Vinyl wrapped kitchen doors 'bubbling' ?? 8 November 2013 at 10:36PM edited 30 November -1 at 12:00AM in In my home (includes DIY) MoneySaving 62 replies 104.7K views

Silvertabby

We have Second Nature oak 'shaker' doors and they're certainly not vinyl wrapped. We had a minor drama involving a burning tea-towel (don't ask) which resulted in the top of one of the doors being scorched. Luckily, a local furniture restorer was able to repair it - but only because it was proper oak. He wouldn't have attempted a vinyl wrap.

Our kitchen is now 10 years old and is still in excellent condition.

moneyistooshorttomention

Thanks for that.

Goes off to google Second Nature kitchens - and hope I can manage to get them over here if I decide to....

moneyistooshorttomention

Just had a quick look and asked them for a brochure.

Fingers crossed that, if I decide on them, that they will do it here. I'd have a choice of stockists where I've come from - but the nearest one I could find to here is Swansea now that I'm in West Wales. I'm getting rather used to having to do long-distance shopping since moving....

Off to google how long it would take them to drive from Swansea....

jooboo

How to tell if it is vinyl wrapped. The majority of vinyl wrapped shaker doors are flat on the reverse. You can also get foil wrapped which look like wood, they are now available in vinyl too, so be careful, do not buy vinyl wrapped. Most real wood is either oak or ash, the grain is natural and doesn't look deep or uniformed. I have foil wrapped and do not have a problem with it as they are painted. I had foil wrapped wardrobes for a long time. However, I would and do recommend real wood to any one that can afford it, as it will last you a long time if you look after it.

I work for a kitchen specialist who are perceived to be expensive. Magnets aren't cheap so don't be fooled by offers. Shop around and get three quotes. Also, there are different quality wooden doors. Generally, Brands such as Second Nature, Burbidge (who manufacture their doors in Coventry) and TKC amongst others, are good quality, they only make or sell doors and accessories not carcasses. I would recommend 'matching veneered end panels' too so get the same colour match as the kitchen ages.
Happy Shopping!
:A

moneyistooshorttomention

"flat on reverse" - right that just had me nipping off to take a quick look at the back of my existing kitchen doors. I did remember aright - they have a "border" several inches wide all the way round the inside of them. I think they are wood doors. It's the kitchen that was put in this house some years back by a previous owner and is obviously only flat-packed from somewhere like MFI or the like. So if even that cheapie kitchen has doors that are real wood by the look of it - then that says something to me...

I shall make notes of your comments - as it helps to be able to tell for myself. Better to be able to do my own inspections than have to scour their literature for something in writing telling me what their doors are made of.

I'm certainly planning on having matching end panels anyway (apart from the one that doesnt show anyway).

Thanks.

moneyistooshorttomention

I'm also wondering about German kitchens. I do have a distinct preference for buying German whenever I can.

Does anyone know of stockists of cheap to mid-price range German kitchens in West Wales?

I do know about Homebase stocking Odina kitchens - but I'm not too sure about them and they don't seem to have the Shaker kitchens I like in that range either.

Davesnave

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Whew! Glad I just found this thread.

I felt suspicious that a kitchen firm was quoting me "vinyl Shaker doors" on units and googling brought this thread up.

It would have been better to let it die though!

This subject frequently comes up and I'm sure there are more recent threads.

Real wood framed doors are to be preferred, even on relatively modest kitchens. Then, if they ever need refreshing/repairing, the job is relatively easy and there's also no danger of vinyl blowing, peeling or getting scorched etc.

Be aware that many painted doors are sprayed in a base colour, then if the customer wants another colour, that's sprayed over it. Once I found that out, I went with the base colour, because I noticed a certain amount of 'wear-through' on the ones that had been there rather too long in a display! Also a second spaying tends to fill-in the grain.

Oh dear, something else to worry about, but seriously, my painted doors are fine, even surrounded by careless people, like me!

Davesnave

Homebase....Odina.....arrrggghhh! Nightmare!

Not the kitchen, which I didn't want anyway, but I hoped for an interesting design, or at least some ideas.

What I got was some woman fumbling her way through new software for a couple of hours and a shrug at the end when nothing would print!

Served me right of course! :rotfl:

Bloke in Howdens was good. So was their rep, who brought us several gifts of Emma Bridgewater stuff.

We bought somewhere else, but had some nice Worcester doors from them....not their handles though!

moneyistooshorttomention

Davesnave wrote: »

It would have been better to let it die though!

This subject frequently comes up and I'm sure there are more recent threads.

Real wood framed doors are to be preferred, even on relatively modest kitchens. Then, if they ever need refreshing/repairing, the job is relatively easy and there's also no danger of vinyl blowing, peeling or getting scorched etc.

Be aware that many painted doors are sprayed in a base colour, then if the customer wants another colour, that's sprayed over it. Once I found that out, I went with the base colour, because I noticed a certain amount of 'wear-through' on the ones that had been there rather too long in a display! Also a second spaying tends to fill-in the grain.

Oh dear, something else to worry about, but seriously, my painted doors are fine, even surrounded by careless people, like me!

By far the best thing to publicise this sort of thing happening. The greater the publicity = hopefully the sooner they stop making it.

I did come across your thread/s saying re this - ie that they come in a base colour of ivory as I recall. Then other colour gets sprayed on top of it. The concern as to whether the paint might wear off on the painted ones is part of why I dont want a painted one. Whatever I get has to be minimum possible maintenance - either housework wise or "maintenance" wise - as I loathe both and so I'm very very "time and motion" conscious about how I want things to be. I know myself well enough to know that if something represents more than absolute minimum of effort to keep up - I'll just shrug and not bother.

Who'd a thunk it would be so hard to get a bog-standard wood Shaker kitchen (ie pale wood)? I like things made of limestone, soapstone, etc and so want that level of paleness of wood - but don't want painted.

As for the firm that got told "wood" by me and then proceeded to try not to hand me anything in writing - and, when I insisted, bingo I find that it's not wood at all - but that vinyl stuff = words fail me....

Must try not to take that personally - as I guess some of these firms try and take all their customers for mugs basically....:cool:

Davesnave

Limed oak or maple is probably as close as you'll get to a really light colour in wood finish.

I wanted wood, but I was over-ruled in the showroom. It upset me less than the sales person, who wasn't happy with my daughter's intervention, which swung she who did most of the kitchen research the other way, and off to another showroom! :rotfl:

However, daughter is in sales too, has qualifications in art and knows a bit about colour, so she was probably right.