They’re generally that overlooked part of your home that helps to add to the décor and spice up whatever decorating pattern you’ve got. They’re useful in that without them, we’d need to rethink the way that we store everything in our kitchens and they’ve been around for so long we generally don’t always pay a lot of attention to them. They’re the cabinet and as with many things in our homes, we don’t realize exactly how important they are until something goes wrong with them.
Cabinets come in a variety of styles, finishes, configurations and modular shapes that are all generally constructed in two different ways. The first of these is the more traditional type called the framed cabinet. These have openings that are surrounded by what are called face frames. Here the doors are generally of a frame and panel construction. The other common type of cabinet is called the frameless cabinet and these are generally characterized by the fact they have no face frames and the doors are almost always made of solid panels.
One of the kinds of cabinets that we don’t always consider are called base cabinets since they rest on the floor and support countertops. There’s a need here to allow for a kick space where you can fit your toes under the bottom of these so that you can get close to the countertops. Wall cabinets, as their name implies, hang on the wall with a soffit commonly installed above them. As well, cove molding often covers the space between the cabinets and the ceilings and wall.
Both of these types are attached to the wall with screws that fit through the back of the cabinet. There are also screws through the sides of the cabinets that hold them together and filler strips are placed at the end of a run of cabinets to fill the space at the end of the wall.
It’s not always necessary or a good idea to rush out and buy new cabinets for your home when the older ones start looking a little run down. You can refinish the ones that you’ve got for a fraction of the price that it would cost to go and buy new cabinets and there are a variety of kits sold at local renovation centers to help you out with this project. You can begin this job by measuring your cabinets and making a list of how many doors and drawer fronts you will need to resurface. One of the biggest advantages to resurfacing is that you don’t need to unload the cabinets unless you plan on painting the insides of their surfaces.
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