For the manufacture of kitchen units, materials such as chipboard, MDF, wood are used, each of which has its own properties. They must be taken into account when assembling with your own hands. The package usually includes hanging cabinets, countertops, built-in cabinets and wardrobes. If the furniture was made to order, then the difficulties during assembly will be only in the case when it will be necessary to fix the fittings and hang cabinets on the walls. If it was a ready-made structure, then it will be necessary to calculate the place for the sink and household appliances.
How to choose the right kitchen set
When buying kitchen furniture, you need to take into account not only the aesthetic factor, but also the type of material used, strength indicators and resistance to moisture and temperature. In addition, the following recommendations can be developed:
- The refrigeration door should open from the work area for convenient cooking.
- For the manufacture of an apron, it is better to use glass or tiles.
- For the facade, it is best to choose a white color and a shiny surface. Then the pollution will not be so visible.
- It is best to make a kitchen from a manufacturer to order, and you need to have at least 3 firms in mind.
- It is better to order furniture for the kitchen from domestic manufacturers or make it out of pine with your own hands. Everyone has been using German equipment for production for a long time, so it makes no sense to order everything you need from abroad. You just spend extra money for the delivery of furniture, and in terms of quality, it will be no different from the domestic one.
It is better to take the upper drawers with traditional hinged ones, then the hinges with a closer will be cheaper.
DIY material for making the case
To make a case, specialists use 4 types of materials:
- solid wood;
- DSP;
- MDF;
- multiplex.
The first material is an expensive pleasure, although the array itself is delicate. Solid wood is used for its manufacture, so the surface is very easy to scratch. A wooden array can also be used in a traditional style, although this is illogical, since MDF would look great here, which is much cheaper. Array is best used in innovative styles, but not everyone can afford it.
The next material is chipboard. This is a slab made from fine sawdust. The material is budget-friendly and strong, although it is exposed to the influence of water and temperature fluctuations. It is used for the base of cabinets or facades.
Particleboard refers to toxic materials, since in the production process they resort to the use of melamine, urea-formaldehyde and phenol-formaldehyde resins. Due to certain reactions, chipboard slabs emit a poisonous substance – formaldehyde.
The production of MDF boards is based on the method of pressing small sawdust. After that, they are impregnated with a special resin, due to which the material becomes durable and permeable to water.
MDF is not exposed to moisture and does not emit toxic substances.
The multiplex is made from natural wood, although the material belongs to the budget category. The production process involves gluing thin wooden boards together. And in order for the plate to turn out to be of high quality, about 5 strips with a thickness of 4 mm are used. This material has many advantages, including: resistance to moisture, steam and temperature extremes. But the most important thing is that the multiplex is an environmentally friendly material.
Cabinet facades
Particleboard is most often used in the production of the case. It is budgetary, but it is not capable of withstanding significant loads, especially temperature fluctuations and humidity.
The facade is the most conspicuous part of the kitchen, so it is she who perceives all the loads. Popular materials:
- painted MDF;
- plastic;
- acrylic;
- film.
Considering all 4 proposed options, MDF is most often chosen. The fact is that plastic and acrylic is just a coating, and the filling is also MDF. The difference between them is only in cost. Painted MDF has no edge, while the material is expensive and capricious. Better to stay on acrylic or plastic. And the cheapest option is a film, which is also used when replacing kitchen facades.
If desired, MDF facades can be rounded, although such facade options are not welcome in modern kitchens.
Countertops
To understand which countertop to choose, you need to know that these types of materials are used for their production:
- stone (natural and artificial);
- Chipboard with laminated surface;
- glass;
- aluminum;
- corrosion-resistant steel.
Chipboard for countertops is only suitable if you need to achieve imitation of wood.
The last 3 types are not particularly in demand for the production of kitchen furniture. If you are limited in money, then it is worth stopping at chipboard (due to a special coating, an imitation of wood or stone is created), but natural or artificial stone is suitable for those who do not experience financial difficulties.
The advantage of artificial stone is that you can saw off corner countertops without joints and cast immediately with the finished sink. In addition, all types of artificial stone look unrealistic.
