DIY kitchen made from chipboard. Making kitchen facades with your own hands Do-it-yourself chipboard facades

home

Adviсe

Finished price kitchen furniture consists of the price of materials, facades and furniture fittings. Almost half of the total cost of building a kitchen is the cost of its production. And if the kitchen is non-standard, has more than four walls or they are not located at an angle of 90 degrees, then you will have to pay extra for the development of a special project.

Obviously, it will be very profitable to make the kitchen yourself. The advantages of this solution are obvious: significant savings in the cost of workers’ services and the opportunity to choose the style and design of the kitchen project yourself and create an interior for a room of any size and shape according to your taste.

Chipboard is one of the most common and affordable materials; it is perfect for your future kitchen.

A kitchen made with your own hands from chipboard will not only allow you to take into account the wishes of all family members when planning it, but will also not put a big dent in your pocket.

Kitchen project

The start of any work is preceded by a project, which includes drawings of the future kitchen with the specified dimensions. In the photo below you can see one of the kitchen projects made from chipboard.

Furniture facades have their own standard sizes. They are presented in the table below (the cross at the intersection of the values means the standard size).

Step-by-step instruction

When assembling furniture with your own hands, you must follow a certain procedure:

Order a tabletop, glass facades, a slab with cutting.
Purchase accessories.
Pick up glass facades and other parts.
Edge the ends of the parts.
Attach the guides to the sides of those cabinets that will have drawers.
Attach hinges to doors.
According to the drawings, assemble the boxes using confirmations.
Hang doors, assemble and insert drawers.
Arrange the lower cabinets, install the tabletop and attach it to the cabinets using 4*30 screws; the cut corner must be processed with a tabletop edge.
For the upper cabinets, a mounting rail is attached, calculating so that the bottom of the cabinet is at a distance of 140-150 cm from the floor.
Hanging cabinets are tied together with sectional ties.
Cut holes for the work surface and sink and install them.
Cut and install the wall profile to the tabletop using 3*25 screws.
Adjust the gaps in the doors.
Install the plinth.

In addition to the general kitchen plan, you will need diagrams with the dimensions of each individual element. Below is an example of cutting out a kitchen cabinet.

Before starting work, pay attention to the points that should be taken into account:

4 cm of free space should be left behind the cabinets (for communications and as protection from crooked walls).
The front cabinets are attached in one line.
Buy supports only with a clip, and make the base removable.
It is better to install the guides for the drawers before assembling the cabinet.
It is recommended to install the mounting rail without breaks along its entire length.
The wall profile is sealed with silicone.

Making kitchen facades with your own hands is good way save on your purchase kitchen set. Old furniture You can give it a different look by replacing the doors of cabinets and cabinets, installing doors that open upward, and adding fashionable details and beautiful fittings to the set. And even the furniture facades themselves can be made by hand from relatively cheap and affordable materials.

Replacing kitchen facades is a great way to update your kitchen set

The furniture facade is the face of the kitchen and the main component of its style. Decorating a headset with homemade parts should be done only when there is a great desire to do the work efficiently and accurately, because incorrect assembly can ruin even the best materials.

To independently manufacture facades from solid wood or shaped bent doors, you will need skills in working with wood, MDF or chipboard, as well as the availability of special tools.

In more simple version Do-it-yourself kitchen renovation furniture facades limited to taking measurements and installing updated doors and drawer panels in their intended locations. Finished parts You can buy and order in furniture stores. There is also a service for sawing and edging selected MDF or laminated chipboard panels. It is difficult to carefully cut laminated boards at home without a special tool.

But even buying or ordering panels in a store will cost less than purchasing ready-made cabinet furniture. Therefore, updating the kitchen by replacing facades is a common design technique.

Manufacturing options from different materials

Most often, do-it-yourself kitchen facades are made from wood. This is an easy-to-process, accessible and cheap raw material for the manufacture of materials for furniture industry. Kitchen facades must be resistant to exposure detergents, temperature and humidity, and wood and laminated panels meet these conditions.

It is easy to make facades with your own hands from the following materials:

solid wood;
plywood;
pressed (chipboard, chipboard, MDF).

To work with the listed types of furniture raw materials, no sophisticated equipment is required; wood can be cut with a jigsaw or a hand saw.

Plywood facades resemble massive ones: upper layer Birch plywood has a distinct wood structure; some types of material have a moisture-resistant coating that gives smoothness and a slight shine. To make plywood facades, it is better to choose thick varieties (2-3 cm). This will allow you to install mortise hinges for furniture, and the doors will be strong. Cover the edges of the facades with a special tape, matched to the tone of the wood on the front side.

