[kawahonda]

Well, my disposal cracked sometime in the near past, and was dumping water on the cabinet floor. The cabinet floor was already in bad shape, but this time there was a 3" bow, as well as visible black mold.

Many times, bottom of cabinets are laminated particle board, which is not a good choice for this area.

I am not a carpenter and I have very limited experience with woodworking skills and knowledge. Or at least, I think I do. But so far, I'm about halfway done, and I consider this 3 out of 5 difficulty so far. If you know how to measure, cut, and have the set of basic tools, as well as patience, this is not difficult at all!

Step 1: Claw hammer time.




Step 2: With the bottom of the cabinet removed (as well as the front fascia), you now have access to the supports. Mine had water damage, so I will replace the supports. Underneath the supports is another particle board that was drilled into the subfloor. I wasn't happy with that particle board, so I choose to keep removing.




Step 3: Now we have the subfloor exposed. This subfloor is in good shape, minus a small area of mold which was cleaned neutralized after this photo was taken. I was actually quite surprised to find that the spray worked very well. Remove the water pipe brackets that fasten to the subfloor. I took a chisel to remove every bit of old particle board near the edges to have a nice square opening.

Step 4: NOW is a good time to replace all the water valves since you have the best access at this point. These valves are really not meant to last 25 years, so I went ahead and replaced all three. Don't forget to turn off your water before replacing them.

 

[kawahonda]

Step 5: Grab a piece of board from the home improvement store. I choose to go with particle board as the bottom layer that attaches to the subfloor. This should never see water because the top layer I will choose a more water-proof board. Measure many times and start cutting the board to fit around any vents, as well as cutting out water pipe slots.



Step 6: Fit, screw, and seal the piece in. I used acrylic caulking in any gaps. For the larger gaps next to the water pipes, I used water-resistant wood filler. I'm not sure if I should slap a sealer on this or not. What do you guys think?


More to come as I further progress!

 

[kawahonda]

Step 7: I sealed the particle board with Shellac. I really don't know if it would be helpful to do so, but I figured it wouldn't hurt. NOW was also a good time to repaint the wall underneath the sink which looked awful. I also installed the pipe supports. The bottom area is now finished.

 

[Windows on Wash]

Turned out pretty good especially considering the mess it was.

 

[kawahonda]

Thanks guys! There's still much more to do, so stay tuned!

 

[kawahonda]

Step 8: Cut the new board and at least try to fit it in as one piece. Even when I removed all I could off the face of these old crappy cabinets, there was no way this thing was going in as a one-piece ordeal. Oh well, at least I tried.


Step 9: Measure and cut your side supports. I used Liquid Nails as well as a few nails from the nail gun. I'm not a believer of using screws for cabinetry work.



I got to try out my new Dewalt jigsaw. It's great for making quick, exact cuts like this.



Step 10: For the center piece, I decided to just glue the bottom and shoot staples wherever I could since it's a compression fit.



The next steps are the finishing work...the stuff that you can actually see. We'll see how it goes....

 

[kawahonda]

Step 10: Cut the boards into two pieces and do some test fitting. Likely, you'll be doing some additional trimming. The world isn't perfect.


Step 11: Shellack the bottom boards (or stain them, whatever).


Step 12: Install the boards. I used mostly my nail gun, with glue whenever I saw fit. It's exceptionally sturdy. My cat even approves.

 

[kawahonda]

Step 13: The front facia is garbage, and I didn't want to just reinstall it. The vent hole wasn't cut properly, cracked, and was a poor cut. The vent was rusted brown in color. I bought a $14 oak board from Lowes, and cut it down to size.


Step 14: Cut out your vent opening. Then go ahead and throw some Shellack on it.


Step 15. I installed it, and throw the old cove molding back on it. I used a nail gun again, no glue. I blasted and painted the vent cover a satin black because I have many black appliances.




Step 16: I then replaced what caused the leak, the disposal. I could have done this first, but I preferred to have the additional room. It's all painted now, new wood, nice new smell, and should be good for a few more years until I remodel the kitchen.


Hopefully this helps! I'm glad this job is over. It certainly wasn't a small and easy cheap, and I'm sure this wouldn't have been cheap to pay someone to do PROPERLY.