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G'day all,
Just got into our apartment and removed the dishwasher.
We now have an empty (I'd like to call it 'available') space in the kitchen and as we're in an apartment, we'd like to put the bin in the cavity.
To keep the bin completely out of the way, I'd like to put a door on the empty cavity. Doesn't need to be the same colour as the rest of the kitchen and I also don't necessarily want to have the full slide out bin thing if it's too hard to do.
I'm not the greatest at DIY but building a simple door should surely be quite simple.
I have included a photo of the cavity and the cupboard to cupboard opening is 610mm with a height of 870mm.
If it's not too hard to install the slide out bin, I'll take a single door, with a door handle and I can move the bin in and out by hand.
Any help is much appreciated!
Hi @stevedoingfixes,
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is fantastic to have you with us.
The simplest solution in terms of materials is a sheet of CUSTOMpine White Matt Carcass Particleboard, cut to the dimensions of the opening minus 2mm for clearance on each side. The cut edges can be sealed with Iron-on Melamine Edge to give it a more complete look.
You'd use cabinet hinges to attach the door to the opening. There's a little bit of complexity when it comes to cabinet hinges, most of which relates to how the door sits in relation to its attachment point. In your case, the logical type of hinge to use is an inset hinge, which will place the door inside the side wall, as opposed to in front of it.
These hinges need to be recessed into the door, which you can do using a Kreg Concealed Hinge Jig.
The one thing about adding a door here that would make it a bit tricky is the step back for the kickboard.
If you made it so the door lined up with the door on the right, then you would need to either stop the door at that same height and have an opening at the bottom, or have it go full height, which would leave a small opening on the right side of the door. Of the two, I think a full-height door would look better.
You'd then need to add a handle to the door. Matching the handle with the others in your kitchen makes the most sense.
The only other thing you would need to add is something for the door to close against. This could be done by screwing a strip of timber to the opposite side of the opening. Something like this 42 x 19mm 1.2m DAR Pine Standard would work well.
Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Jacob
Hi @stevedoingfixes,
The easiest and neatest option would be to install a cabinet unit in the empty space rather than trying to mount a door directly over the void. Adding a cabinet will give you proper structure to attach hinges and a door, and it’ll blend much better with the rest of the kitchen. You can then mount a bin inside it or simply place one inside and open the door when needed.
While it’s possible to just fix a door over the opening, it’s not ideal. You’d need to create your own hinge mounting points, and the result might not line up cleanly with the rest of the cabinetry. You’d also have to decide what to make the door from. Pre-made kitchen doors are sized for standard cabinet heights, so the closest fit would be the Kaboodle 600mm Gloss White Modern Cabinet Door, which measures 600mm wide x 717mm high. This would only partially cover your 870mm-high opening.
As mentioned, the more custom option would be to cut a CUSTOMpine 16 x 2400 x 1200mm White Matt Carcass Particleboard MR panel to suit the space and apply melamine edging to seal and tidy the exposed edges. However, by the time you factor in the materials, edging, hinges, and handle, it’s not quite the simple or budget-friendly project it first seems.
I’d recommend instead going with a Flatpax 600mm Utility 2 Door Base Cupboard or a Kaboodle 600mm White Base Cabinet and Kaboodle 600mm Gloss White Modern Cabinet Door, which will neatly fill the space and give you a strong base for installing either a fixed bin or a slide-out bin system later on.
Regarding your question on hinges, you could use standard door hinges and not recessed versions, but you need to be careful that this door doesn't end up looking like something that's been tacked onto your kitchen cabinetry. The more you deviate from standard fixings like recessed cabinetry hinges, the more it will stand out as not part of the original kitchen.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
The cabinets come with adjustable legs @stevedoingfixes. You then clip a kickboard onto the front to cover the gap beneath the cabinet. You'll have a 10mm gap on the width, which can be filled with a timber trim piece.
Mitchell
I went to Bunnings to get the cabinet. Before that however, I noticed this plank of timber sitting just below the kitchen bench.
I assume this was put in there (and cut out for the sink) to fill in the gap between the dishwasher and the bench top.
I have unscrewed the supporting brackets that I thought were holding it up but now it looks like it's glued to the bench top and it won't move.
Am I safe to pry it off somehow? Crow bar? Screwdriver? I don't wanna damage the bench top and not sure if this is actually required to be there.
The cupboard will not fit in unless this is removed.
Hello @stevedoingfixes
I highly suspect that the panel is glued on to your low-profile benchtop. You'll also see from your original first picture in your post that there was an angle bracket attached to the right-hand corner which leads me to believe that you have a stone benchtop. Removing the timber support might compromise the structure of your stone top. I propose leaving it as is.
The good news is that the Kaboodle cabinet can be lowered to the thickness of the panel you currently have. The plastic feet can be adjusted so that the cabinet can slide under the panel you currently have. The drawback of course is that the lower section of the cabinet will not line up with the cabinet on the right.
Let me call on our experienced members @Nailbag and @AlanM52 for their recommendations.
If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.
Eric
