Kitchen Renovation | 39

What's going on everybody, I'm Zach. Welcome to my kitchen. In today's project I want to take you through how I extended my kitchen cabinet to incorporate a new wine fridge that we got, some open shelving for cookbooks and other coffee related knickknacks, as well as this sliding barn door that will just extend the overall storage of our kitchen, and then lastly this giant butcher block on top which just kind of brings together the entire piece as well as matches the kitchen island that I built a long time ago. Let's go ahead and get started. We moved into our house about nine months ago and besides building out my own shop space, the kitchen has been our main focus for upgrades. One corner of the kitchen had about four and a half feet of unused blank wall space where the cabinets just stopped. A long time ago we decided that extending these cabinets to the wall made the most sense with the goal to create unique space that would house a wine fridge, have some open shelves in the middle for cookbooks, and have a larger cabinet with a sliding barn door for just more storage. You've seen me so far just breaking down most of the plywood materials for the structure of the project. Everything is three-quarter inch maple furniture grade plywood and all the breakdown was done on my table saw with the assistance of my wife for a few of the cuts. Before moving to the next step of cuts for what would become the toe kick, I needed to measure the levelness of my space. If it was out of level, then I'd need to either taper these cuts or use shims. Thankfully it wasn't, so I ripped down my strips back on the table saw and then one more round of measuring for accuracy before making all the cuts on the miter saw. The toe kick was made up of two long pieces to extend the gap of the empty space and four shorter pieces that would run perpendicular to those. After making my cuts, I could then take them back to the kitchen one more time to lay everything out to make sure the cuts fit and the depth was correct, and I was relieved to find out that it was. Next was assembly, which was relatively simple. Each cross support piece received glue on the end and was then tacked in place using three one and a half inch brad nails, and I attached the outside pieces first and then divided and marked the sections into thirds to evenly space the other two pieces, then more glue and brad nails to hold in each piece while also checking for square each time. I could then flip the piece over and then repeat the process for the other side, again applying glue, tacking in place with brad nails, and then making sure that things were square as I did it and flat. I then set it aside and moved on to the next step. The overall width of my cabinets was unfortunately about four inches wider than a full sheet of plywood, and no matter how I divided it, I needed to make a few sacrifices when it came to this length. In this case, I got creative with how I would make the back piece of the build. I used my drywall square to mark out the overall height of my piece and then set up my track saw to make the cut. With the backing piece cut out from that larger piece of plywood, I could then take the off cut and run it through my table saw at the proper width to create the base of the structure that would go on top of the toe kick. To begin assembly of the main framing structure, I began with the wine fridge area. That space needed to have a specific width to it to house the fridge, so by making sure it fit properly, the rest of the cabinet spaces would kind of just fall out of that. I added a bead of glue and then began tacking things in place with brad nails again. First, I added the wall that would separate the fridge from the open space, followed by the backing of the entire piece. Brad nails were a great way to tack things in place while I assembled things, and it kept me moving so that I could keep going on to the next step. The middle shelf was to be about 12 inches wide, which would house things like cookbooks and other kitchen coffee knickknacks, so I cut a few 12 inch spacers that would help me line up the next divider shelf. It was important here to also translate the markings to the back side of the piece so that I could tack things in place properly, and that the nails would line up with the piece and they wouldn't shoot through and you'd be able to see them on the other side, and it would just look like poor craftsmanship. And as you can tell, although pocket holes would probably have worked well for this, I didn't feel like they really had a place for this project because you couldn't hide them very well, especially with open shelving. Speaking of, remember how I'd said that the back piece was about four inches too short? My plan for this was to get everything assembled as best I could and then rip down an extra strip on the table saw to fill in the gap. And even though, like I just said, that pocket holes didn't really have a place for this, I ended up using four pocket hole screws from the rear to attach that piece. And in hindsight, I should have actually done this on the other side where the wine fridge would go because it would always be hidden, but it's okay. I could then tack in place the final side piece, and then the carcass was mostly assembled. Once this was completed, I could go back to every single joint that I had added brad nails to and add screws, first pre-drilling and countersinking holes, and then drilling in my screws. And this thing felt really strong, and it was all very square and even, and I think building a kitchen island a few months ago was excellent preparation for this project. Face framing was next, which I was making out of a piece of four-quarter poplar. I broke everything down at the table saw using a mix of my fence as well as my crosscut sled, first cutting the vertical pieces to length and then holding them in place against the overall framework of the piece using some squeeze clamps. That allowed me to then cut the bottom piece to length and mark accurately where I needed to add glue. I could then temporarily hold that bottom piece in place and shoot some brad nails in from the underside to complete the structure. To finish things off, I ripped a few strips of plywood down on the table, cut them to length using my table saw sled, and then again applied glue and tacked in place with the nails. And I came up with this method on the spot, and it was perfect for assembling a perfectly matching face frame. And I don't know this is how it is normally done, but if you're like me and you're not a professional cabinet maker, I'd highly recommend it. Once removed, I could then prime the cabinets