If thick plywood is not available, beautiful facades can be made using panel door technology. In this case, a board about 2 cm thick is used for the frame, and the inserts are made of plywood.

With the help of additional decor (molding, painting, patination or staining), you can achieve a good result by making updated facades for kitchen furniture with your own hands.

From MDF

The simplest option for making a facade from MDF is to take the dimensions of the doors and panels and order the products from a furniture store. Having chosen panels with a coating of the desired color, the measurement results must be given to the master. Using professional equipment, the material will be cut and the edges will be glued. The customer will only have to pick up the facades prepared for installation and hang them with his own hands.

When cutting laminated MDF panels yourself, you will not be able to avoid chipping the coating along the cut line. Therefore, when cutting, you need to make an allowance of 2-3 mm around the entire perimeter of the facade. After sawing, process the edges sandpaper, cleaning the cuts.

For sticking edges with your own hands, it is better to use PVC tape the desired shade. The material can be easily secured to the edges of the facade using a hot iron, ironing the tape through thick paper. If it is possible to use a router at home, you will be able to perform edging with a tenon tape.

The choice of materials for the kitchen must be approached responsibly: the plastic coating does not protect against water, and in conditions high humidity such facades quickly lose their shape. When using this type of panel, it is necessary to perform high-quality edging, so it is better to entrust the work to a professional.

Chipboard facade

When choosing a cheap uncoated chipboard, you also need to buy a film for finishing the facade. You can cut a simple chipboard with a jigsaw, and ready-made facades cover with film.

Laminated chipboard has a coating resembling valuable wood or painted in different colors. It is better to cut such material in a workshop, providing the master with the dimensions of the panels and the location of the hinges. When cutting facades yourself, proceed as follows:

draw a contour line on the front side of the chipboard;
Use a sharp knife to cut through the laminated layer of material along a ruler;
cut the chipboard using a jigsaw along the cut line.

Edging a façade made of chipboard is carried out in the same way as processing MDF.

Glossy

Glossy facades belong to the MDF group. To cover such models use:

PVC film glued to vacuum equipment on a panel with or without milling;
acrylic plastic with PVC or aluminum edge;
special technology of painting with enamel and varnish.

It is impossible to make such a coating at home. To make fashionable kitchen furniture glossy facade, you need to purchase ready-made material. It is better to order cutting and gluing of the edges in a workshop, because when sanding with your own hands, the shiny layer will be damaged, and the facade will not look as elegant as in advertising photos.

When using glossy facades, careful attention to the products will be required. The slightest dirt or fingerprints are clearly visible on the shiny surface. The surface is easily damaged with slight mechanical impact, and the film coating is not resistant to high temperatures.

Handles are not only a functional piece of furniture. They complement and decorate the facades. In styles with strict lines (minimalism, hi-tech), handles sometimes serve as an emphasizing element: large, shiny, but simple in outline fittings are used. Such handles resemble roof rails and are located both vertically and horizontally.

It is better not to weigh down the lightness of fashionable sets with glossy facades or made in the Art Nouveau style with additional fittings. For such kitchens, methods have been invented to open without the help of handles, when you press the door. But sometimes such cabinets are equipped with special fittings, disguising the handle as an aluminum edge.

For villagers and luxury styles It is customary to choose antique handles, with a coating that imitates old bronze or made of non-ferrous metal. These are elaborate cast products that should be combined with the decor of the facade.

The handles must be installed after hanging the facades on the cabinets. To ensure that the entire line of handles is placed at the same height above the floor, you can stretch the cord along the entire front of the lower tier. Along this line you need to make marks for installing the handle on each door. The same applies when installing handles on drawers or wall cabinets.

How to correctly install handles on the facades in each individual case is written in the instructions for these products. Holes for their installation can be made different ways: through in the plane, closed at the ends or in some other way. When purchasing handles, it is better to purchase several pieces for repairs during use, since these products may be discontinued, and it will be difficult to find a replacement if necessary.

What do you do with old furniture?

Kitchens and wardrobes are almost the easiest types of furniture to assemble for novice craftsmen (not counting only bedside tables and shelves). In general, furniture for the living room and bedroom usually requires a more serious approach, the use of non-standard materials, glass. This article will help beginners understand how to make furniture themselves.

tree in pure form are no longer used in cabinet furniture; solid wood is considered an expensive luxury material.

Now wood is being replaced with a cheaper material - laminated chipboard (abbreviated laminated chipboard). Most often, these boards have a thickness of 16 mm; chipboards with a thickness of 10 and 22 mm can also be found on sale. 10mm sheets are typically used to fill wardrobe doors, and 22mm sheets are used for bookcases and shelves where high bending strength is required. Also, sometimes the structure is decorated with elements made from 22 mm laminated chipboard.

