Easy DIY Projects

Watch as my wife and I renovate our kitchen on a budget. I made our upper cabinets and made all new doors for the lowers. We went from a dark stained wood looks to a light and airy white shaker style. And man did it look different!

This is not a how-to video, but more of us documenting the process.

Some FAQs:
1. The cabinet boxes are 3/4 birch plywood.
2. The backing of each cabinet is 1/4 birch plywood.
3. No, I did not house the cabinet backing in a groove like the professionals do–they are cut to fit just right inside the cabinet.
4. Yes, I did make sure to put furring strips on the top and bottom, behind the cabinet backing.
5. The doors are made of poplar tongue and groove style joints, with a 1/4 birch plywood floating panel insert.
6. The tools I used are:
Skil 10″ table saw borrowed from my sister.
Skilsaw 10″ mitre saw that I got off craigslist.
Skil 7 1/4″ circular saw.
Skil jigsaw.
$40 kreg pocket hole jig.
Dewalt 20v drill I borrowed from the same sister.
Titebond II glue.
Clamps from Harbor Freight.

7. We installed a white quartz countertop.
8. Why did we contract out the paint? Because I tried to do it myself, and hit some hiccups. The finish is absolutely critical in making this look great vs. good or ok or hodge podge. So we decided to spend the extra to have professionals do it right. I think it was the right decision because the result is stunning. Nevertheless, there are some small flaws that I notice (and no one else does)–I don’t think anyone is exacting in their standards as the person who is making the project.
9. So had you never done cabinets before? No. But I watched a lot of videos. I’m pretty handy. I read articles and referenced other texts. Then, I had an extra cabinet or two that we had removed when we took down a wall previously when we first moved in. I studied that, deconstructed/reverse engineered the construction. In the end, I realized that I could indeed do this myself, and that I could do it with standard tools if I planned and executed well enough.
10. Would I recommend you do this? No. I don’t recommend it. Only if you have very limited, specific needs like I did. We only wanted a pantry and new uppers. The lowers were perfect, just a color we didn’t like. By not making the lowers, we saved a TON of money. Also, it was a very LONG process that strained me and my family quite a bit as I was working on the kitchen for a month straight, and my wife had to watch our child basically alone during that time.
11. Would I explain or teach how I did it? Not really. If you have a specific question, ask! I’ll answer. As far as a how-to or tutorial, I’m not the right person for that. There are much better how-to videos for cabinet making out there.
12. Will I do my own kitchen if I get a new house? Probably not. I don’t think the cost-benefit ratio is high enough in most cases.
13…. I’ll keep adding here.

Thanks,
Andrew