes. First things first, if you do not have- or have enough- of the chemicals you may need, avoid mixing the last two ounces of the first five bottles of whatever you get your hands on. I have known people to do this. You never want to mix any chemical as it can release poisonous gases or even destroy whatever you are cleaning. Always follow manufacturers’ recommendations and test in an inconspicuous area first.

The first thing that needs done is you need to remove all food or any other items being stored in your cabinets. Once that is done you can remove shelving if you have any and lastly the cabinet hardware. Removing the knobs or pulls and hinges can make cleaning around those areas a much easier task. After all hardware has been removed place in a bowl with the following chemical recommendations: For mild grease and dust a household dish cleaner will suffice, such as Dawn. For tougher stains and grease an all-purpose cleaner such as Fantastik! or similar can be used. Again, be sure to test first if your hardware has a finish or paint on it.

While those items are soaking you can begin washing your shelves and cabinet doors and perhaps even drawers. The same chemical guidelines can be followed. Remember to never use an abrasive such as steel wool, as you can scratch and ruin the cabinets. If you have stainless steel doors a stainless steel or a multi surface cleaner such as Pledge would work best. If, for some reason, you have years or even a decade of build up you have one last resort. Paint Thinner. This may sound harsh, but used properly, and safely, it can be a very effective method. Be sure to take your removed cabinets outdoors or into a well ventilated area and follow all safety instructions.

Now that your cabinets are cleaned, wipe them down and allow them to dry for about an hour or so. Once that is done you can reattach the hardware and the doors to the cabinet again. To keep your cabinets looking nice try wiping them down with a solution of one part vinegar and one part water twice a month or just keep using the same mild soap you used before.

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Choosing Cabinet Hardware

Thursday, July 17th, 2003

Want to liven up your kitchen or bathroom but can’t afford to remodel or purchase new cabinets? One cost effective way to get that fresh new look is to install new hardware on your cabinets and drawers. You have two main designs to choose from; Pulls or Knobs. From these two designs there are near unlimited options in materials, prices and specific styles to choose from. A pull is of course a handle type design utilizing the whole hand, where as a knob requires only a finger or two and is a smaller and most often rounded piece.

Pulls and knobs range in sizes, shapes, colors and materials. Some of the more common materials that cabinet hardware is made of are; brass, bronze, nickel, pewter, glass, plastic, stainless steel and of course wood. You can also get them brushed, polished or even semi-transparent depending on what you are looking for.

Knobs come in various shapes such as a barrel or oval shape, acorn, round and several others. You want to determine the size of the knob and material it’s made from based on aesthetic appeal and utility. For instance if it’s a drawer with heavy items in it, a larger size and perhaps a brass knob would be in order as opposed to a soft wood or glass. For long drawers two knobs may be in order.

Pulls have the advantage of being sturdier, as they are attached at two points, there are fewer materials to choose from but the designs tend to be more ornate. Pulls come in several varieties. They can be rounded, square or have ornate curvature to them. Also, they can be directly attached to a cabinet or drawer or hanging from a back plate.

Ultimately, whether you decide upon a pull or a knob the choice is yours. Once you weigh the choices in material, sizes, designs and price, you still have found a very cost effective way of perpetuating the beauty in your home.

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Easy Cabinet Repairs

Wednesday, June 4th, 2003

One of the worst things that can happen to a beautiful cabinet set, or any furniture for that matter, is damage over time such as cuts, scratches, nicks or even small dents. Don’t go replacing everything yet, as there may still be a way to save your cabinets or furniture.

For minor cuts and scratches you want to use what is called a touch-up pen. As is the case with most things, you may want to try this in an inconspicuous area first. Touch-up pens are available in a wide variety of colors and shades. Your obvious quest is to find one that most closely matches the wood and stain you are attempting to repair.

 For a nick or deep cut you may need to use what is known as a filler pencil or stick. These also can be found to match your wood and stain and are made of wax- essentially filling- the damaged area.

If the filler stick is too solid to leave its waxy substance in the affected area, try microwaving it for about two or three seconds. Don’t forget to wipe the area clean and remove any excess material once you have finished. Wax the surface of the wood as well when finished.

Dents are more difficult to remove but it can be done. Note that this may not work on all types of woods. Typically a dent is caused from the wood having something fall on it, and in consequence the wood is pressed down causing a recessed section. Gather up a cotton ball soaked in water and place it in the dent. Next you will need to place a small iron on it to heat it up. It’s a good idea to place some paper towels or cloth over the cotton ball to prevent damage to the surrounding areas of the wood. The objective here is to allow the heat and steam to puff the wood in the dent back out to a flat surface. Be slow and careful in this process as you could cause the old dent to become a new bump.

If you have damage that cannot be fixed with these listed techniques you should call in a professional.

