Removing/replacing a fitted kitchen cupboard back?

[ptturner]

I recently visited a customers house which had a badly bodged refit in terms of access to water isolation. Basically I can't find the mains isolator which is probably behind the howdens' style cupboard backing board. I know I will most likely need to break it as I don't fancy taking all the units away from the wall and refixing/masticing.

So is there a way of removing the backer without breaking it or failing that what are my options of restating some sort of cupboard back panel?

 

[ChaiLatte]

Cut through it 12mm from the cupboard sides with a multitool run along a piece of 12m plywood to keep the cut straight.

To reinstate, screw a piece of 25 x 12 timber halfway across the gap from the back, so all you see in the finished cupboard is a line (that could be caulked if fussy) and two parallel rows of screws (that could be painted or capped also if fussy).

 

[Tris]

Can you get a multi tool in to cut it in half vertically? May then be able to slide the two halves out. Refit with a plastic T trim to look tidy.
Only been able to do that once, most end up with some sort of cover panel

 

[ptturner]

I could cut the backing panel, however I'm worried about cutting cables and pipes behind as it was fitted without consideration for service access. So I'm angling towards tearing the out the old panel and somehow fixing in a new prefinished MDF panel. Just wondering if it might have a chipboard cross member to fix a replacement...

 

[ChaiLatte]

May then be able to slide the two halves out.

On better quality units, the back is generally pinned into a groove in the sides and base. That makes the back-side and back-base joint very difficult to separate.

 

[ChaiLatte]

I could cut the backing panel, however I'm worried about cutting cables and pipes behind

Drill a hole in it a poke a slinky camera into it so see what is there.

Take the plinth off, use a mirror at 45 degrees on a stick and you can see behind it.

Learn how to control depth when you are sawing (or superglue a depth stop to the multitool blade).

Once the old one is removed, you can screw timbers on the sides and base which will allow you to fix the new back.

Be prepared to have to install the new back in more than one piece.

 

[Distinterior]

Kitchen cabinet backs vary in thickness and in the method that they are fixed in position.
The backs can be either thin hardboard type material, 8mm chipboard or 18mm chipboard, all depending on who the manufacturer of the cabinets is.

The thinner backs tend to be fixed top & bottom by means of screws or nails/ staples (on cheaper made units) and are fitted Into a groove in the left & right gables.

Cabinets with 18mm backs are only likely to be fixed at the top & bottom due to the more rigid panel and do not normally fit into a groove.
Access to any rear panel fixings is going to be very difficult from inside the cabinet, I'm sorry to say...!

B l o o d y bodger fitters!.....I mean, how long would it have taken them to just drill a nice access hole at the time of installation...?

 

[ChaiLatte]

Does the OP know which cupboard the isolator is behind? If you lay down on the floor with the plinths removed, you would likely see the pipe coming up from the floor.

It is not beyond the bounds of possibility to remove a single cupboard from a series that are joined together. Undo all screws at the sides (better fitters put the front screws behind the hinges) and top and loosen the legs. If cupboard drops down with a little effort, it could come out forwards and its back can then be worked on in free air.

 

[glenfield2]

Exactly what our idiots did. I took the kickboard off and shoved my phone camera under to get a picture looking up the back of the unit. Took a few shots (using flash) but got the basic pipe location. Cut small panel out in safe spot with drill and multi tool, then gradually enlarged. Worked okay.
I wouldn’t cover the hole afterwards - if you get a burst you need instant access to the stopcock!

 

[Bosshogg16]

You could pop down to the supplier, Howdens you say, see how deep the backs they use are, before doing anything else. This gives your thinking a good start, if nothing else.

 

[jcassidy]

Exactly what our idiots did. I took the kickboard off and shoved my phone camera under to get a picture looking up the back of the unit. Took a few shots (using flash) but got the basic pipe location. Cut small panel out in safe spot with drill and multi tool, then gradually enlarged. Worked okay.
I wouldn’t cover the hole afterwards - if you get a burst you need instant access to the stopcock!

Both are exactly what I did in the same situation. PITA, stupid lazy installers.

 

[trvlr]

When you know where the concealed stop valve is... go buy an access panel.

These from the big river company; various sizes so choose one that will allow good access..

"Door" can be removed completely if/when needs-be, on most such panels

https://tinyurl.com/4rs5jyx4

https://tinyurl.com/27ukljnw

tlc-direct.co.uk sell one: 300mm x 300 mm

Screwfix have at least one similar to the above.

There are other ways to install an access panel, but they will require more effort and time than simply cutting a hole and fitting a panel designed for the job..

A multi tool would be a good way to cut into the panel but first you need to certain of the clearance behind the cabinet back panel in the areas of any pipes or whatever...

Howdens say on their website that their units allow 72mm space for service; waste pipes, water pipes, and electrics if needs-be.

https://www.howdens.com/help-and-ad...uides/flat-pack-kitchen-cabinets-buying-guide

B&Q seem to allow only 42mm?

 

[MikeJhn]

Most all Multitool manufacturers make a depth stop for their tools, just fit it too the thickness of your panel and cut all around the edge, replace with an MDF panel fitted to some battens fixed to the wall.

 

[recipio]

A thermal camera might be a good investment. I know plumbers use them to detect leaks.

 

[Setch]

If you cut the panel flush with the carcass on one side with a multitool, you should be able to remove it.

I fit 15mm battens to the carcas, so they cover the original rebate for the back, and then trim the back so it can be inserted from the front, and discreetly secured with a couple of screws.

IIRC Howdens base units have 8mm MFC backs, though it could be 3mm melamine hardboard.

 

[TimV]

Perhaps you could cut round the whole back panel, not quite in line with the sides, but leaving 20mm or so all round, then fit a new panel and secure it to the bit you've left of the old one. That way you'd have a tidy job (with the best match you can of the new panel to the old one) and a very large access panel. (This only works if you know which cupboard to aim for, an if it's OK to reduce the interior depth of the cupboard by the thickness of the new panel).

 

[Sideways]

If the back is just hardboard sitting in slots and pinned or stapled, then you may be able to spring it out by judicious hammering and flexing. Use a piece of timber as a spreader to avoid hammer / mallet marks on the painted inner face of the hardboard.