Almost all furniture parts are made from 16 mm laminated chipboard (except for doors and facades).

Laminated chipboard

Cutting laminated chipboard produced on special machines along guides. Of course, you can saw it off at home using a jigsaw, but then there will be chips and wavy irregularities on the edges. It is almost impossible to saw off chipboard evenly with a jigsaw at home.

Edges

The most vulnerable place of laminated chipboard is when it is cut down. It is the easiest way for moisture to penetrate inside, so if the protection is poor, the ends may soon swell. Therefore, the ends are closed using edges; there are several types of them.

- Melamine edge is the cheapest, but of poor quality. You can stick it on at home using an iron.

- PVC edge 0.4 and 2 mm – best option. It can only be glued on a special machine, so it is done immediately when ordering a cut. To save money, 0.4 mm is glued to the invisible ends, and 2 mm to the external ones, which will experience constant loads and friction.

PVC edge 2 mm

- ABS edge is similar to PVC, but made from environmentally friendly material.
- Mortise T-shaped profile - inserted into a groove previously made with a milling cutter. Rarely used.

- Overhead U-profile - can be easily glued to liquid nails at home. The main disadvantage is that the edges will protrude a few millimeters, so dirt will get stuck under it. On the other hand, this drawback allows you to hide a poor-quality cut.

Facades

Kitchen fronts and furniture doors are usually made of more elegant material. But if you are making a drawer door inside a sliding wardrobe that no one will see, you can use regular 16 mm laminated chipboard with a 2 mm PVC edge for it. But the cabinets in the kitchen should look more presentable.

The facade is a separate furniture element. It is usually made to order. If the dimensions of the facades are non-standard, their production may take several months.

By standard sizes you can easily navigate: usually the facades are made 2 mm smaller than the cabinet itself on each side. Therefore, for a standard 600 mm cabinet, a 596 mm façade is used.

The height of the kitchen cabinet also depends on the facade and ranges from 715 to 725 mm for floor cabinets (without legs) and low wall cabinets, and 915-925 mm for high wall cabinets.

Types of facades

Since facades serve mainly a decorative function, the choice is huge; they differ in appearance and material.

- Facades made of laminated MDF. This is a pressed material, more moisture-resistant and dense compared to chipboard. Most often, the surface is laminated to look like wood. But no matter how strong the film is, over time it can come off at the edges and crack. The main advantage of this material is its low price and fast production.

MDF facades

- In addition to standard blank facades, there are also options with figured cutouts for stained glass. The glass is attached to the cover on the reverse side.
- Softforming - such facades are similar to ordinary MDF, but have a characteristic two-color layout with relief on both sides. They can only be used in dry rooms, bedrooms or living rooms.

- Postforming – even higher quality and durable products. Thin plastic the edges are turned 90° or 180°, thereby eliminating unnecessary seams at the corners. Chipboard or MDF boards are used as the base. Typically, postforming is done in a strict form, without unnecessary pretentious decorative elements.

- Plastic facades are of high quality, but expensive. They consist of a base (chipboard/MDF) lined on both sides with thick plastic. They always have a strict design and flat surface, glossy or matte. The edges of the slab are sometimes protected using ABS edges or aluminum profile. IN Lately Super glossy acrylic plastic is especially popular.

Plastic facades in aluminum profile

- Wood and veneer facades - suitable for amateurs natural materials, but they are expensive. In addition, there is a long debate about environmental friendliness: there is an opinion that there is so much varnish and impregnation that there is only one name left for the tree.

- Painted facades to resemble enamel. They have a significant drawback - the surface is vulnerable to scratches and deformations, and has low chemical resistance. Used to be popular thanks to rich color, but with the advent of glossy acrylic plastic, everything changed.

Aluminum facades with glass are suitable for a high-tech kitchen. They look modern, but are difficult to manufacture and install. Non-standard fittings are used for their fastening.

Back walls and bottoms of drawers

The back wall and bottom of the drawers are most often made of HDF. The smooth side of the sheet should face the inside of the cabinet/drawer. The thickness of the sheets is 3-5 mm, the color is selected to match the chipboard.

Some people prefer to mount HDF on furniture stapler, but you can’t do that. Over time, the brackets will become loose and the structure may warp. It’s not worth talking about the bottom of the drawers - a stapler is clearly not suitable for fastening.

Furniture LDVP

Sometimes it is inserted into a groove prepared with a milling cutter, but all dimensions must match down to the millimeter.

