Minor kitchen reno, a few questions

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LindaNY

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Hi everyone. I'm looking to improve my kitchen somewhat since I spend so much time in there (as a housewife) but would like to do it on a low budget and avoid going into debt. I'm not a DIYer, my husband has some skills, but we'll likely get help from a friend when the time comes. Right now I'm just thinking/ planning and have a few questions that could direct whether we can do this at all or not.

My house was built in 1908, the kitchen seems 50's or 60's ish to me. It has red formica counters on wood cabinets that are still solid in construction, but the doors on a couple are a mess. I don't believe I can post pics yet, but there was another thread I saw on here that had similar cabinets. Maybe I can link to it:

http://www.houserepairtalk.com/f45/what-do-i-do-kitchen-8752/

On most of them the finish is fine. The 3 near my sink are in bad shape. There is water damage and my pup ripped a couple of strips of the facing off them. What I am hoping to do is paint them. Now, I'm someone who actually likes that look. I'd love a farmhouse type kitchen and painting them, changing the hardware and installing a new counter top would make me very happy. I touch-up paint around my house every season, so maintaining them wouldn't bother me. I've been told though, that they'd never last in an often used kitchen (3 kids).

My worry here is- what if what I'm hearing is correct and I'll need new cabinets in the near future, would I be able to re-use whatever counter I install on these? (I'm thinking of the 2 cm silestone Quartz at the moment)

I have a few other questions but the cabinets/counter are my main concern so I'll just start here. I'd appreciate any thoughts. Thanks!
 
My first thought is wait on the countertop until you can do it all. 2 reasons:
what if down the road you want to change the layout somewhat of your kitchen ? You may not want to now- or know how, but somebody might come up with a new/better configuration. Then you are stuck with countertops that fit your old layout.
How awful would that be if something happened to your new countertops trying to remove them from old cabinets. Especially 2 cm, that is only 3/4" th. seems like they'll be pretty fragile moving & storing to put new cabinets underneath.
In the mean time- paint the old cabinets, even paint the old countertop. It's been done. Just put an inexpensive facelift on all of it until you can afford to do it all the right way.

Good Luck!
 
Thanks granite-girl. Do you think the thicker quartz or a different counter material would be able to take the switch?

We're still up in the air about this, but I don't know if we'll ever have the funds to "do it right" with college costs in our future :) Thanks.
 
One other thing to consider if you change the layout of your kitchen is that you may need new flooring.
 
Why do you need new cabinets? Do you have any pics of them?
 
Well I'd prefer not replacing them. My hope would be that I could paint them and then just maintain the paint for the next ten years or so. I just don't know how realisitc that is. I'll try to attach pics.

(I should also add that I'm not planning on changing the layout of the kitchen at all. I am considering removing a couple of linoleum floors to see if I can get to the original wood that I have exposed in the rest of my house. I'm reading horror stories of the glue that may be underneath though.)

IMG_1056.jpg

IMG_1068.jpg
 
My guess is that the kitchen isnt as old as you may think. The sub-structure of the cabinets is particle board. It was invented before the 40s and 50s but I dont think it was widely used. The counter top is laminate. That's not that old either. Regardless, the current materials are at the bottom of the price spectrum.

I would say go ahead and paint the cabinets. The key is proper prep. They must be perfectly clean. Then you need to use the right paint. Go to a paint specialty store for advice. You may want to check out Cabinet Coat Amazon.com: Insl-X, Noble Supply Paint I have never used it but I have heard good things.

The counter top might be a stock item at the home center and not very expensive at all. I would go with another laminate top, it will be the cheapest option and last a long time. Some can look kinda like granite. Depending on how your sink looks you may want to swap that out when doing the top, your faucet is great and can be re-used on a new sink if you want.

If you have any specific questions about the process feel free to ask.
 
Thanks Handyguys. Clearly I don't know my laminate from my formica :) My sink is still in good shape, so I'd like to keep both that and the faucet. Luckily my appliances are new. Would I paint the cabinets (and do the new hardware) before or after I get new counters?

On another note I'm wondering about my floor. We installed a vinyl (I think) floor 10 yrs ago over a very yellowed, speckled old floor. I'd like to get to the original long leaf pine which is somewhere underneath. Is it realistic that I'd be able to remove these floors (and glue) and wind up with a decent floor? I'm wondering how to tell if it would be too damaged from the glue. I do know it would have to be refinished because all of my floors are long leaf pine with no protective finish on them.

Also, since you mentioned my cabinets may not be that old, what if they were installed over that yellow floor? Did they do that?

I am sorry for all the questions. I just want to have an idea of what we may be getting ourselves into. Thank you!
 
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My first thought is wait on the countertop until you can do it all. 2 reasons:
what if down the road you want to change the layout somewhat of your kitchen ? You may not want to now- or know how, but somebody might come up with a new/better configuration. Then you are stuck with countertops that fit your old layout.
How awful would that be if something happened to your new countertops trying to remove them from old cabinets. Especially 2 cm, that is only 3/4" th. seems like they'll be pretty fragile moving & storing to put new cabinets underneath.
In the mean time- paint the old cabinets, even paint the old countertop. It's been done. Just put an inexpensive facelift on all of it until you can afford to do it all the right way.

Good Luck!

Nice advice. I totally agree with you on that. I'd rather paint the cabinets myself.. And it wouldn't cost that much.
 
Definitely paint the cabinets before installing the new countertop.
A couple of tips on painting the cabinets:
-- Remove the doors and paint them separate from the cabinets - easier that way,
-- Use a good primer/sealer (B-I-N is one) after cleaning the cabinets and before painting on the topcoat. Don't skip this step.

If you haven't already picked out your hardware, you can google 'cabinet hardware' and find hundreds of choices online.

Good luck!
 

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