and paint them to match the color of our bottom kitchen cabinets. Now, a sprayer is preferred for this, but I don't have one, and a fine foam roller worked really well in this case for me. Off-camera, I also painted the toe kick to match. While the paint dried, I went back to the overall structure and I went over all of the interior surfaces of the cabinets with some spray-on polyurethane, which would protect against moisture in the kitchen in the long term. Once the polyurethane had cured and using a spacer as a template, I could pre-drill holes in the middle section of the carcass and add in little brackets to support a middle shelf, and then insert that shelf as a test fit that I had cut down to length off-screen. The next day, after the paint had cured, I could add the face framing to the piece. And this was easier than I expected, as I forgot I had these edge banding clamps. So what I did was apply a bead of glue to each of the edge surfaces of the piece, and then clamp by clamp held this piece in place, and then let it cure for about four hours. And using these clamps was a workaround to needing any pin nails to hold it in place, which I had actually considered before. Next up was creating the barn door for the single cabinet. We landed on a simple design that would look like a series of panels glued together with a raised X over the face of it. We wanted it to look unique in comparison to the other cabinets, but not so outlandish that it kind of just looked weird and out of place in our kitchen. So I cut my door to length on the table saw, and then I lowered the blade to about a quarter inch high to cut little grooves in the piece, first cutting the middle one and then moving the fence out and cutting each corresponding outside piece. Now to make the X, I cross-cut more poplar to length on the table saw, planed it to about three-eighths inches thick, and then ripped it to width on the table saw. I think it was an inch and a quarter wide. To make the X, I applied glue to the strip and sat it in place, and then used pin nails to tack it while the glue dried. I could then take it over to the table saw and cut off each side of the excess wood, and this was a lot easier than trying to cut things to length with the proper angles before tacking it onto the door. Then I could angle the fence on my cross-cut sled and cut down the remaining two pieces of poplar, again applying glue and tacking in place using pin nails, followed again by cutting the final size of the table saw using my sled, and the result was perfect. Then, like the components that preceded this, I could paint all faces of the door using a mix of a brush to get into those tricky corners and grooves and a foam roller to smooth things out. The last big piece of this was the barn door hardware. I ordered a kit that would fit our space, but the track was too long, so I needed to mark and cut it down to length on my chop saw, and I measured this at least three times before doing it. No turning back once you do this. And I used some 80 grit paper on my orbital sander just to get rid of any metal burrs that were left over from the cuts. Now, the track came in two pieces that snapped together, which I thought was kind of a dumb design, and the pre-drilled holes didn't line up with where I needed them to go, so the next step was to take each piece back over to the cabinet frame and mark out and measure where the holes would go. This wasn't all that difficult, but I think I need some new drill bits specific to metal drilling. Because the barn door was really small in comparison to a full-size barn door, which was what this kit was made for, I also wanted to cut down the size of the wheel pieces. So I took those over to the finished door, held them in place along the track to get accurate spacing, and then could mark and measure out a straight line that I could then cut down using my angle grinder and a cutoff wheel. That was then followed by using my stationary belt sander to clean up those edges and make sure that things were straight, as using an angle grinder with a cutoff wheel is a bit harder to create perfectly perpendicular cuts. We have gold hardware in our kitchen, so the next step after that was spray painting the hardware to match that gold, and I ended up doing two rounds of this. One initial coat, realizing that the gold paint I had bought wasn't a good match, and then buying a different gold paint that matched much better. Now that the build was done, it was time to get ready for install. I needed to remove the existing countertop and backsplash from my kitchen. I read that using a box cutter to cut away the silicone and then a putty knife to slowly remove the piece from the wall is a best practice. Now it will leave a little wall damage, but that can be patched up with spackle and then touched up with paint. Okay, game time now. Home stretch. With everything ready to go, I slid in the toe kick, and it fit like a glove. I located and marked where the studs were in my walls and using a few three-inch screws, pre-drilled holes, and anchored the toe kick to my walls. Then with pure strength and adrenaline, I can move in the cabinets from my shop by myself, lift them up onto the toe kick, and then slowly slide them into place. And I'll admit that the fit was just a little tighter than I would have liked, but thankfully it was the right size and things did fit into place. I then attached the new cabinet to the existing ones via a few more screws and then used some one and a half inch brad nails to lightly anchor the piece to the base. Once everything was in place, I could drill holes in the back to feed the wine fridge wires through to where our existing outlet was, and all of this would be hidden when everything was completed. Now like I said before, the barn door hardware track came in two pieces, and off camera I decided that I just didn't like that. So I basically went back and repeated the entire process that I had just gone through with the hardware track, this time making the track from a raw piece of steel. So I cut it to length, and then using the existing track as a template, I would again pre-drill all the holes, again using the existing markings from the track, and then spray painted that gold again. And using a series of clamps to hold the track in place, a scrap piece of plywood to serve as the underside of my future countertop, and my level, I got the track to exactly where I needed it to be. And this was also based on the size of my barn door wheels, as well as the height of my sliding door, so it's going to be situational if you're looking to do something like this in your kitchen. I then drilled holes for the wall anchor