Most often, HDF is attached to nails or self-tapping screws. It is better to use self-tapping screws with a press washer, but before screwing them in, you must drill a hole, otherwise the product may crack.

In rare cases, for example, to create a “stiffener” in a tall cabinet or in drawers with high loads, fiberboard is replaced with laminated chipboard. These materials can also be combined.

Tabletops

Table top – horizontal working surface, on which you can cook, eat, read, write, etc.

Most office and desks, as well as in cheap dining rooms, the tabletop is made of the same laminated chipboard as the main parts. The thickness is 16 or 22 mm, it is necessary to frame it with a 2 mm PVC edge.

Special countertops are used for the kitchen. They are a sheet of chipboard 28-38 mm thick, which is covered on top with durable plastic using postforming technology. Moisture-resistant countertops have green color on the cut, and ordinary chipboard is gray. A proper kitchen countertop should have a drip tray that will prevent dripping liquid from getting onto the fronts and drawers.

The weak point of such countertops is the cut edge. They are usually covered with a simple melamine edge, so they become unusable within the first year of use. To avoid this, it is recommended to protect the edges with special aluminum profiles (end strip), and to protect against moisture, pre-coat the cut silicone sealant.

There are also other types of profiles: corner and connecting strips, which are needed for joining several cabinets with different countertops.

Corner, connecting and end strip for table top

Another element is a decorative corner that closes the gap between the wall and the tabletop.

Sometimes used to finish an apron wall panel. Unlike tiles or mosaics, it is more practical due to the absence of seams and is inexpensive compared to glass splashbacks.

The tabletop is attached to the cabinets from below using short self-tapping screws to horizontal spacers so as not to spoil the smooth front surface.

Countertops made from natural or artificial stone are higher quality and more durable than others. Natural stone is heavy and requires special care due to high porosity. But artificial stone does not have such disadvantages; it can be given any size and shape. The main disadvantage of stone countertops is the high price; for a small kitchen they cost from 40 thousand rubles. and more.

An alternative option is a countertop made of tiles or porcelain stoneware. You can make it yourself, but the tiles cannot be mounted on regular plywood or chipboard. The base must first be covered with cement-fiber sheets.

Location of parts

A detail is any element of cabinet furniture: lids, tabletops, walls, facades, shelves. Each part can be either nested or invoice. Right choice the type of location is very important.

Let's look at examples of two kitchen cabinets: one of them will stand on legs, and the second will be hanging.

Base cabinet:

As can be seen in the photo, the operating stress in the floor-standing cabinet is directed downwards from the lid and in the first option is naturally transmitted through the parts to the cabinet legs.

In the second, incorrect option, the load is transmitted through the confirmat (furniture screw), and because of this it will be torn out of the part at a fracture.

Wall cabinet:

In the second example, the opposite is true: the load will go to the bottom shelf, and the attachment point will be on top.

If we use the same fastening scheme here as in the floor cabinet (option 1), all 4 bolts will be constantly under the load of being pulled out of the wood. Therefore, it is better if the confirmations experience stress on the fracture (see diagram “correctly”).

Furniture fasteners

Furniture fasteners are hardware (metal products) that are used to connect parts. Most often, connections are made at right angles.

- Wooden dowels - inserted in advance drilled holes in both details. They are used for preliminary fixation and increasing the shear load, then the parts are fixed in a more reliable way.

- Furniture corners are a popular, but outdated type of furniture fastening. Among the disadvantages: appearance, loosening over time and bulkiness.

Furniture corner

The main disadvantage of this type of fastening is that screwed-in caps remain visible. To hide them, use plastic plugs matching the color of the chipboard.

Furniture fittings

- Handles - everything is clear here. They are usually attached with screws.
- Legs are convenient in rooms where wet floor cleaning is often done, for example, in the kitchen. Any wood, especially chipboard, will quickly deteriorate from daily contact with water. In addition, the legs can be used to level furniture on uneven surfaces.
- A silicone damper is a cheap but very useful part that can reduce the noise of impacts from cabinet doors. It is glued to the top and bottom of the cabinet door or end to soften the impact.

- Furniture hinges. Round cutouts for them (additives) in the facades can be made in any furniture workshop, unless the manufacturer has made them in advance. The hinges differ in the degree of door opening. Standard hinges have an opening angle of 180°, and in closed position– 90°.
  The hinges have a special mechanism that allows you to adjust the doors in height and seating depth. For glass doors Separate hinges are sold; glass can be clamped into them without drilling a hole.