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How to Judge Cabinet Quality

Wednesday, May 28th, 2003

People say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The same can be said for quality cabinets, be they custom, stock, kitchen or bathroom cabinets. How do you know the difference between what looks good and what is good? Fortunately, there are some guideline standards to follow when discerning the quality of cabinetry products you plan on having installed in your home. Criteria such as construction techniques, materials used and craftsmanship are the major factors here.

There is an organization called Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association or KCMA for short. This organization has strict guidelines in order to receive their seal of approval. This is a good place to start when looking for quality cabinets to purchase, or even to compare to a product you’re currently viewing. Cabinets with the KCMA seal are guaranteed to be durable, quality specimens of their product type. On the other hand the KCMA is not a compulsory industry standard, meaning that manufacturers are not required to have or seek this certification. Cabinets without the KCMA seal are not always an indication of lower quality or cheaper materials.

Another good way to tell the quality of a good cabinet is by the method in which it is constructed. One thing to look for is dovetail joints holding a drawer together, as opposed to a simple staple or glue. Another would be the slide mechanism. Does the drawer move on ball bearings or cheaply made plastic runners? For the kitchen cabinets check the interior. Is the cabinet suspended by a sturdy hanging rail and is the box reinforced by I-beam or corner bracers? Also be sure to check the thickness of all the panels as thicker is usually better.

Materials used during production are extremely important to the quality of a good cabinet. Materials typically used are particle board, medium density fiberboard and plywood. Most manufacturers recognize plywood, especially with a veneer cover, as the best quality. This is not to say the other two are bad, but they are more prone to water damage and don’t have as much strength as plywood. Also, when looking at adjustable shelving, check the shelf brackets. A metal shelf bracket is typically better than a plastic or wooden one.

Once you have weighed in all the options available here you can finally look at a product for its mere beauty. Are there no air bubbles in the finish, dents, splits or scratches in the wood? Do the pieces join together nicely with no gap or separation? If so, then you have yourself a fine quality cabinet.

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Stock Semi-Custom and Custom Built Cabinets

Wednesday, April 2nd, 2003

Today’s world is full of choices. Will I have wooden cabinets or stainless steel ones? Will I paint them or stain them? Leave them natural? Well, let us start off with the basics. There are basically three forms of cabinets that can be purchased; stock, semi-custom and custom. There are of course advantages and disadvantages to each, as is the case with most things in life.

Stock cabinets are typically the cheapest and easiest to obtain. Available at any hardware or lumber store as well as in some supermarket chains these cabinets are everywhere. The drawback is that they only come in predefined widths, cuts and wood species. Most typically stock cabinets are built in Oak or Maple and are cut normally by 3 inch increments. You pay less money, while giving away the freedom of limitless choice.

Semi-custom cabinets on the other hand have many more choices. They are usually built in 1/8 inch increments, making a more likely to fit match to your specific kitchen, as well as being available in a wider variety of materials such as stainless steel or laminate. These cabinets may have some factory designs inlaid on them, or perhaps have some variety in wood species/staining combinations.

And finally custom built cabinets. They are more expensive but cannot be matched in that they are virtually limitless in design. Whether it is customization on woods or finishes, shape, size, dimension, thickness, paint, or even inlaid carvings, custom built cabinets is just that- custom. Now that you are armed with a basic knowledge of cabinets, you can begin the plethora of other choices to make.

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Custom Cabinet Design Choices

Thursday, March 13th, 2003

There are numerous choices as to what kind of design you would like for the custom cabinets and drawers in your home. Some of the most popular are Mission, Shaker and Rustic. I will explain these designs as well as a few others.

The Mission school of design is known for having straight, flat panels with thick vertical and horizontal lines. Mission design is based on a need for necessity. It is very sturdy and has very little as far as inlaid designs or curves go. White oak is a typical hardwood choice and is often adorned with darkened iron hardware.

The Rustic style is a very beautiful design, focusing on the natural elements of the materials. It is commonly known as ‘log cabin’ design. Rustic pieces are built more for purpose and utility than they are for looks, however this style has a natural beauty being that pieces are almost always left unfinished. The fact that you can easily see the grain of the wood and even the original contours, including the bark, lends an extraordinary amount of originality to your home.

Shaker design was created in a ‘classless’ community which means the pieces were intended more for functionality, rather than showcasing a piece of art for a specific designer. Apple and cherry trees were popular choices with designs being symmetrical and simple.

Other designs include Scandinavian which is known for having no ornamentation on it, and having clean horizontal and vertical lines. Opposite of that is the French Provincial design which is extremely ornate with many patterns and gilded corners. Flat surfaces often had extravagant scenery or artwork painted on them. A more exotic type would be the Asian design, or more politically correct, Oriental. Oriental uses homeland woods such as bamboo and often has painted language characters on them. The design is based on simplicity and elegance.

