Fitting new kitchen cupboard doors

jonny2510

We're looking at house buying, and one house we like has a slightly dated looking kitchen. Things seem ok, just not really to our taste.

Is fitting new cupboard doors and draws etc a straightforward thing to do?

Do kitchen cupboard doors / draws tend to come in a standard size?

Is the replacing themselves something a novice DIYer can do (i.e. just screwing the new doors to the hinges) or a job for a carpenter?

Finally where do you buy ""just the doors" from. Will B&Q do them, or is it a specialist kitchen place - which is gonna cost more?

Many thanks in advance

PHYTHIAN

Re fitting----pretty straightforward as long as they are correct sizes (see below)

Re standard sizes---no. They can vary quite a lot, depends where the kitchen was originally purcahsed from. Also the hinge holes themselves may have different 'spacings' to standard B&Q etc sizes.

Re just doors---tend to be more expensive from the likes of B&Q who only really want to sell fully fitted kitchens. I used to run my own Kitchen/bedroom and would use one company for kitchen cabinets and another for the doors /drawer fronts handles etc. You will find most of these companies also deal 'direct to the public'. Google will help with that. Once you find one take the measurements of the doors and fronts in; they will make doors to ANY size and the range is far larger than the DIY sheds. Also take one of the doors in with you to show the hinge spacing and ask them to drill the hinge holes for you.

As a matter of interst, what area do you live in----I might be able to suggest one or two suppliers.

lfc321

Have done this recently and it wasn't too hard. I'm a pretty bad DIY-er but did an OK job.

We just ordered all the doors (obviously ones of the right size) and swapped them over. Pythian is right that the hinges weren't all in the right place (they were on the base units but not the wall units), but it was just a case of drilling some new holes in the carcasses.

We couldn't find a new door quite the right size for our extractor fan hood so had to cut down a bigger door. Other than that it was all very simple.

I don't know where the original kitchen was from (was in the house when we moved in) but we just bought the new doors from B&Q (they were doing a promo on their IT kitchen doors at the time). The sizes matched up.

loracan1

I got some doors from B & Q a couple of months ago in the sale. Existing kitchen was fitted in 1994 but layout was best possible and whilst the carcases aren't in exactly perfect condition they're okay. All the doors had to have new hinge holes drilled but a tiny plastic hinge jig came in handy, bought new softclosing hinges too.

It took quite a bit of time - the drawer fronts and dishwasher door were the most complicated. Had to resite a couple of doors to my satisfaction but I managed it all on my own. Including 14 doors, new hinges, handles and a tin of paint it cost about £160.

The kitchen doors in B & Q tend to be 716mm x 500mm, naturally other widths are available but I replaced all of mine with little trouble. If there's an semi-integrated d/w that might be a problem but you can buy strips for those. Fridge/freezer split might need checking first too.

ETA: Redrilling holes in the carcasses is probably better than re-using old holes in an old kitchen anyway.

lfc321

loracan1 wrote: »

All the doors had to have new hinge holes drilled but a tiny plastic hinge jig came in handy, bought new softclosing hinges too.

Luckily I didn't have to do any of this - sounds awkward. The existing hinges on our kitchen were exactly the same as the B&Q ones (although at different heights on the doors), so I just screwed the hinges into the pre-drilled holes in the doors and attached them to the carcasses at the appropriate height. If you're a novice at DIY it would definitely be worth looking at your existing hinges to see if you can get new doors that come with the right holes pre-drilled.

The only drilling into the doors I had to do was attaching the handles.

loracan1

I meant the holes needing drilling into the carcasses, made a cardboard template which made it easier. Some of the doors did need new holes drilling because of the positioning but they were straight forward.

lfc321

loracan1 wrote: »

I meant the holes needing drilling into the carcasses, made a cardboard template which made it easier. Some of the doors did need new holes drilling because of the positioning but they were straight forward.

Sorry, I misunderstood. Thought you meant the big holes on the inside of the door that the hinges sit in.

ormus

last one i did, i bought plain bare doors. then drilled the big holes for the hinges, with a special bit.
the drill bit was just about 7 quid.

jonny2510

PHYTHIAN wrote: »

As a matter of interst, what area do you live in----I might be able to suggest one or two suppliers.

I live in Wigan.

Thanks for the replies everyone, and thanks for the helpful information. I think I'll give it a go myself - if we decide on the house!!!

PHYTHIAN

Polished With Pride in Wigan are excellent also
Brosna and Mersey Timber (both Liverpool but only half hour drive from Wigan).

jonny2510

PHYTHIAN wrote: »

Polished With Pride in Wigan are excellent also
Brosna and Mersey Timber (both Liverpool but only half hour drive from Wigan).

Many thanks for that. I'd always rather use a recommendation than just any old place, so (should everything go ahead) I'll certainly give them a go