pieces, and then could attach each section of the track piece by piece. And you'll notice that I only put clamps on the exterior ends of the track. I was worried that they might damage the paint, which they did, and I also knew that once they were in place, I'd be adding in these brake pieces on the end to prevent the door from rolling off the track, so it would cover up that flaw. The new track I made was a bit thinner than the track that the kit came with, so to mitigate that, I cut off a few small pieces of steel that I could then fill the gap in with on the stopper piece, and then just tighten down and add in the rubber stoppers. And this worked out great. Once the track was installed, it was back to the shop to do final measurements of the hardware for the door for final install. I finished this off with hand tightening to make sure that the hardware sat perpendicular to the tops of the doors, and that I didn't damage the paint, and then just drop it into place and test everything out. Now, we don't have an outlet behind this piece, and I'm not sure why the house was designed without one in this location, but I found these recessed power outlet extenders. Basically, it's an outlet that can plug into an existing outlet, and it has a 10-foot cord so you can then place them where you want further from that outlet without having to run new cable through your wall. I think they're meant for things like desks, but it worked great for our setup. So I marked out where this piece should go on the interior of the open shelf, and this worked out great because all the wiring for it will be hidden behind the face framing on top of the wine fridge, and you'd never see it. And after quickly realizing how poor of a job I did to cut this out and keep things square, I went back to the shop and created a quick wooden frame using my bandsaw that I could recess the piece into, hide my mistake, and give it a proper securing to the base. And now we have two extra outlets and USB ports that we're definitely going to need in the future. Now if you saw my kitchen island build, you know that I know my limits when it comes to countertops. We wanted this piece to match our island, with the long-term goal of replacing the remainder of our countertops to all be matching walnut butcher blocks. I once again ordered my top as it saved me time, money, and a ton of headache. I measured and marked out to length how long my piece needed to be, and I think I confirmed this length four times before actually making the cut, knowing that the investment I had made into this piece of wood. And I cut it to my track saw. I'll find something cool to do with that off-cut later on. These butcher blocks come sanded to 120 grit on one side, so the next step was to use some 220 grit paper on that side and smooth it down further ahead of finishing. And I used my orbital sander for the top, and then used hand sanding to break the edges so they weren't so sharp to the touch, just being countertops. And then did a round of long straight passes with the grain using some 320 grit paper. And this created a ton of fine sawdust, so I used acetone to wipe off that excess, and you can see just how effective it was. For finishing, I'm using Emmett's Good Stuff wood finish, and it's my favorite finish having done a previous kitchen island finish with it as well as a few cutting boards. Application is just as simple as using a clean rag to rub the thick finish into the surface of your wood, spreading as evenly as possible, and then going back after five minutes with long straight passes that follow the grain to give it a final even pass. After letting it cure for 12 hours, I did a light sanding pass at 320 grit, cleaned off the surfaces with a damp rag, and then applied a second coat in the exact same manner. And this will protect the butcher block for a really long time. To attach the butcher block to my cabinet install, I cut four pieces over on the table saw using my sled that could be attached to the various corners of the pieces. So you can see that each piece had two 45 degree miters, and then I could add pocket holes to each side, as well as drill a pilot hole in the middle of each piece. Then back to the kitchen for final install. You can see how two pocket holes will secure the piece to each corner, quite strongly I might add, and then using a washer and a screw, you can feed the screw through the bottom of the pilot hole that you drilled. The washer prevents the screw from going through the hole while also allowing the screw to move freely to prevent any damage from future wood expansion and contraction. Then it was the final piece of the puzzle. I brought in the butcher block and set it on top of the counters, and I noticed that the top of my existing cabinet was about an eighth of an inch lower than my new one, so I went back to the shop, ripped an eighth-inch strip of poplar, and then fastened it in place using four brad nails to that end. Then everything was level. To line things up, I used a spacer block with a pencil marking on it just to make sure that the overhang of the butcher block was even across all of the edges of the new counter install, and I just adjusted it where needed. I could then clamp the block in place and corner by corner drill in my screws, and I don't think Harley was a big fan of the impact driver. Also, just make sure your screws are long enough to secure the counter in place, but not long enough to drill through the top. That would be terrible. And with those final screws, the assembly of our new coffee station, wine fridge holder, kitchen cabinet barn door holder thing was finally finished, and the near future plan for this is to add subway tiles to the backsplash of the entire kitchen where the cabinets are, and then some open floating shelves above this piece. So for now, I think I'll call this project completed. All right, hopefully you guys enjoyed this video. We are so excited to have this new addition to our kitchen. We've been wanting to incorporate a wine fridge for a really long time. We felt that we were running out of storage, and then we also wanted to just have this really cool permanent kind of coffee station butcher block style thing in our corner for this otherwise kind of wasted and unused space. We're really looking forward to additionally adding some shelving above it, as well as putting subway tile behind it, but that is for another project at a different time. If you did enjoy the project, just let me know by hitting the like button. I would love it if you would subscribe to the channel. I try to put out projects every couple of weeks. And yeah, thanks again for watching, and I'll see you guys next time.