Weekend project pics - comments welcome

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
I managed to actually do something worthwhile!
Here's some before and during pictures of the problem area in the kitchen of the house my wife and I are rehabbing. Due to the budget constraints, a complete redo of the kitchen in this house isn't possible right now.
The previous owner bought a 10 foot off the shelf counter top and put it on top of 9 feet of cabinets. The 1 foot overhang looked terrible.
My solution was to build shelves above and shelves below.

I think it turned out pretty well.
Here's three pictures of it.
1 of before and 2 of underway.

[Karl Laustrup]

Great solution Rich. More storage is always a plus.

Karl

[Don Bullock]

Now it looks like it was designed that way from the start. Great idea.

[Jim Becker]

Really good solution! And it's nice that you extended the uppers in the same way...very nice.

[Alan Greene]

It is always nice when a plan comes together. Great job on the shelves,it looks great and is an innovative solution.:)

[glenn bradley]

That's a great fix. A little trim work and it'll look like a full redo.

[Tyler Howell]

Gee Rich,
Why would you want to cover up those lovely old cabs:confused: :rolleyes: :D
Good solution

[Al Willits]

Looks good, better than trying to cut the counter shorter, ya get more storage this way.

Al

[Dick Bringhurst]

Rich - Ya done good! Looks professional and fits right in. Dick B.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
Thanks!

It's just barely visible in the pictures, but I had to extend the soffit above also. Later, when i'm further along, I'll go back and trim it in above the upper shelf.

For the lower shelf unit, I made the back out of 3/4" Birch plywood, the front and back are 1X8 pine. The bottom shelf is a piece of 3/4" birch ply.
I wanted to rabbet the bottom shelf in, but I'm not all that confident doing that yet. I edge glued it and secured it with 1 1/2" wood screws - 2 on each end and 4 across the back. For added insurance, I glued and screwed some bottom supports underneath also.
(being a rental, I'm positive that at some point someone will use it as a ladder - I'm 6' and go ~ 235lbs. It supported me just fine)

The decorative front is a piece of MDF door trim and the ovals are those little pine ones the borg sells.

The counter top was never secured to the bases, so I had to glue and screw the shelf into the existing cabinets. The shot with the clamps in place was taken while the construction adhesive on the back of the unit and the top where the counter top hits it, was setting up. I laid a piece of the laminated flooring underneath and measured up from that, allowing roughly 1/4" extra. That way when the flooring goes in and the trim goes on, the free floating floor will have enough room to move and not buckle.

Right now the lower shelf is off the ground. When I get the floor in, I'll shim the base to add support.

I'm pretty pleased with the way it looks so far. All told, I have maybe $20/$25 into it.
(I'm slightly prejudiced, but I think it looks like a million bucks ;)

I'll post the final pictures when the floor is in, the trim is on and they have a final coat of enamel.