Many customers come to us for help on updating the design of an existing kitchen when the kitchen cabinets are relatively new. As custom kitchen designers (in Chicago) we can create a solution using existing materials on paper but to actually do kitchen remodeling using existing materials is more difficult.
The first step is to analyze the existing kitchen to determine what parts of the existing kitchen can be saved. Part one of the evaluation is assessing the difficulty of the deconstruction and assessing how likely parts will be ruined in the process. If parts may be ruined, it's important to assess how easily they'll be to replace in the field. Can the door panel be made on the spot? The second task is to assess the locations of plumbing and electrical fixtures and evaluate how exactly they can be moved to new locations if that's required. Some moves are easy, some quite difficult. Plumbing waste pipes are among the most challanging because waste pipes require a gradient. This means the more remotely a sink is located from the location it drains into a stack on the wall, the more likely the stack will need to have the point of entry lowered. This means opening the wall, cutting the stack, and reassembling it, all which adds complexity and creates risk -- risk because the stack might break in a remote location as it's being cut and that location might be behind the wall and cabinets of someone elses unit upstairs or downstairs.
The key to the process it to evaluate solutions for costs and risks and try to create solutions that will realistically fit into the clients budget.
If a solution is reached, then the existing cabinets have to be matched. We consider the following:
- Can the original manufacturer be identified? (This can be found by examining the cabinets or by talking to the builder.)
- Can the wood species be identified?
- Has the wood aged and darkened over time? (This is important because the new cabinet doors may initially be lighter and may take a year or two to catch up. The client should be made aware of this as soon as possible.)
- Do the new cabinets have to be an exact match to the old ones or are they far enough separated that the difference won’t be seen?
To match a door we first have our local Chicago cabinetry maker, Builder Cabinetry Supply, take a look to see if they have anything commercially available that closely approximates it. If they don't, we have an out of town suppliers of custom cabinetry doors who has a greater capacity to do the same thing. It does involve removing a door and sending it, which not all Chicago kitchen remodeling clients will tollerate. Our out of town vender searches their existing designs and tools and gives us their closest off the shelf solution for the door and panel profile. They also send the sample door to their stain lab to match the wood variety and stain color.
Given enough time they can get the stain color close 97% of the time. It's never quite perfect however for several reasons.
1. The original wood has aged and often darkened from UV exposure.
2. The original wood is not identical to our vender's wood even though it's the same variety.
3. The finish depends on the finish materials being used -- in other words, it's not just the stain color but it's also the varnish or polyurethane type (there are many, many types of finishes) as well as how they sanded the wood and finish coats.
So close means close but not perfect -- color, sheen, grain, and even how the door ages over time may differ. But for most purposes, this is close enough.
Should they fail, we have a second set of expert wood finishers – the best wood finishers in Chicago – who can help us figure it and provide the necessary materials.
If our vender can closely match the rail and raised panel with off the shelf tools, we let our customer decide if the solution is sufficient. The farther the new panels are from the old panals the less precise the match has to be in all respects. If the match is not good enough, custom router tools can be manufactured to produce the exact rail and panel profiles. Most rails of requre 2 tools and most panels require 1. The cost of each tool is expensive ($650) so often we'll only produce one or two to get the door close enough.
Once we have the tools, the wood and the stain, it’s just a matter of craftsmanship. With good preparation, a kitchen renovation, should take anywhere from 1 to 5 days. If we have to retile the entire floor and walls add another 2.
Kitchens are very important rooms. A quality kitchen renovator should be wary of putting a client out of their kitchen for more than a week. Its best to make a schedule for kitchen renovations and keeping to it. It's really a must!