A couple of kitchen cabinet questions

[Jeff Monson]

My kitchen cabinet construction is just about complete and I've got 2 questions I'd like some input on.

1. How much of the cabinet should I spray with laquer? Do you spray the backs and the tops and bottoms? Its natural maple, the carcasses is 3/4 maple ply with solid maple face frames and doors?

2. My wife has decided to go with granite countertops, so are my bases strong enough to hold all that weight? the bases are 3/4" maple ply sides and 1/2" maple ply backs.

[Matt Tawes]

I'm sure the general concensus is much like myself. I spray the interior bottom, face frame & doors/drawers. You construction is plenty strong enough for the tops.

[frank shic]

jeff, you can conserve your energies by just spraying the SHOW sides of the cabinet. plywood finished on one side is not going to warp appreciably especially when it's joined to other cases side to side. finish the solid wood drawer fronts and doors front and back. face frame cabinets built out of 3/4" and 1/2" ply are tremedously strong and will support your granite just fine. Check to make sure you don't need another sheet of plywood as a subtop to allow clearance between the bottom of the granite lip and the top of the first drawer.

[Steve Clardy]

I spray outsides that show only.
Top. bottom gets stained, but no finish.

Now if its an open cab with no door, or a cab with glass door, yes I spray inside.
If you do spray the exposed sides of your backs, do that before attaching the backs. Keeps the blowback out of your fase.

Construction sounds strong, granite is ok.

[Bob Childress]

Jeff,

You don't want to put a full ply underlayment under granite. If it needs to come up to clear the drawers, just add a 3/4 frame around the top for it to lay on. Especially if you are putting in an undermount sink, you don't want any wood between the sink and the granite. Defeats the purpose.

[Mark Gordon]

Did I understand correctly that you don't spray lacquer (or anything) on the inside of the cabinet? I would imagine that this means stains galore when using them, or any other type of damage since there is no sealing.

I have always sealed all parts of the insides of my kitchen and both cabinets (lowers and uppers).

Any reason not to do it?

[Jim Becker]

Mark, on the inside...lacquer is fine. Shellac is fine. Water borne finishes are generally fine. Oil-based varnish is NOT fine...it will smell forever, nearly literally.

I use water borne and finish the insides of the cabs for easy cleaning and the outside that shows. I don't bother with "non-visible" areas outside of over-spray.

[frank shic]

jeff, here's another thought that will save you HOURS of sweat: PREFINISHED plywood! it's only a couple dollars more if you're planning on a natural finish.

[Jim Becker]

jeff, here's another thought that will save you HOURS of sweat: PREFINISHED plywood! it's only a couple dollars more if you're planning on a natural finish.
Or...pre-finish the components, especially the insides, before assembly. That's what I did for my kitchen cabinets and it was worth the time and effort masking the dados 'cause I wasn't bouncing finish into my face as is so easy to do when trying to spray the inside of anything! That said, my next cabinet job will likely use pre-finished material for the inside surfaces.

[Owen Gregg]

Hi Jeff,

I actually do Granite, Marble, Slate, and Solid Surface Counter tops for a living. Your cabinets are plenty strong for your purposes. If you have any questions, or if your wife has any questions, feel free to ask. I also know of some forums that are dedicated solely to Granite that can point you in the right direction.

Offhand, most people recommend at least 1/2" (Preferably 3/4") plywood underlayment for 2 cm (3/4") tops. To cover this up, there is often a laminate placed along the polished edges of the top, bringing the total thickness to 4cm. Unfortunately, people often believe thinner granite or marble will save them money when, in fact, it often times costs more because of the workmanship required on laminated pieces.

Owen