Furniture hinges

Among the inexpensive manufacturers of accessories, we can recommend the Chinese Boyard, and among the serious global manufacturers, the Austrian Blum.

Drawers and slides

There are many ways to make furniture boxes. The simplest of them is to assemble a perimeter from laminated chipboard. If a beautiful facade is required, it is screwed onto the main frame from the inside (like the tabletop). The façade can also be secured to eccentrics as the fourth wall of the drawer.

But the main thing is not to assemble the drawer, but to secure it correctly.

Drawer guides are divided into roller or ball guides.

- Roller guides are usually attached to the bottom of the drawer. He will ride on them on two rollers. A pair of such guides costs about 150 rubles, but it is highly not recommended to use them. The main disadvantage is that they do not allow the drawer to be pulled out completely; a heavy drawer in the more than half-open position may simply fall.
- Ball guides, or as they are also called, “full extension telescopic guides,” can exactly double the length. They have many balls inside, like bearings, so they provide a smooth ride.

Roller and ball guides for drawers

In addition, Blum has metaboxes and tandemboxes. These are ready-made side walls of drawers with installed guides. All that remains is to install the facade, back wall and bottom.

Doors for wardrobes

The sliding wardrobe can be separate (with side and back walls), or built into a niche or corner (with one side wall). The internal content can be anything: regular shelves and mezzanines, drawers and baskets, clothes rails, special hangers for trousers, ties, etc.

Main element wardrobe – sliding doors. You can’t save on them; you need to buy high-quality fittings, otherwise you’ll suffer with falling and jamming doors. In almost any city you can find domestic sliding doors in specialized stores. Aristo systems no problem.

A sliding wardrobe usually has 2-3 doors. They consist of a profiled frame into which decorative elements are inserted: mirrors and glass, chipboard, rattan sheets, bamboo, artificial leather(based). Each door can be assembled from a combination of several such materials, which are separated by an aluminum profile. It is not recommended to make doors more than 1 m in width.

Standard profiles are designed for a sheet thickness of 10 mm. But how to insert a 4 mm thick mirror into it? To do this, put a silicone seal on the edge of the mirror. To prevent broken glass from injuring anyone in the event of an impact, you need to order a mirror with a film glued to the reverse side.

The doors move along guides; they are installed at the top and bottom. The lower doors provide forward and backward movement, and the upper ones fix the door relative to the depth of the cabinet.

The bottom rollers are usually made of plastic, have a shock-absorbing spring and a screw for height adjustment. The upper rollers have a rubberized surface.
With the right approach homemade furniture It turns out cheaper and better quality than what is displayed in stores. But besides this, it will be exclusive, precisely suited to the needs of the owners and the characteristics of the room.

1. Main material: laminated chipboard

Surprisingly, wood in its pure form is the preserve of expensive “elite” furniture. Wood is practically no longer found in cabinet furniture.

The main material from which cabinet furniture is made is laminated chipboard(LDSP). Typically these are 16 mm thick slabs. Chipboard sheets with a thickness of 10 mm and 22 mm are also available for sale. 10 mm laminated chipboards are used as filling for blind doors of sliding wardrobes, and 22 mm - for shelves in bookcases, where greater resistance to loads is required, and ordinary 16 mm laminated chipboard can seriously sag under the weight of books.

Also, sometimes 22 mm parts are used as design elements of furniture products, introducing originality into the design (for example, on top of a regular 16 mm cabinet lid you can put a protruding lid 22 mm thick in a darker color). Such delights are economically feasible only in mass production, since you always have to buy a whole sheet of laminated chipboard for cutting. Typically, all parts of cabinet furniture (except for doors and facades) are made from 16 mm laminated chipboard.

Laminated chipboard is sawn on special machines along guides. Of course, at home you can saw off something with a jigsaw - but in this case the edges of the seam will be “torn”, and the seam itself will probably wiggle from side to side. Achieve straight saw It's almost impossible with a jigsaw.

2. Edges

The cut of laminated chipboard is the most ugliest and vulnerable place - moisture easily penetrates through it and the material swells and deforms. Therefore, it is recommended to cover all ends of laminated chipboard with special edges. Several types of edges are known:

. ABS edge- an analogue of PVC edges made of another, more environmentally friendly plastic. In addition to environmental friendliness during disposal, the remaining differences are rather invented by marketers. It's not even sold in our city.

. Wooden and veneered facades- will delight lovers of natural products. True, in the modern plastic world such facades are quite expensive. Yes, and evil tongues claim that there are so many varnishes and impregnations in this wood that there is only one name for the wood. At the very least, manufacturing companies strongly recommend regularly maintaining such facades with special chemicals.

