Matching old Cabinets

My gut is saying that it'll be less money to replace all of them if you want them to match.

Other than that, I think there's several choices:

Have them custom made.

Have a custom router bit made, then make the new ones yourself.

Make the cupboard bodies, but have the doors made by a cabinet shop.

Anything can be duplicated for a price. making the doors the same, could be challenging, but if you have the right tools (or someone with a good wood shop), should be able to come close.

Looks like they hogged out the outer part with a raised small panel cutter in the center with the border frame/border.....

You could make the framework and with a router/shaper do the frames with the correct details. Use a table saw vertically to cut the panels grooves, then finish the edges with a router.

Take a close up of the doors (front and back), then we can see the details and how it was made.

Why are you replacing them--water damage, smell?????? If it's just smell, there's options--I couldn't see much in the pop-up

Richard, I got these from Lowes or Home Depot 10 yrs ago & they are solid--they were unfinished and I had to do some cutting, staining & poly--some old glass handles & walla--I think they came out pretty nice & the PRICE was wiothin my means. You did say you were looking to sell this place,yes??

Richard,

I'm a salesman at a wholesale plywood and kitchen hardware company. All of my clients are kitchen designers or tradesman. My suggestion is to remove the upper cabinets and create a more "open" design with very few uppers with adjustable shelving or enclosed shelves that look like a bookcase hung on a wall. Most importantly, utilize every square inch of lower cabinet with well thought out ergonomics.

A kitchen designers best kept secret is what goes on "inside" a kitchen cabinet. The outside is just aesthetic, the inside is what really matters. The smart use of lazy susans, pull-out shelves, full-length drawers, spice racks, base fillers and full-extension drawer slides will enable your new base cabinets to hold and store more pots, pans and food than your previous kitchen.

I recommend the following two websites for you to look at with your wife.

http://www.blum.com/us/en/index.php

http://www.rev-a-shelf.com/

We sell both of these product lines and if you find anything of interest let me know. I don't mind extending you or anyone else who has suffered flood damage my 10% over cost employee discount. And that would be at wholesale nonetheless, which is about half of retail at the least. I don't work off of commission, I'm salary just like most, so take it for what it is. Let me know if you have any other questions, I can't really help anyone with coal stove questions, but kitchens is what I do!

Richard,

Give yourself a break, and time to think. I would have snapped with all you have been going through.

My only two cents worth is you might be able to just reface the carcasses; if you find simple lowers you could duplicate the doors.

You could consider painting, but that wouldn't help with the distinct style the upper doors have. Oak grain can look really good under a couple coats of Impervo.

I got my whole kitchen free by just removing it from a house. Not much to look at but you can't beat the price.

I bet there might be a lot of upper kitchen cabinets on Craigslist soon! Not many lowers....

good luck!

If the uppers are 'stock' sizes...
Get new doors and hardware to match the new bases...
If not...
Replace everything with new...

Tough call, I remember your workshop pics from a while back.

How about these guys for new, I see them advertising all the time
http://www.cabinetstogo.com

I'm down to LET THE NEW OWNER deal with them--economic & efficient

Just bought these last few months ago up at Home depot, oak fronts. They are sold bare unfinished. Stained sanded sealed and varnished.

Dude. Not to apple polish the Mayor too much,

You're another one of these guys that has the American work ethic. A flood like that is traumatizing to a whole population of people. You not only help others, but it's like you're rebuilding and doing what ya gotta do without a complaint or sign of fatigue or defeat. And you're documenting it, historic significance, man.

I think there's a time in recent history when your house would have been way more likely to sell, you know when the housing bubble was expanding and people were flipping houses.. Then you might have had an easy decision to fix the house up real presentable because it would have been worth the risk and in demand.
Now the economic mood in this country is uhhhh,,,You know how I feel about politics.

You can repair, fabricate and install whatever you want. Thats a big happy plus I can't imagine being somebody that is helpless in home repair. Those poor souls have to be at the mercy of others. I couldn't tell you what the most advantageous thing to do is. Let it sit or sell as is, or good contractor grade fix-up, or what.

I looked at a house once after the last Owego flood, I think it was in Appalachin. Right on the river bank, nice porch view of the Susquehanna. The house had been restored, they took the furnace and hot water heater and breaker box up to the first floor. Nice contemporary bathroom, the whole house was repaired well. But there was zero privacy with the other houses right next to it, and the house was over-restored for the neighborhood, I thought. Riverfront property though, who knows somebody might have really wanted that place.

Keep up the good work!

The only advice I can give is to stay away from custom cabinets unless you have REALLY DEEP POCKETS! I don't know if PA is any different, but you would not believe what they get for custom cabinetry up this way.

Starts at 5 FIGURES and goes UP from there, if you can believe that!! I guess everyone spends $30 grand on a simple remodeling job up here .... Good Lord!!!!


If it were me, I'd be scouring all the neighborhood piles, salvaging all the good parts & gluing pieces together, then, staining them all at once ... so at least they'd be all the same shade.

The day I spend $10k on cabinets will be the day treehuggers vote Republican & I vote eco-weenie!