If the size of the kitchen allows that you can make a bar counter. It can be wide or made in the form of a bar table.
Aprons
Although it is small in size, its design strongly influences the overall interior of the room. Just because of the small dimensions of the apron, you can arrange it very cool. Almost everyone can afford 2 m2 of expensive tiles for decorating an apron, which will not greatly affect the entire cost of the kitchen. Most often, tiles and glass are used for manufacturing.
Fittings
The cost of all kitchen fittings will be about 30% of the total cost of the kitchen. And everything depends not on the manufacturer, but on the layout. There are many opening and pulling systems available. For example, hinges with a damper will cost $ 3 for 1 unit, and $ 6 will need to be paid for a swing-type door. The price of lifting devices is determined taking into account the dimensions and weight of the facades.
In order to save good money, but at the same time not to harm, you need to design the kitchen room for hinged doors. It is better to provide retractable mechanisms, but lifting mechanisms should be abandoned.
When choosing pens, be guided by your own taste and preferences. Some even discard this element. For example, the upper outer fronts do not need handles at all; they can be opened from the lower part.
There are many other types of kitchen fittings available, but you do not need to purchase them. It all depends on your personal preferences.
Kitchen shape
If we are talking about the traditional method of arranging furniture in a square interior of a room up to 6 m2, then we can make the kitchen corner, linear and island. If the room is small, then preference is given to corner ones. The linear method is suitable for an exhaust and a narrow room. And if you are looking for a more original option, then you can arrange furniture in two walls.
If an island layout is assumed, then the working part with a stove and a sink is mounted in the center of the room. Kitchens with an island look unrealistically cool, but they are suitable for rooms with large dimensions, such as brezhnevka. In addition, it is difficult to equip a sewage system for washing on the island. But this layout looks rich and luxurious.
When arranging furniture, you need to take into account the cycle of movement in the kitchen during the cooking process.
How to properly install kitchen furniture
There are 2 ways to build. The first involves assembling all the upper elements, and only then attaching them to the wall, and then the lower ones. The second way is the opposite.
How to assemble a wall cabinet
The classic hinged design includes 2 side panels, top, bottom, rear wall, 2 doors.
Hinges
All hinges can be classified into 2 types: mortise and overhead. They need to be hung first immediately after all installation work. Even a non-professional can cope with this, since there are attachment points on the sidewall and the door. Procedure:
- Fold the side panel and door on the floor so that they fit snugly together.
- Attach the hinges in place, screwing them first to the side panel, and then to the facade. As a result, the door should be slightly lower than the side panel. Lay a block under it, and only then fasten the loop.
- Disassemble the hinge, which consists of 2 detachable hinges, connected by screws. Unscrew this screw, set the door aside, and we will need the side panels further.
Housings
Now let’s use the following instruction:
- Fix the top and bottom to the sidewalls. For this, confirmants are suitable – a special furniture fastener that can be found in a complete set with a hex head. An ordinary hand wrench is suitable for work.
- The mounting locations of the confirmations are indicated on the outer part of the sidewalls. You just need to attach the sidewall and the upper part, insert the fastening element, then the bottom, and at the end the second sidewall.
- Turn the assembled structure so that the outer part is at the bottom, lay a fiberboard sheet on top and align it. It will be the back wall. Small carnations are suitable for fixing it.
- First, hammer the fasteners in the corners, while leveling the edges well, and then in the middle of each side. There is 1 nail for every 10 cm.
Corners and hinges, shelf holders
The hinges on which it is necessary to hang wall cabinets can be of different types, from which the method of fixing them differs. Shelf holders also vary in shape and material, but they fit into a hole in the wall. Holes are made for them in the sidewalls. Plastic chops are used as fasteners.
The cost of the cheapest shelf holders is from $1.
Assembling the cabinet with drawers
The simplest work is behind us, we collect drawers with drawers.
Legs
Adjustable feet are best suited, as the floor surface is not perfectly flat for everyone. And with adjustable ones, you can set the furniture so that the load is evenly distributed on all legs. When the cabinets are small – up to 80 cm in length, 4 stops are installed, and for lengths over 80 cm, 6 anchor points are required.
