Changing doors etc of existing kitchen

[Slainte]

we're moving into a house that needs everything changed/updated and the kitchen is in good condition but needs modernising. We were thinking of using the carcass of the kitchen and just changing the doors and worktops.

Does anyone have experience of doing this? There's a local company who we would employ to do it for us but I don't know anyone who's used them.

Also, what about the bits in between each cupboard door and between doors and worktops? Obviously they are currently the hideous brown of the original kitchen, how is that changed?

TIA

Shameless bump!

I've changed the doors before in my rental house while the carcasses were still good, but didn't need to change the other bits. The doors are a very simple job.

You will be able to get new skirts, and work top easily enough, but I'm not sure which bits you mean when you say the bits between each cupboard. Are they part of the carcus?

If you are wanting to change all of these things then do get a price for that, and for a new kitchen. These things add up and you might end up paying nearly as much as for a new kitchen.

If thats the case it might be worth pricing a cheapish but nice new kitchen that you could upgrade in the future.

I'm buying a cheap kitchen for my rental house at the minute and the kitchen fitter said the carcus' are the same for the majority of the Howdens range - it's the doors and tops that are different qualities. So depending on the price you might consider this!

oreocrumbs thanks so much for your reply, please have my very first

Yes, when I said "the bits in between" I did mean the front of the carcass. These are the same colour as the doors.

Good idea about checking out the cost of a cheaper kitchen to upgrade later.

it is very often not cost effective to just change the doors, plinths and decor end panels

also changing worktops is quite a job in itself and will make up a good chunk of the cost of fitting a new worktop

you also have the problem of your carcasses needing replacing before the doors in the future

I would just get a new kitchen if I were you

Are the "bits" you've mentioned a frame around the door?. Best thing to do would be to measure the door and the frame together, does that cover the width of the carcass?

Bear in mind that if it's an old carcass (like Schreiber) then somewhere like B&Q's kitchen doors will not fit. I work for B&Q by the way

Go and measure one. If it's a standard 400 or 500m then they're fairly easy to buy and change.

Oh thank you! My first flowers .

I'm wracking the depths of my memory here, but I think you can get some kind of iron on veneer type stuff you can put on those bits. I might be wrong happens now and then, and I have no idea how practical they are but I think I saw it on some sort of house makeover programme many moons ago.

It would be worth asking though. Or could you use some paint that is designed for making over cabinets to make them blend with the new doors?

Either way good luck

We did this in our first house- if your carcasses are standard widths (600mm / 500mm etc) then most off-the-shelf doors from DIY stores - B&Q, Ikea etc will fit. If you mean the fronts of the caracsses (ie the very think strip of the cupboard that you might still be able to see once the cupboard door is shut) then I agree with others - you can easily paint it to tone in with the new doors. If you (or someone you know) is good at DIY then changing the worktop is not a big issue either (although if there is a splashback of tiles above the worktop which overhangs the work top then the tiles will probably have to be removed to get the worktop out). It was definitely MUCH cheaper than replacing the kitchen, even with a very cheap new kitchen.

Thanks everyone for your advice, loads to research though it looks like the purchase might not go through now, which is a PITA!