Kitchen benches

Feeling like a bit of a traitor at the moment with me working with all this, sorry, melamine MDF, just finished two out of three built in robes and about to make a start on the kitchen.
Problem now is where to start, I think there is a plinth on the base of the cabinets and I am not sure how high they need to be or what depth, the benchtops are going to be 600 deep.
Can anyone give me recommended dimensions on the height and depth of the plinth and even a link for some plans for cupboards, recommeded depths etc, I've tried a search engine but to no avail.
Thanking you all in anticipation, and a merry Christmas to all.

Try and get a hold of Danny Proulx's book "Build Your Own Kitchen Cabinets". I don't own it, but I had a flip through it in a bookstore recently. It appears to have a lot of useful tips on standard dimensions for cabinets, drawers, etc.

The author is a long-time builder or kitchens and has extensive experince with melamine MDF http://ubb.ubeaut.com.au/ubb/redface.gif. The book contains recommendations on how to cut and work with the stuff. I'm not at the stage of building kitchen cabinets, but was looking at it from a general purpose perspective (eg built in robes, workshop cabinets, etc).

Try a book store for dannys book as i found it to be of great help. He uses the european
cabenit style/design as in faceless box
with no front. He shows you how to assemble
them .You might try you local libary as some times they may already have them. Also check out there video as ive come cross how to make
kitchen cabenit so i now have a copy my self.
contact me if need any more info.

Another easy way is to wander around new display homes and check out the kitchens and if you are discreet enough you can do a bit of measuring while you are there.It also gives you some ideas on different bench sizes and where to put the white goods.

Might not be totally ethical, but....

Try finding a kitchen outfit that offers a no obligation design & quote, their simple plans are turned out very quickly on the computer and should be enough to give you a good start. Or you could try one of the larger outfits that has a bunch of brochures, sample layouts etc.

Thanks for the responses, I'll work on the 4-6" plinth and take it from there.
I have the kitchen worked out and have a source of benchtops and cheap melamine MDF in Dandenong.
If anyone wants the source, including all the fittings for wardrobes etc let me know and I will get their name and number.

Iain,
Not long since I finished building a kitchen at our place, the kickboard is 140mm, the over head cupboards are 300 deep,the lower cupboards are 580, this allows for the doors not to protruce past the bench tops, this worked for me. the height of the floor cupboards including top is 920mm, the tops I used were 35mm thick timber so you will have to adjust the height of the carcass to suit the tops you plan to use.
Best of luck
Taffy
Almost forgot, the kickboard is set back 75mm including the doors
PS: the missus reckons it works a treat.

[This message has been edited by Taffy (edited 16 December 2002).]

[This message has been edited by Taffy (edited 16 December 2002).]

G'day
If you have corner cupboards in the design make the height of the carcasses less than a doorways width. ie around 750
cheers
Rod

Iain,

I looked at this some months ago and found a supplier in my area who makes flat packs of various sized kitchen benches. They had a good brouchure detailing the sizes of their standard range.

The company was Nover found at www.nover.com.au

Give them a try for a broucher maybe this will help.

growl

Check out laminex and others. They have books of carcas bits & doors ect.
Just order them & screw em together.

can take the booring work out of the job if thats what you want.

Would also give clues to design.

I saw a post elsewhere, where the author had built some shallow drawers into the kick panels of his kitchen.

I thought that was a cool idea - concealed storage, and/or for those infrequently used items.

Cheers,
Andrew

Progress, well sort of, just arguing over the choice of benchtops at the moment.
One nearly in with three more to go and appliance to fit in between.
Go to Miscellaneous on the link.

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Ian
where did you get the plans for your built in robes

Steve, thats only the cupboard, the facia is yet to go on and it will be polished tassy oak as will the doors and drawers. The plinth is 90x19 pine and the rest is 16mm melamine chipboard which costs $28 for a 2.4x1200 sheet.
I spent 3 days with a major wardrobe and kitchen installer and work exactly the same way as they do using a brad nailer, liquid nails and no more gaps.
The base is glued and nailed to the plinth and the backing is glued and nailed to the wall, the sides are nailed to the base and cleats are fitted to hold the shelf (which is going in today) which serves to hold the whole lot together.
Not rocket science or proper joinery (apart from the doors when they go on)but it is solid and will not move.
At present SWMBO and I are in dispute over a benchtop, I want solid timber and she wants a roll front laminex so for the time being I just sat a melamine MDF sheet across the top.
Next I am fitting the wall oven, cooktop, dishwasher and sink which we picked up at auction (brand new, cooktop was Harvey Norman rest was auction, discontinued lines), saved a fortune so far as kitchen installers want about $20K for the installation and I still have change out of $3K including the new Blanco stainless steel appliances, double sink, flickmixer tap and 18v circular saw, sabre saw and drill kit.
I estimate by the time I finish it will be about$4K.
No rush on the doors as long as the cupboards are functional.
Fortunately I have a friend who is a plumber and electrician and he is going to wire and hook up the rest, in return I will do some built in robes for him and his missus.
It works well.

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: http://community.webshots.com/user/iain49

Quote:

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Originally posted by Iain:

At present SWMBO and I are in dispute over a benchtop, I want solid timber and she wants a roll front laminex so for the time being I just sat a melamine MDF sheet across the top.

