Several spots of the plywood veneer are peeling on the face frame of a kitchen island. The island is assembled from three base cabinets, and the face frames were cut from 3/4″ sheet ply and mitered at the edges to attach to the base fronts.
I thought of repairing the veneer, but how hard would it be to just remove the plywood face frames and replace with wood frames that are pocket-screwed together? The doors and drawer fronts are in need of replacement so this would square things up as well.
Replies
Might as well rebuild the cabinet. A quality cabinet would not have f. frames made of plywood.
Expert since 10 am.
They were built in the 70's and agree they are not great, but they are going to be painted and dressed with new doors and drawer fronts, so is it ok to replace the face frame as mentioned or am I missing something? The frame is loose in spots so it seems as if it could be popped off and replaced.
they could be repaired in place with new frames. paint grade makes it easier- you could iron over the peeling veneer and repaint.Expert since 10 am.
jackplane,
I don't quite understand your last comment about them being repaired in place with new frames; are you agreeing that it would be ok to pop off the frames and replace with real wood like maple or poplar?
Thanks
I guess I gave you an either/or option.
If you can pry off the f. frames without much damage or drama, this'd be faster than re-building the whole unit. But if it's a simple veneer repair and repaint, then this is the option. It's a judgement call, yours to make.Expert since 10 am.
At this point, would you not be better off, in consideration of all things, the simply replace the entire unit instead of repairing it to the degree you propose?
I refuse to accept that there are limitations to what we can accomplish. Pete Draganic
Take life as a test and shoot for a better score each day. Matt Garcia
I pulled the old face frames off a whole kitchen like you describe. The owner ordered new doors and drawer fronts. Now I might try and make doors and drawers I think I could compete.
Pocket screwed new face frames and used glue and dowels to attach the new face frames, because thats what I had, the dowels held it tight while the glue dried, where it wasnt tight I would stick a 2" brad used the matching filler to hide the hole it was pretty hard to see where I nailed, and I used quite a few.
It was quite a while ago and I dont know the price of new kitchen but owner was thrilled and said they saved sooo much. Im thinking they did too because it had tile counters which would have been impossibe to save and all the other related issues when gutting a kitchen. Long story but I would do it to my house.
If it's paint grade, just repair the veneer and paint. I've heard that the waterproof titebond can be used as a thermoset glue. Try putting some glue under the veneer, let it dry and then use an iron to flatten and adhere it.
Easier than trying to repair the veneer. Go for it, pocket screws are perfect for this application.
mike
I would bet that those faceframes are glued to the carcasses and would be a real bear to remove without really messing up the carcass edges.
At a fairly inconspicuous spot, try to pry the faceframe loose and see how it was originally attached. If it was just nailed on, you're home free - and one lucky dude! - lol