New Kitchen Advice

[stament]

We need to install a new kitchen and I have read quite a few articles on TV and have decided that concrete ground built floor units with doors and a granite work surface would be the  best option, due to termites, durability, etc.

 

For the kitchen cabinet doors (and those at head height) it's been recommended to me that UPVC is the best option. I was considering wood but the termites issue has swayed me.

 

We plan to have a range hood, built-in hob and oven.

 

I have looked at some PVC doors in Chiang Mai at various large DIY stores but they seem too flimsy. Does anyone have any recommendations perhaps? We aren't keen on the high gloss units and we were told these can't be used with concrete anyway.

 

Our kitchen is L-shaped and we also could do with some ideas on designs. If anyone has any photos they can share of their kitchens that would also be appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

 

 

[Crossy]

I really don't like the UPVC ones, they look tacky IMHO. Madam wouldn't have them in the house!

 

We have the teak door units from HomePro in our concrete and granite base units.

 

Matching all-wood for the wall units from the same place.

 

Apart from a couple of hinges failing (standard size, easy fix) they've been great since 2012.

[OneMoreFarang]

I suggest go to the IKEA website. They have a kitchen planner which should make it easy for you to plan.

They also have information about "rules" for kitchen layout. I think it's called the working triangle. That is not an IKEA invention but it's all together on their website.

 

Obviously that doesn't mean you have to buy anything from IKEA. But maybe you are interested in some of their parts. They sell everything separately - if you like. I.e. you can buy cabinets, doors, drawers, etc. all separately. So if you like you can buy drawers and doors for your concrete cabinets and any other accessories.

Whatever you do I would make sure that you use standard sizes like mostly 600mm wide units. That should make it easy to find any accessories which you want. 

[PJ71]

1 minute ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I suggest go to the IKEA website. They have a kitchen planner which should make it easy for you to plan.

They also have information about "rules" for kitchen layout. I think it's called the working triangle. That is not an IKEA invention but it's all together on their website.

 

Obviously that doesn't mean you have to buy anything from IKEA. But maybe you are interested in some of their parts. They sell everything separately - if you like. I.e. you can buy cabinets, doors, drawers, etc. all separately. So if you like you can buy drawers and doors for your concrete cabinets and any other accessories.

Whatever you do I would make sure that you use standard sizes like mostly 600mm wide units. That should make it easy to find any accessories which you want. 

What's the standard height for kitchen units, 900mm?

[stament]

16 minutes ago, Crossy said:

I really don't like the UPVC ones, they look tacky IMHO. Madam wouldn't have them in the house!

 

We have the teak door units from HomePro in our concrete and granite base units.

 

Matching all-wood for the wall units from the same place.

 

Apart from a couple of hinges failing (standard size, easy fix) they've been great since 2012.

That was exactly what I thought of the ones I have seen! Very flimsy too.

 

[gamb00ler]

28 minutes ago, PJ71 said:

What's the standard height for kitchen units, 900mm?

It depends on which unit and which country.

For USA:  https://www.thespruce.com/guide-to-common-kitchen-cabinet-sizes-1822029

For UK:  https://www.houzz.co.uk/magazine/10-essential-kitchen-dimensions-you-need-to-know-stsetivw-vs~77166332

 

 

[unheard]

@stament

Termites don't like pressure treated plywood.

Laminated plywood cabinets look almost indistinguishable from solid wood.

Edited January 13, 2023 by unheard

[xylophone]

12 minutes ago, unheard said:

@stament

Termites don't like pressure treated plywood.

Laminated plywood cabinets look almost indistinguishable from solid wood.

Not sure about plywood, but I do recall someone telling me that the kitchen tops made out of particleboard and covered with a plastic laminate of some sort were not liked by termites, until I saw the house of a friend, and the termites had eaten out just about everything that was wood related, including the kitchen tops where some of the laminate had peeled away – – little barstewards!!

[unheard]

33 minutes ago, xylophone said:

Not sure about plywood, but I do recall someone telling me that the kitchen tops made out of particleboard...

Yeah, pressure treatment makes the key difference in protecting the core material from termites.

But it's still not a 100% protection.

btw, even teak is not a guaranteed deterrent.

It's just that termites don't like it nearly as much as other woods.

There are many examples of termite damaged teak pieces in Thailand.

Edited January 13, 2023 by unheard

[sometimewoodworker]

2 hours ago, stament said:

For the kitchen cabinet doors (and those at head height) it's been recommended to me that UPVC is the best option. I was considering wood but the termites issue has swayed me.

 

We plan to have a range hood, built-in hob and oven.

 

I have looked at some PVC doors in Chiang Mai at various large DIY stores but they seem too flimsy. Does anyone have any recommendations perhaps? We aren't keen on the high gloss units and we were told these can't be used with concrete anyway.

You have been given poor information, to say the least.

 

Wood is a reasonable material but it needs several coats of Chandrite to deter the termites, this is something that you’re not going to get if you’re buying pre-made units.

 

While you can certainly get bottom cabinets made from concrete blocks, though AAC is probably a better option, for ease of construction and tiling you probably have to accept the Thai flush front without a toe kick. It is possible to build in a toe kick but it’s rather a challenge to persuade Thai workers to build them.

 

For upper cabinets I recommend doing as I do and hanging them from French cleats, if you do that it is a trivial job to replace them, should you need to.

 

As to “you can’t use xxx doors with concrete cabinets” that is again total BS. It may well be a little more difficult but certainly not impossible.
 

With regard to plastic material for the doors you can get Plaswood panels but the problem will be finishing the edges as the core is not dense, potentially you could use iron on edge banding though I don’t know that it sticks well or if the heat for the glue will deform the board. That is one test I haven’t needed to do.