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Does Your Cabinet Sink Bottom Need To be Replaced

Through the years I’ve replaced many kitchen cabinet and bathroom vanity sink   bottoms. There are two methods of doing this. One way is by tearing out the old one completely and installing a new piece of wood. The other repair method entails covering over the existing board with a new one. If you think you need to remove mold from under the cabinet, then you will need to rip the old bottom out. Read this article on mildew around cabinets.




Tools and Materials Needed

Hammer
Jig Saw
Caulking
L-brackets
Finish Nails
Screws
Electric Drill

Your Biggest Possible Challenges
Really there are only about three things that you may have to contend with.

1) Cutting out the center style of the cabinet to get the new sink cabinet part into place could be a challenge. If you do this it will need to be rebuilt. When you reinstall it, you can use L-brackets to hold it securely into place.

2) Plumbing fixtures may get in the way of the new bottom. Some times there are water softener systems or purifiers that are installed tight to the cabinet bottom. You may have to disconnect some things or cut around plumbing pipes.

3) Water damaged cabinet sides-You may need to repair these areas as well. Read this article about repairing water damaged cabinets.

Tearing Out an Old Sink Bottom and Replacing it

I always just cut the sink cabinet bottom right down the middle (from front to back) so that it will come out in a couple of pieces. I generally do this with a jig saw.

Any toe base support pieces that are deteriorating should be replaced. They can be secured with L-brackets.

IMPORTANT
Using diagonal cutters, wiggle the staples back and forth until they break off. DO NOT CUT THE STAPLES. When you break them off they will sever inside of the cabinet’s side and will not be a hindrance to installing the new bottom. If you try to cut them off they will be in the way of installing the new sink cabinet bottom.

Use a mildew killer for cabinets to remove the mildew from the water damaged cabinet areas underneath.

Cut a new piece of Melamine board or make a piece of plywood that matches the existing finish of the cabinets. Here’s an article on cutting Cabinet Melamine boards.

Measure and make notes or marks so that you will know where you will be fastening the new bottom to the supports underneath.

Secure it where ever you can with screws. You can also use finish nails.

If the back of the sink cabinet is flimsy, use L-brackets to secure it into position.

Caulk the edges of the new cabinet bottom. Be sure to wipe out the excess really well. Caulking looks really bad over time when there’s a big bead left along the cabinet part’s edges. It always discolors and gets moldy looking.

Review These Articles for More Tips

Cabinet Mold Removal-Do you have a musty smell around a cabinet area? Mold removal may be the answer to your troubles. In locations where kitchen and bathroom cabinets have had water damage, sometimes mold will begin to form underneath the cupboards. These suggestions do not apply to entire kitchens that have been flooded. Only do this yourself if a small area has water damage and mold is forming.

How to Fix Water Damaged Cabinets– Before you decide to replace cabinetry, it is possible to fix water damaged kitchen or vanity sink cabinet bottoms. If your kitchen, bathroom or laundry area has been flooded, you may need to review the article that we have called, “repairing water damaged cabinet toe kicks.” More oftentimes than not, they are repairable. Of course, this will depend upon the extent of the damage in every case.

Painting Old Sink Cabinet Bottoms-When you decide to clean out underneath the old sink cabinet you may want to consider painting the area. A word of caution though, if the old sink cabinet bottom has absorbed some sort of liquid and has swelled, you may be in for a challenging task. The reason I say this is because if the substance was lotion that soaked into the flake board, you will have a very tough time getting the paint to adhere.

METHOD TWO

Covering Over an Old Sink Cabinet Bottom

Basically use any of the previous steps mentioned that will apply to this method of replacing the part. I would not recommend covering over the old cabinet part if there was extensive water damage. In such a case the sink cabinet bottom should be completely removed.

Cut a new board to fit.

Cut out the center style if necessary.

Rebuild to base areas that are deteriorating.

Install the new sink cabinet bottom replacement.

Secure it into place.

Laminate over the two edges of the bottoms (in the front) with finished material to match the cabinets.

Once the sink cabinet bottom is replaced allow a couple of hours for the caulking to dry with the doors open if possible.

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