LESLIE: Martha in Texas is looking for some help revamping her kitchen. What can we do for you today?
MARTHA: Well, I’m circumnavigating a money pit right now I’m afraid.
LESLIE: (chuckling) OK. (Tom chuckles)
MARTHA: We bought a 1981 contemporary home that is basically being fully remodeled and we’re bringing the bathrooms down to the studs. The kitchen, however, had been recently renovated in that it’s had new granite countertops and stone tile backsplashes. We had hoped that the solution for us would be to remove the old cabinet doors with visible hinges and old hardware …
TOM: OK.
MARTHA: … and just sort of reface that way. We’ve found out since that because the base cabinetry is plywood paint-grade the new cabinet doors are going to be very heavy and not a great solution for this.
TOM: So wait a minute. You’re concerned that the new cabinet doors will be too heavy for the cabinets themselves?
LESLIE: What about the granite countertop that’s sitting on top of it?
TOM: Yeah. I don’t think that’s an issue.
MARTHA: I imagine there’s some substrate there but the doors we’re looking at are a very contemporary, thick door. They’re not a Shaker style. They’re probably a good ¾-inches thick and heavy.
TOM: OK.
MARTHA: Can we not just fabricate some doors? They don’t have to be ¾-inch …
TOM: Yeah, of course you can fabricate some doors.
LESLIE: And there’s no reason why your general contractor – if he’s a skilled craftsman he can make doors from existing lumber that you find in the home center that can look like any door that you want. You can finish them in any way and because he’s custom making them for the situation, you can do full overlay with those hidden euro hinges where you never even see the base behind the door.
MARTHA: Well, Leslie, we are on the same page because that’s what I asked for. So I’m waiting on an estimate for the full reno and – I should say demo and reno. But you’ve given me confidence in my first instinct.
TOM: Fantastic. Martha, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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