Replacement Kitchen Cabinet Doors

[doggyvonne]

My husband is planning to install some replacement kitchen cabinet doors in our small bungalow . We found a company in Wigan with excellent reviews and we are considering the white pvc shrink wrapped sample door they sent us. It is absolutely ideal in all ways except it is emitting a very obvious rubbery smell? I did some reading online and have found out that 'off gassing' chemicals can be a problem with fitted units but can someone on 'DIY Not' tell me if there is an H & S certificate that such products should have in this country to make sure the mdf is properly sealed and all elements of the product are considered safe for domestic use? Please let me have your comments.

 

[Doggit]

The MDF will be well sealed, and it's only the dust created when cutting it that you have to be worried about. The smell that you're getting, will be from whatever they've coated it in, so you'd need to ask them how long before it disappears. There's no H&S certificates that I'm aware of though.

Can you get any samples from other manufacturers to give you a comparison, and are there any online reviews of the companies products. How are making certain that the hinge holes are n the correct position.

 

[doggyvonne]

Thank you that was helpful. Is that to say the coating will not be off gassing anything bad over a long period of time? We have to drill the holes for the handles
ourselves-is that unusual? The overall cost for about 10 doors of various sizes is about £500 and they seem well made and the customer reviews of the product and service are excellent. However, i have a nose like a bloodhound and picked up the smell immediately!

 

[Burnerman]

I guess there will always be some smell when the wrapping material is fresh - this will soon disappear though.
Personally I'd go for acrylic 'zurfiz' finish......available from diyhomefit where you can enter the size you need and get an immediate price. You also can specify hinging types and positions.
Do check them out - they are a first class firm with excellent product knowledge. I've fitted approx 50 replacement cupboard doors over the last 7 years and they are all as good as new. Recommended!
John
Let me edit this one......the hinge holes are drilled to your specification. In no way will you able to be as accurate as them.....CNC machinery is used.
J.

 

[Doggit]

Ouch, drilling the holes acurately won't be easy. I doubt if you'll need to keep the windows open for more than a few days, but it may be longer with your sense of smell. If you decide to store them somewhere to let them clear, then make sure they are laid flat, as mdf will bow under it's own weight if yiu leave it leaning against a wall.

 

[doggyvonne]

I did edit the post because i said 'hinges' when i should have said 'handles' which look easier to position maybe? We will most certainly look at the site you mentioned as a comparison. We were told PVC finish for this sample door and maybe Acrylic is less gassy??? Hubbie is retired and not a carpenter as such but he is going to have a go at the fitting and drilling the simple holes for the handles. If he finds it a struggle we may employ someone to do it. We have about 15 doors and 7 drawers -how much do you think we would expect to pay for the fitting? We live in Devon and it isnt always easy to find trade to do anything!

 

[ntb]

Make templates out of scrap wood for drilling holes for the handles. You'll need a LH and RH for the cupboard doors and another for the drawers if required. Drill a hole in the template in the correct position then line up on the door and drill through. If not confident, test the template by using it on scrap wood. If you got the hole in the wrong place, drill another until you get it right but don't forget to fill the old holes so you don't use the wrong one.

 

[Doggit]

B&Q sell a handle template for a couple of quid. Make sure you drill through from the front of the door, and that you've got a piece of scrap wood underneath to drill into, and that cuts down on breakout at the back of the door.

 

[Burnerman]

I made my own handle drilling template from a piece of scrap aluminium angle......holding it tight against the door edges got it right every time.
Using a small drill means minimal breakout on the door inside - once the initial drilling was done, I swapped the drill bit for the correct size one (5.5mm) and drilled from the inside to the outside, using a piece of scrap timber as Doggit advises.
My last project averaged at around £50 per door, including the hinges.
The drawer set was excellent quality and shows no wear to date but as I recall there needed careful measurement when fitting the fronts.....no big deal.
I didn't notice any particular smell of the new doors, but that's not unusual as my sense of smell has long gone anyway
John

 

[foxhole]

Be aware if doors are vynyl wrapped they may not survive around heat source , wife ruined all our upper cupboards by using a toaster under them , doors all cracked and peeled.

 

[doggyvonne]

Thanks to all and to Foxhole yes we inherited a dark blue shrink wrapped kitchen which had been damaged by heat in the same way and one reason why we are changing the doors. Seems sensible to order an extra door therefore for the cupboard over the appliances and keep just in case.