. Enamel facades- painted facades. Their main drawback: the coating is very easily scratched, deformed, and is not resistant to chemicals. Previously, they were used only for their rich, vibrant colors. With the advent of acrylic plastics on the market, the demand for painted facades has decreased significantly.

. Aluminum and glass facades- made in high-tech style. They are beautiful and modern, but difficult to manufacture and require non-standard fasteners, often installed simultaneously with the production of the facade.

4. Back walls and bottom of drawers.

Typically, the back walls of furniture, as well as the bottoms of drawers, are made of LDVP. At the same time, its front laminated side looks inside the drawer or cabinet. The color of HDF is selected to match the color of the HDF used. The sheet thickness is usually 3-5 mm.

At one time it was fashionable to place such a wall on brackets using furniture stapler. This is wrong - the staples last for a limited time, and no matter how strong the structure may seem to you immediately after assembly, after a few years it may well break apart under pressure or deformation. It is especially incorrect to place the bottom of drawers on staples, which is constantly subject to pull-out loads. So forget about the furniture stapler - it is only suitable for upholstered furniture.

Sometimes fiberboard is inserted in the groove- but this technology requires milling this groove, and at the same time maintaining all dimensions of the product exactly down to the millimeter.

Sometimes the back walls and bottoms of drawers are made of chipboard. This is practiced to create " stiffening ribs"in tall cabinets, and in those drawers where there will be a very large load (20 kg and above). The rear wall of the cabinet can be equipped with one or more stiffeners made of laminated chipboard, and the rest of the space can be filled with LDVP.

5. Countertops

Tabletop- a horizontal work surface on which people constantly work (cook, eat, write).

Majority office desks And cheap options dining rooms are limited to a tabletop of the same material as the table itself. It can be laminated chipboard 16 mm or better 22 mm, chrome plating must be 2 mm PVC edge.

Special countertops are used for kitchens. Usually they are a sheet of chipboard 28-38 mm thick, covered with plastic using postforming technology. This plastic is quite durable. If the cut of the tabletop is gray, it’s ordinary chipboard, if it’s blue-green, then moisture resistant. Correct kitchen countertops equipped with a strip of silicone - the so-called " drip tray", which does not allow spilled liquids to flow down and onto the kitchen furniture.

The weak point of such countertops is the edges of the cuts. They are usually edged with melamine to match the color of the tabletop when cutting it. But melamine is afraid of moisture, and often the edges become unusable after just a year of use. Therefore, for the ends of the tabletop it is recommended to use a special aluminum profile, having previously thoroughly coated the cut surface with silicone sealant. There is also a profile for joining tabletops at right angles - without sawing them and fitting them to each other - this profile is very convenient to use in corner kitchens.

It is not customary to make holes in the tabletop (they spoil the smooth surface of the table and then dirt gets clogged in them), so such a tabletop is usually screwed on from the inside screws to horizontal struts. In this case, the screws should not be too long so as not to pierce the lid through.

Countertops made from natural or artificial stone. Products from natural stone very heavy and require additional care due to the porosity of the material. Artificial stone is free of these disadvantages. In addition, artificial stone countertops can be given almost any size and profile. The only drawback of such countertops today is their price.

6. Location of parts

We have come to those sections that will form your final understanding of how to make cabinet furniture. So, first let's talk about the relative position of the parts.

Detail- this is any element of cabinet furniture: bottom, lid, sidewall, back wall, facade, shelf. So, every detail can be nested, maybe overhead.

Let's consider this thesis using the example of two kitchen cabinets. One will stand on the floor (on legs), and the other will hang on the wall.

Base cabinet:

As can be seen from the figure, it is best when the operating voltage (and for a floor-standing cabinet it is directed from the lid down) naturally transmitted through wooden parts to the place of contact of the product with the support - on the legs of the cabinet (see the “correct” diagram).

In the second, “wrong” option, the voltage is transmitted to confirmation(this is a special furniture screw, we’ll talk about them a little later) - and the force will constantly try to break it out of the wood.

Second example: wall cabinet .

Here everything is the other way around: the force is applied to the bottom shelf and the things on it, and the fastening point of the cabinet is higher than the point of application of the force. Naturally (at the junction wood boards) we will not transfer the force upward in any way. Therefore, voltage will necessarily be transmitted through the fittings.

If we make the same design here as in the floor cabinet (see the “wrong” diagram), all four confirmations will experience constant force to tear out made of wood. Therefore, we choose the worst of two evils: it is better to let the confirmees experience the effort for a break(see diagram "correctly").