To create a cabinet with a partition, the legs must be installed under it, and in the absence of a partition, in the middle.
From the edge, you need to retreat 5-8 cm, twisting fasteners 15 mm long. Very often, already in the finished headset, under the legs there is also a countersink – a hole of a small diameter. When the slots in the legs with the holes are aligned, we install the fasteners.
Installation of guides
There are markings on the sides of the lower cabinets that will help fix the rails. To fix them, you need a Euro screw M6 * 13. Install the guides in the required amount on the 2 sidewalls.
You need to collect the boxes using 4×45 screws. Procedure:
- The first step is to install the guides. They are mounted on the walls of the box.
- If there are holes on the wall, then they put the guides on the sidewalls, and if not, on the end.
- When the guides and sides are fastened to the back wall, the front wall is mounted, and at the end – the bottom. you need to check the diagonals so that they match.
- Clamps are used to fix the bottom.
Boxes
It is best to use a rail to secure the lockers. Procedure:
- Attach the plank to the wall along the horizontal markings.
- Screw the canopies to the assembled housings.
- Now the prepared cabinets can be hung on the rail, and their position can be controlled with screws in the canopies themselves.
Corner cabinet assembly
Budget furniture options have a bottom that includes 2 parts. If a sink is supposed to be installed in such a cabinet, then the back wall is practically absent, but there are several tie-bars, due to which the structure will be reliably installed and will last longer. Otherwise, the instructions are similar to those used to assemble a classic cabinet with doors. This article will tell you about sliding doors to the kitchen.
How to hang
To begin with, you need to purchase a special detachable fastener, consisting of a screw and a cylindrical nut, on the inner diameter of which a thread is applied. Do not do without. Canopies, which will go for fixing wall cabinets.
On simple awnings
The easiest option is from the top left. Such a canopy is presented in the form of a plate with 2 small diameter holes for fastening and one large one. The canopy is fixed at the end of the side panels. But under a significant load, such a canopy may not withstand and fail. If you need a more reliable option, then the bottom method will do.
The cost of such a canopy is from $1. Withstands up to 65 kg.
The corners have proven themselves quite well. One edge of such a canopy is fixed through the cover. It is necessary to make a through-type hole, and at the bottom, fasten a bolt with a washer, which is tightened with a nut from above. They will have to be mounted keeping a distance of 5-10 cm from the edge. If an increased load is expected, then 3-4 pcs can be installed.
The disadvantage of the presented mounts is that they are unregulated. Thus, it will no longer be possible to move furniture from wall to wall. The second disadvantage is that you will have to fix a separate hook for each canopy, which is not very convenient.
On regulated
This mechanism is equipped with an adjustment system, so you can move it in any direction. Such awnings are fixed on the sides of the cabinet from the inner surface, and a small diameter hole is made in the back wall. With adjustable awnings, you will find a mounting rail. It is fixed to the walls, and canopy hooks are attached to its rear ledge.
Installation and removal of wall cabinets with such a mounting system is much easier, and the carrying capacity is 20-50 kg per 1 shed.
Installing the countertop
To mount a straight and corner countertop, you have to prepare in advance the holes for the sink, sockets and the hob.
Installation of the slab itself is carried out on pedestals and aligned with plastic and film MDF facades. Next, you need to fix the panel by screwing the loose parts of the corner brackets with furniture screws to the sides of the cabinets.
Treat all sections and joints with silicone, which will protect the tabletop from contact with water.
Now all that remains is to install the skirting board, which will mask the unaesthetic joint area and create protection against moisture seepage. For these purposes, glue or self-tapping screws are suitable.
Output
- When choosing material for the kitchen and kitchen corner with your own hands, you need to take into account not only the appearance, but also the strength and moisture resistance.
- It is better to hang cabinets on adjustable awnings, which make it easier to work and move furniture away from the wall if necessary.
- When choosing a way to arrange the headset, you need to take into account the size of the room.