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I redid my kitchen on the cheap last year and originally wanted jarrah benchtops as I had a heap of it lying around but no planer thicknesser to machine it.

I ended up getting some premade laminate stuff from ikea with one postformed edge as tthey were the only people who sell it in tthat fashion. I had got a price from a local postforming place and they wanted $1000 for a U shaped top about 2400 long with approx 1000 long returns on the ends and two masons mitre joints.

The biggest problem I had was doing the masons mitre joints so the postformed edges looked nice. Mik wanted about $300 for the basic Trend template guide which was a bit much for the two joints but I bodged together a template from MDF and they came out pretty well. Setting them up is the hardest part.

I hope all of yours goes well, after a year or so of use I am sort of glad I didn't go for solid timber theres too much moisture around in the kitchen I reckon especially as we don't have a dishasher so the sinks and drainers get used a fair bit

Darryn

I am contemplating smaking some melamine carcass kichen cabinets.

What sort of finish do you get on the cut edges of the melamine with a standard saw (ie no scribing blade)? Is the chipping acceptable or would I be better off paying a cabinet shop to cut all the panels?

George

Re melamine finish george

If you have a nice fine blade that is sharp od a true running saw one side should be beautifull & the other a bit chipped.

If you are keeen cut a but past half way & the turn it over ant the finish should be reasonably sweet due to the angle of slice.


grab a lump & try!???

George

Re chipping: Try cutting the board to size + 5-10mm using an ordinary blade (ie 60-80 TPI, TCT). You will almost certainly get chip out. Then grab a router/trimmer fitted with a straight bit and clean up the edge down to the dimension you need. You'll probably need a decent straight edge to run the router against, or use a table mounted router with a decent fence. Of course, this assumes you have a router handy, and are willing to spend the extra time cleaning up edges.

I haven't tried this myself, but it was recommended in Danny Proulx's book on building kitchens. I also discussed it recently with a friend who works in a furniture factory and he thought it was a good idea. I'd recommended running a test piece of board with a generous margin of error to see how much chip out occurs and how much routing/trimming is required.

Jeez Gents,

Thanks for all the specifics on measurements.
And the name of the book.

Iain, you're my woodworking hero.

I've been wanting to replace non laminated particle board wardrobes for quite some time. The Edwardian ones. And fit out a really large laundry room with more storage.

I've got a great family friend who has built his own 35 square house and has passed on the following link for laminated 8'x4's.
Which he has paid $60AU per sheet.
http://www.amerind.com.au/

Could someone please tell me if this is decent stuff and if the price is right?

He was also saying that the stuff is so cheap that when he needed thicker material he'd just glue two pieced together.

Would that be advisable?

Also he would start with a 2x4 base to place the cabinets on. Which would fit the 4" kickboard. I haven't got the detail yet but he was saying he'd cut the entire length of the 4" to level the base and NOT wedge offcuts at the ends to level it. Does that sound right?

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Thanks,
Barry G. Sumpter
Proud Tritoneer
Triton Woodworkers Club Holmesglen

[This message has been edited by barrysumpter (edited 08 February 2003).]

Hi Barry,

From my memory of calling Amerind a few months ago they charged by the square meter, with the price based on what veneer and substrate was used. (Also I think they quote ex-GST)

I'd give them a call and check. I might be wrong, but my recollection is that 2400x1200 boards in 19mm particle board came up at around $90-100 for common Aussie species veneers.

Good luck with your project.


Cheers,


Justin.

Hi all

A couple of points, and one question

- I'm about to build some internal robes to a walk in robe that's being constructed. I'm going to purchase the melamine board from AllBoards in Bayswater Melbourne. A 8' x 4' x 16mm will cost $33 - and they will cut to within 1mm accuracy for $1 per cut. No chips out is expected as they use machines and CNC routers costing $$$ hundreds of thousands. They also make carcase kits which many cabinet makers use. By the way the board is moisture resistant chipboard (you can tell it is by the little green speckles in the board) - ideal fore kitchens / bathrooms.

- They will edge for you (or you can do yourself) a couple of options - either standard melamine (about 1/2mm thick) - which over time could well chip with usage. Or you could go for 2mm thick PVC which is colour matched - will not chip - looks really good, and is what many wardrobe / cabinets have now.

Hope this helps, particulaly the cutting - yes I could probably do it myself - but I recon with what I'm saving over and above getting a wardrobe company to fit it's probably worth it for both the quality and the fit.
wardrobe company to fit

My question is:-

- what's been your experiences with fitting the self closing hinges. My next project could be cupboards in the laundrey - but I am a bit nervous about fitting those hinges - seems to me that you have to get the holes aligned almost perfectly - otherwise it will be a mess.

Look forward to your input.

Malcolm

My limited experience with the hinges has been positive. You get a template for marking the holes. The hinges have several adjustments you can make once the door is fitted, so they are fairly forgiving.
George

im saddened to see you guys being charged 1dollar a cut gents please........
do your cutting list and take it to your local joinery or kitchen builder im sure they would do some stuff a lot cheaper and you will be amazed what they do for a carton of ale .....
THIS DOLLAR A CUT STUFF IS ROBBERY
get to know your local joinerys they can help ...
i know cause i work in one and ive always got time for the local woodys
cheers chris
:)