At first glance, this seems difficult, but trust my experience: after the third designed and assembled product, you will begin to intuitively, without thinking, determine where this or that part should be located.

7. Furniture fasteners

Furniture fasteners are hardware, which are used to connect furniture parts. Most often, such a connection is made at a right angle of 90°. all modern types of furniture fasteners are very well described, with detailed description their advantages and disadvantages. Let's briefly go through those with which we will have the opportunity to work.

. Euroscrew (confirmed)- special furniture screw. The most common fastening of cabinet furniture. Confirmat is especially well suited for beginners - since it does not require precise addition of parts - you can drill a hole for it “on site”, during the process of assembling the product.

Have you noticed that self-tapping screws are almost never used to connect parts? That's right, in the furniture business they are replaced by confirmats. Due to their ideal shape for 16mm laminated chipboards, they have a significantly larger thread area and hold much stronger than self-tapping screws.

To drill holes for confirmations it is required special drill- finding something like this in our provincial town was not easy. In principle, if you don’t have such a drill, it’s not a big deal: you can get by with three drills different diameters: under the thread, neck and cap of the confirmat.

Confirmats come in several sizes. Typically 7x50 is used. When drilling for confirmation, special attention should be paid to the perpendicularity of the drilling - so that the drill does not “run away” and pierce the wall of the part being drilled.

Confirmations are being twisted screwdriver with hexagonal bit or manually with a special hex wrench. Confirmations made under Phillips screwdriver- these are not correct confirmations! You will never be able to tighten these screws all the way.

The main aesthetic drawback of confirmations is that the caps, although remaining flush, are still noticeable. To hide them they use plastic plugs, inserted into the caps. The color of the plugs is matched to the color of the chipboard.

. Eccentric couplers- the most correct and modern look furniture fasteners. Does not leave marks on the front side of the product, only on the inside. The main disadvantage is that it requires very precise drilling, including aligning the holes on both sides and limiting the drilling depth (so as not to drill through).

To drill additives for eccentrics, a special drill is usually used. Forstner drill. It is possible to do it manually - but it is very difficult; it is better to have a drilling machine.

If you are assembling furniture, the ends of which will not be on public display, but will be hidden (for example, kitchen cabinet or a wardrobe in a niche) - then there is no point in bothering with eccentrics. Use confirmations.

8. Furniture fittings

The hinges can also be adjusted in height and planting depth. This allows you to more accurately align your cabinet door. There are also inset hinges - when when the door is closed, the facade is recessed inside the cabinet (rarely used). There is a range of glass door hinges that can hold the glass firmly in place without drilling.

Buy only quality products famous manufacturers(for inexpensive ones, we can recommend Chinese Boyard) - so as not to have problems with them in the future. Among the world's serious manufacturers - Austrian Bloom, but it is expensive and you still have to try to find it.

9. Drawers and their guides

There are many ways to make furniture boxes. The simplest one is to make the perimeter of the box (sides, front and back walls) from chipboard. This method is described in detail and with illustrations. The only thing I disagree with the author is that instead of nails to secure the bottom, I would use self-tapping screws.

If a beautiful façade is required, then it is screwed with self-tapping screws to one of the sides of the drawer into the lining, as shown in the diagram in Section 5 (the role of the countertop in this case will be played by the drawer façade).

But assembling the box is half the battle. The main thing is to make it open and close. That is, put it on the guides.

Drawer guides There are two types: roller and ball.

. Roller guides - usually white, attached to the bottom of the drawer. A box on such guides rides on two rubberized rollers, rumbles due to its unstable position, and at the point of maximum exit tends to fall out of the guides from any sharp push. Such guides are bad because a heavily loaded box will try to tip over from any position when it is extended more than halfway. The only advantage of such guides is the price: approx. 30 rub for a couple.

. Ball guides - or as they are usually called “full extension guides”. These guides are telescopic design, capable of increasing its length exactly twice. Inside they contain several dozen balls (as in bearings), which ensures smooth movement of the box. The guides are rigidly fixed with self-tapping screws to both the cabinet and the drawer, which eliminates the possibility of tipping over and prevents the drawer from “going off the rails” regardless of the load and speed of jerking.

The process of installing a drawer on full extension ball slides is well described. The price of such guides is approx. 100 rub per set. It’s very disappointing to see when in a kitchen with a total cost of more than 40 rubles, the manufacturer squeezes and installs roller guides, saving 70 rubles. You know, you want to take it and strangle it for such a disgusting attitude towards the buyer. So if you order a kitchen, immediately specify what type of drawer guides will be.

