Review #4 - Adding Beadboard to the Cabinets

For our kitchen style, this was a "must have", no question. On the cherry cabinets, we added cherry beadboard plywood. The island and hutch have the traditional beadboard strips applied.

Since posting on this, I have received a number of inquiries on how to apply the beadboard to the sides of the cabinet, so I will give some additional detail here.

First off, is it worth the price?

• I would say yes. It's a relatively cheap upgrade that significantly changes the look of the cabinets. The plywood cost about 70 cents per square foot, and the pine strips 1.20. Considering we found the plywood at a discount lumber place and got a really good price, you could use 1.50 per sq ft to estimate the material cost. Note that we are in Oregon, and it may vary regionally.

What level of skill does it take?

• From an experience standpoint, I would not suggest someone do this as a first project. Its not that difficult, its just that you should learn on something a bit less visible. My dad always said (and now I say - go figure), "start in a closet". If you have never cut trim or used a saw, I would start on a smaller project to gain some skills. Possibly, putting beadboard on an end table or a kid's dresser.


• This may sound a bit silly, but you will need to know how to hammer a nail without bending it over. Bent nails will damage the beadboard and tick you off. Two things: hold the hammer at the end (don't choke up on it), and nail small nails with your wrist.


• You can do either strips or a sheet of plywood or MDF.

How to install?

• I am not going to do full write up on this, when This Old House provides a really good article on how to get this done. On the page where Tom shows you to start at the corner, start that the front of the cabinet.

• Here is the detail I will give: The face-frame of cabinets typically have a 1/4" to 3/8" overlap from the side to allow you to apply end panels or beadboard. The diagram below shows how I did it (click to enlarge)
• One more tip: use glue and keep the nails to a minimum. If you have access to an air-nailer, 18-gage nails will make the job pretty easy. You can hand nail, but it will take a bit more time. I suggest using poly glue (Gorilla Glue, Elmers Nano Glue, etc.), since the sides of your cabinets will likely have either a melamine surface or a sealant. Wood glue will not work well on anything but a raw wood surface.

Pictures

Additional reference

• House in Progress - Beadboard Types and Styles
  

Beadboard Cost: $112

It took seven packages of beadboard to for the island and the hutch (still to be completed) at $16 each. We did not do a whole lot of searching for this - just went to HD and bought it. Each package is about 12 1/2 square feet.


He went with rustic pine - here is a picture:

Panelling would have been about 1/3 less cost and a bit less work, but would not have the feel we were looking for.

They also sold an MDF version that would have been pre-primed and easier to paint, but we have a NO MDF policy for the kitchen cabinets. MDF would be fine for the cabinets boxes, but not for the exteriors. If the it gets damaged, it does not look aged, it looks rotten. Pine beadboard can take a dent and look all the better for it. MDF will look fuzzy and cheap.

My DW, the painting guru, is taking it from here. Primer, 2 to 3 coats of base paint, a coat of antique glaze (darker color), and 1 to 2 coats of polycrylic on the heavy wear surfaces.

A tip for sanding:

• You should always sand after the primer coat if you use water-based primer. It raises the soft part of the grain. You need to get this smoothed down for good resutls
• A lot of people I talk to don't like the idea of sanding. My only advice is to learn to love it (not the sanding, but the results).
• You can quickly do the surface with an orbital sander, palm sander or even a sanding block. Use 120 grit paper. Don't over-do it.
• For beadboard, use a fine grit drywall sanding sponges with the sharp angle side. It easily gets into the beads. If you want the sponge to last, wrap a sheet of sandpaper around it, and use it that way.

Cabinet Accessories

I installed fluorescent lighting under all the upper cabinets. These are the direct wire GE brand from Home Depot. I decided to go with the more expensive type that have no hum or flicker when turning on.

The undercabinet CD player / radio was $25 at Macy's (normally $50). Not high-end at all (GPX brand), just functional. We can always change this out later - I mounted it to a piece of plywood that then screwed up under the cabinet, and it's plug in (not hardwired)


I mounted these steel racks on the inside of the upper cabinet doors by the stove (new product at HD). These are about 2 1/2 inches deep. Since I made the cabinets 14 inches deep instead of 12, and the backs are glued & screwed on instead of dadoed in, we'll have the same interior space as normal 12" uppers.


Costs:

• Door racks - 2 at $18 each
• 13" lights - 3 at $20 each
• 19" lights - 1 at $28
• CD Player - 1 at $25
• Total: $149