As you can see, with custom built cabinets, your choices are literally limitless. From bark on the walls to Chinese lettering or panoramic French landscapes there are many ways to add originality and beauty to your home, or you can just keep it simple and functional with a sturdy Shaker or Mission design. Now that you know the wide variety of designs out there you can begin looking for that perfect cabinet set for your home.

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Cabinet Door Styles

Thursday, February 20th, 2003

So you have decided to get brand new custom cabinets. You picked your material, be it wood, stainless steel or maybe even plastic laminate. Your next choice was possibly to finish it with stain or paint, or leave it natural. The next step, and sometimes the first, is to choose what style door front you would like for your cabinets or drawers.

Door styles can be broken down into three main categories; Solid or Slab doors, Raised panel doors and recessed panel doors. The Slab door style consists of one piece of wood or other material that is flat, and has a uniform consistency in thickness. If you have chosen a hardwood for your cabinet such as Alder, Birch or Walnut, this is not your design of choice as it is more prone to warping than the other two styles. For a door of this type, stainless steel or MDF (medium-density fiberboard) are better choices.

A recessed panel door is defined by the inside panel being recessed, or sunk in. Unlike Slab doors a recessed door is constructed using five pieces, the 4 outside rails with connecting stiles and of course the sunken center panel. Hardwoods are great choices for this type of door design. The five piece construction lends strength to the door preventing it from becoming warped. This is also true of raised panel doors.

Now, I don’t want to insult anybody here, but a raised panel door is… you guessed it, exactly the opposite of a recessed panel. It also is characteristically defined by five piece construction except with the center panel being raised, or matching the thickness of the outside rails. One major difference between raised and recessed doors is that although both can have many different profiles on the outer edges, only a raised style will have a profile on the center panel.

So finally you are almost finished with choosing your custom made cabinets, or perhaps you are just getting started. Either way, you are now armed with a wealth of information on front door styles for cabinets and drawers in your home. Although these are the basic three styles of door design, many more choices await you.

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Which Wood To Choose For Custom Built Cabinets

Sunday, January 12th, 2003

There are many different types of woods that can be used for cabinet making; Hickory, Mahogany, Birch, Oak, Cedar and Alder just to name a few. Traditionally, Oak was the mainstream choice for cabinets. In recent times however, Maple has been gaining in popularity as well as a few other lesser used and more expensive wood types.

The type of wood you choose for custom cabinets should be based on three main factors; porosity (for finishing), grain type and expansion with humidity.

Pretty much all wood can be finished, and some are better left natural, but each wood has a different character when it comes to finishes. For example, when dealing with Alder, some areas may absorb the stain better. This creates a fluctuation between darker and lighter spots becoming an eye sore or possibly even advantageous to your design. Cherry on the other hand works well with stains, accepting many coats enhancing the rich browns and reds it is famous for.

Grain style is going to be the natural curves and lines you see in wood, enhancing its beauty. Some woods have straight grains such as Mahogany and Hickory, while still others have more pronounced patterns such as Ebony and Walnut, the latter two being more expensive. Pine sometimes has a knotty grain giving it a more random and custom look and being cheaper to boot.

Most wood today is treated to resist decay, termites and natural expansion due to humidity, but some woods already have built in resistances. Oak is probably the most resistant, being very hard and durable. Other good choices include Maple, Mahogany and Cherry. No matter which wood you choose it’s always important to take into account more than just popular choices, and think instead more about how cabinets can affect the presentation of your home, and choose accordingly.

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Custom Cabinetry Solid Wood or Veneer

Sunday, December 29th, 2002

Which is cheaper? Which one will last longer? Which should I choose? All are common questions from advice seekers placing new cabinets in their home.

Price is all about quality. Expensive and cheap versions of both solid wood, and veneer covered cabinets can easily be found. Veneer- being just a thin slice (1/8 in.) of wood on a substrate such as particle board- is not an indication of lesser quality. In fact, in many cases veneered pieces can regularly cost the same if not more than their solid wood counterparts. Price, although important, is the last part of the equation that should be factored into finding your new custom cabinets.

Solid wood has its advantages in that nicks, cuts and other small defects are easily and cheaply repaired and can take more of a ‘beating’. Oil and wax crayons and staining pens are cost effective measures at keeping your cabinets in like-new condition. Veneer however, is subject to peel or lift on the edges and break off after much use. Also a deep scratch or cut in the wood may easily mean replacing the whole front section of a drawer or cabinet.

Veneer does have advantages as well, however. Being that it is not solid it has a higher propensity for expansion and contraction, making it less likely to become loose, crack or split. This is ideal in humid conditions such as a bathroom.

In the end it doesn’t really matter which you choose. As many places have guarantees on their products, you can safely base your decision on wood and stain type, personal preference and finally, price.

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