. Metaboxes- a solution first proposed by an Austrian company Bloom. The idea is to save the craftsman from the need to attach guides to the drawer, and sell ready-made side walls, with built-in guides, holes for the front and grooves for the back wall. Having bought a metabox, all you have to do is hang a facade on it, put in a back wall and a bottom (by the way, many metaboxes are designed for a bottom made of chipboard and not fiberboard).

The guides in the metaboxes are roller. Accordingly, the metabox is not a full extension product. Cost of Blum metabox: from 300 before 500 rub. Now many companies, including Chinese ones, produce products with the name “metabox”, which has already become a household name. Here is a good article on calculating and assembling a metabox.

. Tandemboxes- a more technological solution from the same company. If the metabox rides on roller guides, then the tandembox rides on full extension ball guides. The number of balls in them is several hundred. Tandemboxes are usually equipped with an automatic closer and shock damper (BluMotion system) - which ensures surprisingly pleasant and soft closing of the box (always full closing) with one push.

For tall boxes, tandem boxes can be equipped with one or two additional stops. Tandem boxes are manufactured white and stainless steel. The latter, of course, are twice as expensive.

If you happen to be at a furniture show, stop by the Blum stand. You can’t even imagine how pleasant and high-quality the usual furniture fittings. But the tandembox costs accordingly: 1000-2000 rub. per set.

10. Doors for sliding wardrobes

The last thing worth talking about in our furniture educational program is wardrobes. In general, the kitchen and wardrobe are the most affordable and interesting for a beginner furniture maker areas of activity. Well, not counting, of course, bedside tables and shelves. Furniture for the living room and bedrooms usually requires a serious design approach, the use of non-standard or difficult-to-process materials: natural wood, tempered glass. With kitchens and wardrobes, everything is simple and clear.

The sliding wardrobe comes in two versions: with walls (side and back) and without them. the latter option is simply a part of the room (usually a niche) fenced off with sliding doors, inside which you can do whatever you want: shelves, drawers, hangers, and a bunch of other interesting things. Here are listed and photographs of the most common elements filling sliding wardrobes.

The most interesting and attractive mechanism in a wardrobe is its sliding doors. You can’t skimp here, and you need to buy only high-quality fittings - otherwise you’ll suffer with falling and jamming doors so much that you yourself won’t be happy. In our city, the only decent stuff they sell is sliding systems domestic company Aristo, however, according to reviews they are quite worthy.

A sliding wardrobe usually contains two or three doors. Each door is a canvas enclosed in a special frame made of decorated aluminum profile. In this case, the door does not have to be uniform - it can be created from two or more different panels, connected at any angle using a special profile.

Traditionally, the frame profile for sliding wardrobe doors is designed for a leaf thickness of 10 mm. For the manufacture of blind doors, 10 mm laminated chipboard sheets are usually used. Special sheets can serve as a design alternative. rattan(decorative wicker), bamboo, and even artificial leather (on a base made of chipboard or MDF).

Using special silicone seals, a 4-mm mirror. The main thing is that those who will cut your mirrors for the cabinet do not forget to apply a special elastic film on its back side, which will hold the fragments in the event of an impact. Even if a child breaks the mirror surface, this will significantly reduce the likelihood of injury.

In order for the doors to move, guides are attached to the bottom and top. The lower guides of the sliding wardrobe ensure the opening/closing of the door, the upper ones ensure the fixation of the door relative to the depth of the cabinet. The lower rollers are usually made of plastic, equipped with a shock-absorbing spring and a screw for height adjustment. The upper rollers have a rubberized surface.

For more information on self-production cabinet furniture, I strongly recommend reading the following resources:

. http://mebelsoft.net/forum/- Forum of professional furniture makers. Perhaps the largest and most popular resource dedicated to this topic.

. http://www.mastercity.ru/forumdisplay.php?f=19- City of Craftsmen, section "furniture and interior design". Those who try to do everything with their own hands gather here.

. http://mebelsam.com- DIY furniture. There are many articles and examples of a wide variety of technologies, not just cabinet furniture.

. http://www.makuha.ru- Furniture directory. A beginner portal, but it already contains interesting articles.

Well, that’s the end of our little furniture educational program. I hope you are now full of strength and determination to make cabinet furniture with your own hands. Add a little imagination here in choosing colors, edges, fittings and figured cuts- and you will get the opportunity to make the furniture that exactly what you need.

And it's not even about what happens cheaper and often better quality than in the store. And it’s not that you no longer limit yourself to factory models. The fact is that the things you have made, the things in which you have invested your soul, your enthusiasm and skill, are stored the warmth of your hands. I think this is important.

Sections